President Joe Biden, in his first television interview since withdrawing from the White House race, issued a stark warning about the dangers of a potential Donald Trump presidency.
Speaking to CBS News in a pre-recorded interview aired on Sunday, Biden cautioned that Trump’s victory would pose a significant threat to American security.
Biden, who has maintained a low profile since his debate performance raised concerns about his age and mental acuity, appeared frail but composed during the interview.
He reiterated his commitment to stopping Trump from returning to power, citing the need to protect democracy.
The 81-year-old former president attributed his decision to exit the race to concerns from fellow Democratic lawmakers that his candidacy would harm their reelection chances.
He emphasized that his primary objective remains defeating Trump and preserving democracy.
Biden expressed pride in his accomplishments, including job creation, investment, and COVID-19 recovery efforts.
He also pledged to actively campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris, who has replaced him on the ballot.
The outgoing president said he had expected to serve only one term when he won in 2020, but that he had been persuaded to stay on.
“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 out of my mouth, but things got moving so quickly, it didn’t happen,” he told CBS’s Robert Costa.
Trump’s light campaign schedule has come under scrutiny, and it was his running mate, J.D. Vance, who blitzed the Sunday morning political talk shows.
Appearing on CNN, ABC and CBS, Vance fielded questions about white supremacist attacks on his family, child care, asylum seekers and abortion.
In one testy exchange with CBS’s Margaret Brennan, Vance complained that she had asked “six questions about abortion.”
“I’m still trying to get a clear answer,” Brennan retorted.
He also claimed that Harris was the one “calling the shots” in the Biden administration.
“If she’s not calling the shots, Dana, who is?” he told CNN’s Dana Bash.
AFP
