New York: Claiming that his decision to withdraw midway was made in the interest of maintaining unity within the Democratic Party, outgoing US President Joe Biden said on Friday that he would have defeated Donald Trump in the presidential elections had he remained in the race.
His response was to the question that whether he regretted his decision not to run for re-election and whether his decision to quit the presidential race, replacing Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee, made Trump’s win easier. “I don’t think so. I think I would have beaten Trump, could have beaten Trump and I think that Kamala (Harris) could have beaten Trump, would have beaten Trump,” Biden said, while addressing reporters at White House.
🇺🇸BIDEN: I WOULD HAVE BEATEN TRUMP; I COULD HAVE BEATEN TRUMP
“I would have beaten Trump. Could have beaten Trump.
And I think that I could have beaten Trump.
Would have beaten Trump.
I thought it was important to unify the party when the party was worried about whether or… pic.twitter.com/MQ8YRP2eFD
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 10, 2025
Months ahead of the election, Biden had announced his withdrawal from the presidential race last year in July. He had endorsed Vice President Harris as his replacement. Prior to this, he had faced criticism from the party after a dismal performance in a presidential debate with Trump. There were also concerns about his health.
Biden, 82, said he believed it was important to keep the party united ahead of the election. “It wasn’t about–I thought it was important to unify the party and when the party was worried about whether or not I was going to be able to move even though I thought I could win again, I thought it was better to unify the party,” he said.
“It was the greatest honour of my life to be president of the United States but I didn’t want to be the one who caused a party that wasn’t unified to lose an election. And that’s why I stepped aside. But I was confident she could win,” Biden said.
The outgoing president was confident that Harris was fully capable of running for the presidency again in four years. “I think that’s a decision she might think she’s competent to run again in four years. That’ll be a decision for her to make,” Biden told reporters at a news conference. Biden will give his farewell address from his Oval office on Jan 15.
