In his first interview since dropping out of the presidential race, US President Joe Biden told broadcaster CBS that he made the decision to preserve democracy in the United States.
Speaking on CBS News’ Sunday Morning show, Biden said: “The polls we had showed it was a very close race, it would have been decided in the last minute… But what happened was a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought it was going to hurt them in the election.”
“And I was worried that if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic. I would be interviewed about 'Why [former speaker of the House of Representatives] Nancy Pelosi said… 'Why is so-and-so…?' And I thought that would be a real distraction,” Biden added.
The 81-year-old leader dropped his re-election bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his presidential candidate in July.
Biden stressed that in addition to what the polls showed him, the main reason behind his decision was also to “preserve democracy” and “defeat Trump,” referring to former President Donald Trump, who is once again the Republican Party's presidential candidate.
“I thought it was important. Because, while it is a great honor to be president, I believe I have an obligation to the country to do what I want.” [is] “The most important thing we can do is defeat Trump.”
Polls initially showed Trump had built up a lead over Biden, even in battleground states, after Biden's performance in the June 27 debate, when he appeared to struggle to speak coherently and when his performance strengthened the argument that he no longer had the cognitive capacity to be president.
But Harris's entry into the race has changed the dynamic.
An Ipsos poll released Thursday showed Harris leading Trump nationally by 42 percent to 37 percent in the race for the Nov. 5 election.
While the Democratic Party has yet to officially announce Harris as its presidential candidate, some within the party have been questioning whether she can beat Trump.
'Ceasefire possible'
In addition to the election, Biden also spoke about Israel's war in Gaza and stressed that he still believes a ceasefire is possible before his presidency ends.
“The plan that I have put together, endorsed by the G7, the UN Security Council, etc., remains viable. And I am working literally every day, and my entire team, to make sure that it does not turn into a regional war. But it can be easy,” Biden told CBS.
Reporting from Washington DC, Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher said one of the big reasons polls were telling Biden he could not win re-election was his support for Israel in its war on Gaza, where nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, and his failure to secure a ceasefire.
“He [Biden] “He said he would send more members of his team to Israel to close the deal,” Fisher said.
On Thursday, Qatar, Egypt and the United States called on Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. In a joint statement, the three countries urged Israel and Hamas to “resume urgent talks” on August 15 in Doha or Cairo “to close all remaining gaps and begin implementing the agreement without further delay.”
But amid calls for a ceasefire, a deadly Israeli attack on a school in Gaza on Saturday has renewed calls for the United States to also stop providing steadfast support to Israel, including arms transfers that human rights advocates say are fueling atrocities in the Palestinian enclave.
Gaza's civil defense agency said more than 100 Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded on Saturday when Israel launched an attack on the al-Tabin school in Gaza City.
“The United States and its allies claim that a ceasefire is coming, but all Palestinians see is more death, displacement and despair. The genocide continues,” wrote James Zogby, co-founder and president of the Arab American Institute, on social media.
“It is time to put an end to this farce. Israel does not want peace or a ceasefire. Why do we continue to send weapons to Israel?”
Washington has faced growing domestic and international criticism, including from human rights groups, for its military support for Israel. Saturday’s airstrike came a day after a U.S. State Department spokesman said the United States will provide Israel with $3.5 billion to spend on American weapons and military equipment after Congress appropriated the funds in April.
“We know that Hamas has been using schools as places to meet and operate,” the White House said.
“But we have also repeatedly and consistently said that Israel must take measures to minimize harm to civilians.”
At least 39,790 people have been killed and 92,002 wounded in Israel's war on Gaza. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 and more than 200 were taken prisoner.
