President Joe Biden reportedly continues to regret his decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race last summer after facing mounting pressure from Democrats to step aside, according to a new report.
The Washington Post, citing sources familiar with the discussions, revealed that Biden has recently told confidants he still believes he could have defeated Donald Trump in the November election, despite a poor debate performance in June and low approval ratings that ultimately led to his exit from the race.
After the June 27 debate, calls from within the Democratic Party for Biden to step aside intensified, with increasing urgency for another candidate to take his place. The president also lost significant funding last summer as donors questioned his ability to defeat Trump.
Biden exited the race on July 21 and then immediately endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who had just over three months to campaign before the election.
Trump ultimately defeated Harris by a margin of 2.2 million votes.
According to the Post, Biden has been cautious about blaming Harris for the loss, maintaining in conversations with aides that he believes he could have won the election.
Even when he dropped out, Biden still believed he could beat Trump – whom he defeated for his first term in 2020, according to The New York Times in September.
Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., may disagree, however.
Clyburn, who met with Biden earlier this year, told the Post that he had told the president, “Your style does not lend itself well to the environment we’re currently in,” while speaking of style versus substance.
Also, Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, told the Post: “How to govern at this moment to set the U.S. up for long-term success has one answer, and how to govern to deal with midterm and presidential elections in the very short-term might have a different answer. The president went with doing the things that really put America in a strong position.”
In reflecting on missteps—including his debate performance—Biden has also expressed regret over appointing Merrick Garland as attorney general, according to the Post.
Biden reportedly chose Garland as a consensus pick based on advice from his aides. However, he has privately voiced frustration, believing Garland acted too slowly in prosecuting Trump while also asserting that his son Hunter was pursued too aggressively.
Other Democrats placed the blame for Harris’ loss on party leaders including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), including Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman.
During an interview with Politico, Fetterman went after Pelosi when asked if he thought Biden should have dropped out of the race after the terrible debate with Trump in late June.
“People like [Nancy] Pelosi, she really tried to — what’s the word I’m looking for? — she embraced this ‘she’s the godmother, she’s the enforcer.’ And now she’s blaming Biden,” Fetterman said.
“Well, you can’t have it both ways. You got what you wanted,” he added, referring to Biden’s ouster and the installment of Harris, “and now you’re still blaming Biden.”
Pelosi claimed that Biden should not have endorsed Harris after dropping out and suggested that the decision had led to her embarrassing defeat.
“I think it’s really ironic that you have a woman at age 84, and she is still hanging on. Why not give a younger generation an opportunity to occupy that seat?” Fetterman continued.
He then spoke out against Harris and other Democrats who say Trump followers are “fascists” because of their political views.
“I love people that are absolutely going to vote for Trump. They’re not fascists. They’re not those things. I think if you go to the tickle switch, use those kinds of terms, then it’s kind of hard to walk back on those things,” he continued.
“That’s kind of a word that really isn’t part of the vernacular for voters. Scolding harder or clutching the pearls harder, that’s never going to work for Democrats,” Fetterman concluded.
