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13-08-2024
WASHINGTON: President Biden sat down on Wednesday with CBS News Sunday Morning’s Robert Costa at the White House in his first interview since announcing his decision to end his reelection campaign and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for president.
In the interview, which aired Sunday, the president reflected on his accomplishments, the challenges he faced in office and his confidence in Harris to carry the torch of his administration.
At the same time, he underscored the high stakes of the 2024 election, expressing that he’s “not confident at all” in a peaceful transfer of power if former President Donald Trump loses the election to Harris in November.
“He means what he says,” Biden said of Trump. “All the stuff about, ‘if we lose, there’ll be a bloodbath. It’ll have to be a stolen election.’”
Biden added that, if he wins, Trump would pose a “genuine danger to American security.”
As president, Biden generally avoided holding news conferences and participating in sit-down interviews.
After his first presidential debate with Trump in June, however, Biden gave two extended interviews with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and NBC’s Lester Holt, during which he faced tough questions about the strength of his candidacy. He ultimately announced his decision to step out of the race on July 21.
In his latest interview with CBS, Biden offered further reflection on his decision to withdraw while discussing his role in his remaining five months in office as both the sitting president and a supporter of his chosen successor, Harris.
Biden said his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race was, in part, due to pressure he faced from Democratic colleagues.
“The polls we had showed that it was a neck-and-neck race, would have been down to the wire,” he 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.
“Number two, when I ran the first time, I thought of myself as being a transition president,” he continued. “I can’t even say how old I am. It’s hard for me to get it out of my mouth. But things got moving so quickly, it didn’t happen.”
While addressing his age, and his disastrous debate performance on June 27, Biden insisted there has never been a serious concern about his health.
“All I can say is watch,” he said of those who’ve criticized his health. “Look, I had a really, really bad day in that debate because I was sick but I have no serious problem.”
Biden said he talks to Harris “frequently,” and called her newly announced running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a “great guy.”
“As we say, if we grew up in the same neighborhood we’d have been friends,” Biden said of Walz. “He’s real. He’s smart. I’ve known him for several decades. I think it’s a hell of a team.”
Biden said he plans on campaigning for Harris, noting that he and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro are putting together a campaign tour in Pennsylvania.
“I’ll be campaigning in other states as well,” he said. “I’m going to be doing whatever Kamala thinks I can do to help most.”
Biden said that a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is “still possible,” pointing to his three-phase plan proposed in June that would see it through. (Int’l News Desk)
