Joe Biden admitted to being pushed out of the 2024 presidential race in his first interview since his decision not to seek reelection last month. The 81-year-old specifically called out Nancy Pelosi while explaining that the mounting pressure from Democrats contributed to his historic decision. Biden's colleagues feared that his campaign would hurt their chances of reelection, the US President said during his latest appearance on CBS News Sunday Morning.
Biden admits pressure from Democrats pushed him to drop out of 2024 presidential race
“A number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races. And I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic, you’d be interviewing me about why did Nancy Pelosi say -why did - and I thought it’d be a real distraction,” Biden told CBS News correspondent Bob Costa.
Following Biden's CNN debate debacle, the speculations about his exit grew rife, with the president finally giving in. Towards the end of July, he issued a lengthy statement announcing his exit from the race and subsequently endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate. Though already rumoured, Biden's exit sent shockwaves across the country, with several media outlets claiming that Pelosi orchestrated a coup against him.
“I think Pelosi continues to show she’s a master political tactician,” Democratic sources told NBC News last month before admitting that the former speaker was “50% responsible” for Biden's exit. Regardless of the claims against her, the former House speaker maintained that she played no part in Biden's exit. Aaron Bennett, a spokesperson for Pelosi, refuted the claims that Democratic leaders allegedly plotted to remove Biden. (Also Read: HT Exclusive: Pelosi spokesperson blasts ‘ludicrous’ alleged...)
{{/usCountry}}“I think Pelosi continues to show she’s a master political tactician,” Democratic sources told NBC News last month before admitting that the former speaker was “50% responsible” for Biden's exit. Regardless of the claims against her, the former House speaker maintained that she played no part in Biden's exit. Aaron Bennett, a spokesperson for Pelosi, refuted the claims that Democratic leaders allegedly plotted to remove Biden. (Also Read: HT Exclusive: Pelosi spokesperson blasts ‘ludicrous’ alleged...)
{{/usCountry}}Biden went on to say during his Sunday appearance, “When I ran the first time, I thought of myself as being a transition president. I can’t even say how old I am. It’s hard for me to get out of my mouth. And but things got moving so quickly, it didn’t happen. And the combination was that I thought it was a critical issue for me still, it’s not a joke, maintaining this democracy.”