(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Outgoing President Joe Biden reportedly regrets his decision to exit the 2024 presidential race, claiming that, unlike Vice President Kamala Harris, he could have defeated President-elect Donald Trump.
Biden has voiced his regret in “recent days,” according to anonymous sources cited by the liberal Washington Post on Saturday. He is expected to relinquish the White House to Trump on Jan. 20, 2025.
Biden withdrew from the 2024 race amid what many have described as a “coup d’état,” with powerful Democratic politicians demanding he step aside, citing concerns over his age. At 81, Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history.
The argument was that a much younger and more popular Democrat would have a greater chance of beating Trump in 2024. These predictions backfired spectacularly.
Shortly after announcing his departure, Biden endorsed Harris as his successor, effectively blocking other Democrats from seeking the nomination. Harris’s campaign failed to gain traction, leading to Trump’s landslide victory.
Despite his frustration, Biden has “been careful not to place blame on Harris or her campaign.”
Many Democrats, however, blame Trump’s victory on Biden’s decision not to exit the race earlier in the year.
“Biden ran on the promise that he was going to be a transitional president, and in effect, have one term before handing it off to another generation,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., in an interview with The Post.
“I think his running again broke that concept — the conceptual underpinning of the theory that he would end the Trump appeal, he would defeat Trumpism and enable a new era,” Blumenthal added.
The pressure to oust Biden came from some of the most powerful figures in the Democratic Party, including former President Barack Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Adding to this pressure were celebrities like George Clooney, who launched a media campaign demanding Biden step aside. These demands began after Biden’s disastrous performance in the first presidential debate with Trump.
