Scorned Biden Still Thinks He Would’ve Beaten Trump if Dems Backed Him All the Way
Those close to the president say he believes he shouldn’t have been replaced by Kamala Harris.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Joe Biden thinks he might have beaten President-elect Donald Trump in the 2024 election were he not edged out by fellow Democrats, according to a report.
Biden was strong-armed out of the race earlier this year and replaced by Kamala Harris when he flopped in a debate with a boisterous Trump and looked flimsy in the polls as a result. His performance didn’t inspire the confidence of those around him, and a younger, more energetic Harris took the reins with just three months to deliver a convincing message the nation.
Kamala Harris had just three months to win over the nation
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Trump, of course, surged to victory and Biden has been left looking back at his ousting with a sense of scorn, according to the Washington Post. That’s because he thinks he could have got his democracy-heavy campaign over the line, the publication reports, citing anonymous sources close to the 82-year-old.
Biden aides told the paper that while the incumbent president has been careful not to place blame on Harris or her campaign, he reckons he should have stayed in the race.
And, sensationally, Trump mega ally and under fire former Rep. Matt Gaetz agreed, at least superficially in attempt to deliver a parting blow to Harris. “Honestly he would have done better than Harris. Voters saw her as phony,” he wrote on X in response to the report.
The Post also reported that Biden has privately conceded that he flopped in some respects.
Trump eventually stormed to victory
Pool/Getty Images
He reportedly regrets picking Merrick Garland for attorney general, as he was slow to prosecute Trump for the January 6 riots. A conviction could have delivered a debilitating blow to Trump’s campaign, and might have seen Biden stay in the top job for consecutive terms.
He also failed to read the room politically, some allies contended. Biden stuck with his restoration of traditional democracy message when most Americans wanted to hear about how he was going to fix the economy.
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“The president has been operating on a time horizon measured in decades, while the political cycle is measured in four years,” Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, said in an interview with The Post.
The Biden administration did not immediately respond to request for comment.
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