President Biden, who has long said he is running for the White House in 2020 because of his alarm about former President Donald Trump, decided to leave the 2024 presidential race last month. He says his decision was driven in part by his belief that he needed to keep the nation’s focus on Trump and unify the Democratic Party ahead of the November election.
In one interview with “CBS News Sunday Morning”, Broadcast Sunday, Aug. 11, Biden told CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa more about his historic decision not to seek re-election, echoing his earlier statement that he would serve as a transitional figure in American presidential politics.
“When I first ran, I thought of myself as an interim president,” Biden, 81, told Costa. “I can’t even say how old I am – it’s hard for me to get it out of my mouth.”
Biden expressed support for Vice President Kamala Harris, who will be nominated as the Democratic standard bearer at the party’s national convention in Chicago this month.
“We must, we must, we must defeat Trump,” Biden said in the interview, which took place in the Treaty Room of the White House residence.
“While it’s a great honor to be president, I think I have an obligation to the country to do what I — the most important thing you can do. And that is — we must, we must, we must defeat Trump,” he said .
Mr. Biden announced he was leaving the 2024 race and endorsed Harris as the Democratic Party’s nominee on Sunday, July 21 — nearly a month after his debate against Trump, which concerned some of his Democratic colleagues and prompted dozens to urge him to withdraw.
In one Oval office address on July 24, Mr. Biden that “nothing, nothing, can get in the way of saving our democracy,” including his ambition for a second term.
A CBS News investigation released on August 4 showed Harris taking off with a 1-point lead nationally and tied across the battleground states. Mr. Biden was down by 5 points when he left the race.
Harris hopes Tim Walz, the upbeat two-term governor of Minnesota, will give her Democratic ticket another boost and help her win over key battleground states.
