The Republican contender says Biden does not want to resign and Democrats have few options to force him out.
Donald Trump has said he does not expect Joe Biden to drop his bid to be re-elected as US president, suggesting he will stay in the race because of his ego.
In a phone interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday night, the Republican nominee said Biden “may very well stay” in the race despite mounting pressure to drop out due to concerns about his physical and mental condition.
“He has an ego and he doesn’t want to resign,” Trump said. “He doesn’t want to do that. I think that’s what he wants.”
Trump, the likely Republican nominee, said the Democratic Party could do little to force Biden out of the race other than invoke a constitutional provision that allows the vice president and Cabinet members to declare the president unable to discharge his duties.
“He has all the power, he has the delegates,” Trump said. “He doesn’t have to leave.”
Trump said he hopes Vice President Kamala Harris will be the Democratic nominee if Biden steps aside.
“I think it will be her,” he said. “I think they are very concerned about the outcome if it isn’t her… They are reluctant to do it any other way.”
Trump's comments came after Biden on Monday again rejected calls for him to resign following his disastrous debate performance last month, insisting in a letter to congressional Democrats that he is committed “to seeing this race through to the end and beating Donald Trump.”
So far, six elected Democrats have publicly called on Biden to step aside since the debate, during which Biden stumbled over his words and appeared to lose his train of thought.
Several other Democratic lawmakers have publicly expressed concerns about Biden's ability to beat Trump given his age and condition.
So far, however, Biden has managed to keep most of the Democratic establishment on his side: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries both reiterated their support for the president on Monday.
In his interview with Fox News, Trump also addressed last month's debate for the first time, calling it “a strange evening.”
“I thought his voice was weak, I didn’t know exactly what was going on,” she said of Biden.
