The US president acknowledged that he was dragging Democratic lawmakers down in the polls<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US President Joe Biden has admitted that his fellow Democrats convinced him that he would \u201churt them\u201d by staying in the race for the White House, and identified former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a key figure who influenced his decision to quit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden suspended his reelection campaign in late July, almost a month after a televised debate with former President Donald Trump exposed his apparent cognitive decline. In the weeks between the debate and his withdrawal, Biden was urged by liberal pundits, Democratic lawmakers, and party donors to end his campaign, as polls showed the 81-year-old incumbent losing ground to Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe polls we had showed that it was a neck-and-neck race, it would have been down to the wire, and what happened was a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and the Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races,\u201d Biden told CBS News on Sunday, in his first interview since ending his campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic, you\u2019d be interviewing me about why did Nancy Pelosi say \u2013 why did\u2026and I thought it\u2019d be a real distraction,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pelosi was the first prominent Democrat to publicly question Biden\u2019s mental fitness after the debate. Speaking to MSNBC the following week, she declared that it would be \u201ca legitimate question to say: \u2018Is this an episode or is this a condition?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pelosi\u2019s comments opened the floodgates for scores of influential Democrats to demand Biden\u2019s withdrawal. Chief among these voices was Biden\u2019s one-time boss, former President Barack Obama. According to the Washington Post, Obama \u201ctold people he is concerned that the polls are moving away from Biden, that former president Donald Trump\u2019s electoral path is expanding and that donors are abandoning the president.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Pelosi relayed Obama\u2019s message to Biden, the newspaper claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The former House Speaker denies leading any kind of effort to force Biden out. \u201cHe may think that my statement unleashed something\u2026I don\u2019t know, because I haven\u2019t spoken to him since,\u201d she told reporters earlier this week. Pelosi refused to say whether she had directly asked Biden to suspend his campaign, but said that she felt the president \u201cdid not have a campaign that was on the path to victory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump has characterized Biden\u2019s withdrawal as a \u201ccoup\u201d by the Democratic Party. \u201cThey all dumped him, and they said, \u2018Either you get out nice or we\u2019re going to go after you.\u2019 And that\u2019s what happened. And he had no choice. There\u2019s no question about it,\u201d he told the New York Post last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n