Former President Donald Trump appeared on Fox News’ primetime show “Hannity” on Monday night and said he doesn’t expect President Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race because of his “ego.”
“He’s probably going to stay. And if he doesn’t, and I don’t think anybody wants to give up like that, he’s going to feel bad about himself for a long time,” Trump said.
“He has a lot of self-respect and doesn’t want to quit. I think Jill wants him to stay. She’s having fun. I’ve heard Hunter is taking the lead,” he mused.
“The way they’re trying to force him out of office, it’s hard to step down like that,” the former president said, alluding to growing calls from Democrats for him to step down.
In a wide-ranging 15-minute interview, Trump’s first since debating President Biden last month, host Sean Hannity questioned the 2024 Republican standard-bearer about the almost universal panning of his rival’s performance in the June 27 debate.
“It was clear within minutes that this was not going to be a good night for Joe Biden,” Trump said, highlighting his “very pale” appearance onstage in Atlanta.
Evaluations of Biden’s performance were also less favorable.
“When he started to talk, I thought his voice sounded weak. I didn’t really know what was going on. It just seemed weird.”
What to know about the impact of President Biden’s debate performance:
Regarding the content of his opponents’ messages, Trump said, “They’re not even answers. They’re just words that have no meaning or logic.”
Biden’s cognitive state has come under increasing scrutiny after he was nearly universally panned during the June 27 debate and a series of appearances since in which he spoke incoherently and appeared dazed.
“It’s getting harder to defend him,” the former commander in chief said of the reaction to the media’s sudden shift away from dismissing Biden’s declining abilities.
