(Washington) Joe Biden admitted for the first time in an interview broadcast on Sunday that he had given up on a final term under pressure from his Democratic camp, because of his age and the “danger” of a Donald Trump victory.
The President of the United States, who dropped out of the race for the White House on July 21, explained on CBS that Democratic congressmen had expressed serious fears about their chances of being re-elected in the partial legislative elections that will be held on the same day as the presidential election, on November 5.
“A number of my Democratic colleagues in the House [des représentants] and the Senate thought I was going to hurt them,” he acknowledged, mentioning only Nancy Pelosi.
The influential former House Democratic leader acknowledged last week that she had warned that Mr Biden’s campaign, 81, would “not lead on a path to victory”.
For three weeks, the American press has been claiming that Mr.me Pelosi, who never supported Joe Biden for a final term, and former President Barack Obama have pressured the White House tenant to throw in the towel.
“Concerned”
So, “I was concerned that if I stayed in the race, you would only ask me about that,” the person concerned responded on CBS, who conducted this short interview a few days ago at the White House.
Visibly in better shape than during his disastrous debate on June 27 live on CNN against former president and new Republican candidate Donald Trump, 78, Joe Biden also half-admitted that his age had weighed in his decision to withdraw.
PHOTO RICK BOWMER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Donald Trump
“I can barely tell how old I am […] “I have trouble getting it out of my mouth,” admitted the octogenarian, who increasingly searches for words and whose weak, hoarse voice is sometimes difficult to understand.
He assured, however, that he had “no serious health problems” and that on the evening of this calamitous debate against Donald Trump he was “really, really, having a bad day.” […] because sick”.
After his withdrawal, Mr Biden immediately endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris, 59.
Immediately on the campaign trail, the former prosecutor and senator from California, a black woman of Jamaican and Indian origin, is assured of being invested by the Democratic Party convention in Chicago from August 19 to 22, with her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
“Obligation to the country”
“I have an obligation to the country to do the most important thing that we can: we must, we must defeat Trump,” Biden said, promising to campaign on the Harris/Walz ticket, which is enjoying momentum within the Party and among Democratic voters.
PHOTO KEVIN MOHATT, REUTERS
Tim Walz and Kamala Harris
Polls published on Saturday show Kamala Harris winning against Donald Trump in three key states that could decide the fate of the election, reversing the trend of recent months and at a time when the Republican campaign is struggling.
Because for Joe Biden, his rival Donald Trump, who has shaken up American democracy in a decade, will be “a real danger to the security of America” if he returns to the White House on January 20, 2025.
“The crucial question for me remains – and this is not a joke – to preserve democracy,” hammered this veteran politician of 50 years, who ran in 2020 against President Trump at the time because democracy was, according to him, “at stake.”
The Republican camp criticizes these accusations by the Democrats against their champion.
The New York businessman promised this week a “peaceful transfer” of power, although his departure from the White House was chaotic with the storming of the Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021.
Mr Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, interviewed by three television networks on Sunday, attacked Kamala Harris, who he said was responsible for the Biden administration’s record because she was the one “in charge”.