President Biden offered more details about why he dropped out of the presidential race during an interview with CBS News on Sunday, saying his Democratic colleagues told him his campaign would hurt party members in down-ballot races.
“A number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought it was going to hurt them in the races. And I was concerned that if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic, I would be interviewed about why Nancy Pelosi said 'why she did it' and I thought that would be a real distraction,” Biden told CBS News' Bob Costa.
Biden announced in late July that he would drop out of the presidential race and quickly endorsed Vice President Harris. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer and other Democrats reportedly called on Biden to drop out privately in the weeks following his first debate with Donald Trump.
“The polls we had showed it was a very close race, it would have been decided very closely,” Biden added.
President Biden sat down with CBS News' Bob Costa for an interview that aired Sunday, August 11, 2024. (Screenshot/CBS)
PELOSI ASKS HERSELF IF “EVERYTHING IS FINE” BETWEEN HER AND BIDEN: “YOU'D HAVE TO ASK HIM”
Pelosi recently revealed that she and Biden have not spoken since he dropped out of the race.
The former House speaker also continues to deny that she asked the president to step down. In a recent interview, she told reporters that the president had no path to victory.
“Now I was asking for a better campaign. We did not have a campaign that was on track to win. Members of their districts knew that,” Pelosi told reporters.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Biden. (Getty Images)
CLICK HERE FOR MORE MEDIA AND CULTURE COVERAGE
“When I first ran, I considered myself a transitional president. I can't even tell you how old I am. It's hard for me to say. But things moved so fast that it didn't happen. And the combination was that I thought it was a critical issue for me still, it's not a joke, to maintain this democracy,” Biden said during the interview with Costa.
After firmly telling her Democratic colleagues she would remain in the race, Pelosi joined the hosts of MSNBC's “Morning Joe,” one of the president's favorite news shows, and indicated her decision was not final.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“It's up to the president to decide whether he's going to run or not. We all encourage him to make that decision because time is running out,” Pelosi told MSNBC when asked if she would support his re-election bid.
Pelosi has said she didn't mean to embarrass him during her “Morning Joe” interview, but acknowledged it reopened the discussion about whether he should be replaced on the ticket, according to reports.
“Maybe he thinks my statement sparked something, but I don't know because I haven't talked to him since,” Pelosi recently told reporters, according to the Washington Post.
