President Biden privately regrets dropping out of the presidential race this year. He believes he could’ve beaten President-elect Trump if his own party hadn’t pressured him out.
Biden and some of his aides have been telling confidantes recently that he should have stayed in the race. They’re convinced he could’ve won a second term, according to the Washington Post.
At 82, Biden bowed out in July. Democratic elites pushed him to quit after poor poll numbers and a shaky debate performance in late June. His answers were incoherent, and he stumbled over his words.
Kamala Harris took Biden’s place on the ticket. She was easily defeated by Trump, who will begin his second term on Jan. 20.
“Aides say the president has been careful not to place blame on Harris or her campaign,” the report noted.
But Biden admitted in August to CBS News that Nancy Pelosi led the charge to have him step down. Democrats in Congress were worried he’d hurt their reelection chances.
In September, Biden told “The View” he was sure he could’ve beaten Trump in November.
Some Democrats blame Biden for Harris’ loss, feeling he should’ve dropped out earlier. “Biden ran on the promise that he was going to be a transitional president,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said. “I think his running again broke that concept.”
Biden’s old-school governing style didn’t always fit with modern politics, some of his advisers say. “The president has been operating on a time horizon measured in decades,” said Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser. “The political cycle is measured in four years.”
In recent weeks, Biden has admitted to some of his mistakes. He called his debate performance a “screw up” and said he was “stupid” for not putting his name on pandemic relief checks, unlike Trump in 2020.
Biden and his team have also acknowledged that they could’ve done a better job lifting Americans’ spirits during the pandemic. They’ve also been critical of their own choices, like picking Merrick Garland as attorney general.
Biden has told confidantes he regrets that decision. He felt Garland was too aggressive with Hunter Biden’s case and too slow to prosecute Trump over the January 6 riots, charges that were eventually dismissed.