Anika Begay
President Joe Biden speaks as he welcomes the Texas Rangers to celebrate their 2023 World Series championship at the White House, Aug. 8, 2024.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
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Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
President Biden says he is withdrawing from the 2024 presidential election to avoid creating a “distraction” in what he called a high-stakes race that would determine the country’s future for decades to come.
Speaking to CBS in his first interview since announcing his withdrawal, Biden said his primary goal was to ensure that former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, loses in November. He noted that polls earlier this summer showed Biden neck-and-neck with his Republican opponent.
“As much as it’s been a great honor for me to be president, I think I have an obligation to the country to do the most important thing you could do, and that is we must, we must, we must defeat Trump,” Biden told CBS.
“For me the critical issue still remains – and this is no joke – the maintenance of this democracy,” he added.
Although polls showed the two men in a tight race, Biden’s shaky performance in a June debate with Trump led some polls to give the Republican an edge in key swing states. The ensuing panic among Democrats led to a campaign to pressure Biden to withdraw, culminating in his historic decision on July 21.
Biden said some congressional Democrats felt their chances in the election would be hurt by his continued presence on the ticket and he also wanted to avoid any public infighting. “I thought it would be a real distraction,” he said.
After withdrawing, Biden endorsed Vice President Harris, who has since become the official Democratic Party nominee.
But Biden said he was still concerned about the election and the months afterward. He touched on the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and said he was unsure whether there would be a peaceful transfer of power if Harris defeated Trump in the fall.
“If Trump loses, I’m not at all sure,” Biden said.
