A new report says President Biden delayed calling off his 2024 reelection campaign in part because he doubted whether Vice President Kamala Harris could actually stand up to President Donald Trump.
The 81-year-old president and his senior advisers had expressed concerns ahead of the historic inauguration announcement about whether the vice president would be up to the challenge of going head-to-head with Trump, Axios reported Monday, citing three Biden aides familiar with the conversations.
Still, Biden ultimately ended up endorsing Harris, 59, after announcing her withdrawal on Sunday, weeks after his disastrous debate defeat with Trump sent his campaign into disarray.
Meanwhile, sources said Biden and Harris spoke multiple times by phone in the hours before the shock announcement was made public.
Meanwhile, Harris spent more than 10 hours making frantic calls to Democratic leaders and politicians, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
