Joe Biden still believes he could have beaten Trump, regrets withdrawing from presidential race
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World
December 29, 2024 22:10
washington - President Joe Biden is reported to still believe that he could have defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 election and regrets his decision to withdraw from the race.
The internal pressure within the Democratic Party on President Joe Biden to resign grew too strong after a disastrous televised debate against his Republican rival Donald Trump, where Biden struggled to articulate his thoughts. His approval ratings among the American population plummeted, and critical donations declined. Consequently, Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race on July 21, three and a half weeks after the infamous TV debate.
His Vice President Kamala Harris was considered by Biden to be his ideal successor. However, due to Biden's late decision to withdraw, Harris only had three months to campaign against Trump. Ultimately, Trump won all crucial swing states and surprisingly secured the popular vote with a 2.2 million vote margin.
According to reports, Biden has never blamed Harris for losing the election, but he still believes that he could have defeated Trump. Many Democrats feel that Biden held onto power for too long and that Harris would have had a better chance with a normal campaign. Senator Richard Blumenthal stated, "Biden campaigned with the promise of being a transitional president who would serve one term before passing the torch to the next generation. I think his re-entry into the race shattered that idea."
Biden also reportedly regrets appointing Merrick Garland as Attorney General in the case of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. He is said to have privately expressed dissatisfaction with Garland's handling of the prosecution against Trump, especially considering that the Justice Department prosecuted and convicted his son Hunter. Biden recently granted his son a pardon, despite earlier claims that he would not use his power to do so, sparking criticism from both opponents and allies.
Biden appointed Garland the day after the riot, believing that Garland could restore the honor, integrity, and independence of the Justice Department. Garland's investigation led to the appointment of Jack Smith as special prosecutor. However, no trial took place before the elections. With Trump now able to claim presidential immunity, Smith officially requested last month to terminate his two cases against Trump.