In his first interview since withdrawing from his re-election bid, President Joe Biden told CBS Sunday Morning that his decision was driven, in part, by a desire to unite the Democratic Party behind a singular goal: preventing former President Donald Trump from reclaiming the White House.
Biden revealed that he made the historic decision at his family home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, in late July, just weeks after his debate with Trump, which raised concerns among some Democrats.
“The polls we had showed that it was a neck-and-neck race, would have been down to the wire,” Biden said. “But what happened was, a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was gonna hurt them in the races. And I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic. You’d be interviewing me about ‘Why did Nancy Pelosi say…’ ‘Why did so-and-so…’ And I thought it’d be a real distraction, number one.”
The president shared his uncertainty of his precise age.
“Number two, when I ran the first time, I thought of myself as being a transition President. I can’t even say how old I am; it’s hard for me to get it outta my mouth. But things got moving so quickly, it didn’t happen.”
Added to that combination, he said, was:
“The critical issue for me still – it’s not a joke – maintaining this democracy. I thought it was important. Because, although it’s a great honor being president, I think I have an obligation to the country to do what [is] the most important thing you can do, and that is, we must, we must, we must defeat Trump.”
Biden announced his decision on Sunday, July 21, and addressed the nation from the Oval Office three days later. Following his speech, he was joined by members of his family. Asked what he told them after his historic address, Mr. Biden replied:
“It’s what they said to me. They said – my grandchildren call me Pop, my children call me Dad. And they said they were proud, and it mattered to me a lot.”
