He also announced he would take to the campaign trail to help Vice President Kamala Harris.
President Joe Biden called himself a “transition president” in his first interview after dropping out of the race, saying he exited because of fears within his party that he could cost Democrats seats in Congress.
In a pre-recorded interview that aired on “CBS Sunday Morning” with Robert Costa, Biden said he exited the race because he feared being a “distraction” for down-ballot candidates — and specifically name-dropped Nancy Pelosi.
“What happened was a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was gonna hurt them in the races. And I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic,” Biden said, adding that he expected to face questions about Pelosi’s role. “I thought it’d be a real distraction.”
The president said it was this — combined with his belief that he was a “transition president” — that ultimately helped him make his decision to end his reelection bid. It came after a disastrous debate performance triggered dozens of Democrats to call on Biden to pass the torch, especially as he dipped in the polls against former President Donald Trump.
“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 it outta my mouth,” Biden said. “But things got moving so quickly, it — didn’t happen.”
He also announced a campaign tour in Pennsylvania with Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was on Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate shortlist.
Seems to me like less of a torch passing and more of a torch taking, akin to taking the car keys from grandpa because he’s a danger when driving now. Not that I’m complaining, because things are looking a lot better with Harris at the helm.
edit: anyone downvoting want to explain how I’m wrong? Biden insisted he was staying in the race over and over until his hand was clearly forced and now the blow is being softened with “actually I meant to drop out but things were moving too fast” even though there were multiple points he was being asked to drop (including after the debate) and he refused. Hell, he could’ve simply not run in the primary if he sincerely believed he was a “transition president” in the first place.
You’re not wrong. He’s trying to retcon everything and people are lapping it up for some reason