A “CBS Sunday Morning” interview that aired on Aug. 11 was President Joe Biden’s first since pulling out of the 2024 race. Biden explained a major reason why he made the decision was so the Democratic Party could focus on what he says is the real issue: defeating former President Donald Trump.
“Polls we had showed that it was neck and neck race, would’ve been down to the wire,” Biden said. “But what happened was a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was going to 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 say?’ and I thought it would be a distraction.”
He added, “Although it’s a great honor being 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 defeat Trump.”
During that interview, Biden said he’ll campaign for Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in the election. He did not, however, specify when that would be.