President Biden is reportedly secretly regretting withdrawing from this year's presidential election, claiming he could have defeated President-elect Trump if he hadn't been kicked out of the race by his own party. .
Biden and some of his aides have boasted to confidants in “the last few days” that the president should have stayed in the race and could have won a second term. washington post It was reported on Saturday, citing anonymous sources briefed on the conversation.
Instead, the 82-year-old cited poor poll numbers and a rocky performance in a June 27 debate in which he gave disjointed answers and appeared to stumble over his words. He then bowed to pressure from Democratic Party elites to withdraw from the July campaign.
Vice President Kamala Harris became the top Democratic candidate to replace Mr. Biden, but was easily defeated by Mr. Trump, who will be sworn in to the White House for the second time on January 20.
“Aides say the president is careful not to pin the blame on Ms. Harris or her campaign,” the newspaper reported.
But the president largely acknowledged in an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning in August that he led the case because Democrats in the House and Senate were concerned that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would hurt her re-election chances. .
And in September, he told “The View” that he was confident he could defeat Trump in November.
Many Democrats blamed Harris' defeat on Biden's insistence that she not resign early.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told The Washington Post that “Mr. Biden ran on the promise that he would become interim president, effectively giving him one term and passing it on to the next generation.”
“I think his candidacy has once again broken the conceptual basis of that concept, the theory that he will end Trump's appeal. He will defeat Trumpism and enable a new era.”
Some aides don't blame Biden, but acknowledge that his old-fashioned governing style doesn't necessarily mesh with modern politics.
Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security adviser, told the program, “Political cycles are measured in four-year terms, whereas presidents act with a view to decades.'' spoke.
In recent weeks, Biden has criticized the president for his “mistakes” during debates and his “stupidity” for not getting credit for putting his name on pandemic relief checks issued by his administration. He acknowledged some of the countless gaffes he made during his time in office. In 2021, just as Trump did as president in 2020.
And Biden and his aides acknowledged that the administration could have done a better job of lifting Americans' spirits during the pandemic.
Echoing Bob Woodward's assertions in his book “War,” the Washington Post reported that Biden also told close friends that he should not have chosen Merrick Garland as attorney general, a former U.S. appellate judge. It was reported that the judge was complaining that he was too aggressive in prosecuting his son Hunter.
And Garland was clearly too slow for Biden in prosecuting Trump over the January 6 riot (the charges were ultimately dismissed).
