Biden gives first interview after dropping out of presidential race
Kyiv • UNN
Joe Biden explained his decision to withdraw from the election by his desire to see Trump defeated. He called Trump a danger to democracy and promised to support Kamala Harris' candidacy.
US President Joe Biden gave his first TV interview to CBS on Sunday after dropping out of the presidential election, saying that his decision stems from a desire to see his Republican rival Donald Trump beaten, reports UNN.
Details
Last month, Biden declined to run for a second term in the White House due to growing concerns about his age, health, and mental acuity.
What did Biden say?
During a brief interview with CBS taped last week at the White House, Biden said he faced pressure from fellow Democrats about his chances of winning the next US election.
"What happened is that a lot of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought I was going to hurt them... and I was worried that if I stayed in the race, that would be a topic that you would interview me on," Biden said.
The president admitted that his performance against Trump at the first televised debate in late June was unsuccessful, but emphasized that he had "no serious health problems.
Trump is a "danger" to American democracy
"The critical issue for me is still - this is not a joke - the preservation of this democracy," Biden said.
I have an obligation to the country to do what is the most important thing we can do, and that is we must, we must, we must defeat Trump.
Calling the Republican candidate "a real danger to the security of the United States," Biden said he was "not at all confident" in a peaceful transfer of power if Trump loses a second time.
Biden fully supports Harris
The president also promised to campaign hard for Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced him as the Democratic nominee.
"I'm going to do whatever Kamala thinks I can do to help the most," he told CBS.
Harris said on Saturday that she plans to make her policy positions public next week.
Last week, she announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her vice presidential running mate.
"He's my type, he's genuine, he's smart, I've known him for decades. I think it's a great team," Biden told CBS.
According to the New York Times and Siena College polls released on Saturday, Harris is four points ahead of Trump in Pennsylvania and two other key swing states, Wisconsin and Michigan.
