President Joe Biden didn’t miss a step when asked if he thinks he would’ve defeated Donald Trump again had he not dropped out of the presidential race in July.
“Yes,” Biden told the cast of ABC’s “The View” Wednesday. “I was confident I would beat Trump. He’s a loser.”
The 82-year-old Democrat was poised to run against his 78-year-old Republican rival for the second time when an abysmal debate performance prompted calls for him to step aside so Vice President Kamala Harris could represent the party.
“I never fully believed the assertions that somehow there was this overwhelming reluctance of my running again,” Biden said, while conceding it “makes sense” some Democrats wanted to see a younger candidate take the reins.
According to the president, it started occurring to him that being an octogenarian isn’t easy.
“I stepped down because I started thinking about it,” Biden said. “You know, it’s hard for me to even say how old I am.”
The president found himself among friends at “The View,” where he was greeted with a standing ovation before beginning his cordial interview. Moderator Whoopi Goldberg called him her “ride or die” in an expression of eternal support.
The cast of the show, which includes former Trump administration communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin, is famously critical of Trump. When given an opportunity to take a shot at the Republican candidate he defeated in the 2020 election, Biden called Trump an “ unusual president” due to his inflammatory and often false rhetoric.
“There’s not a lot of socially redeeming value there,” Biden said to a round of applause.
He appeared confident Harris will also beat Trump by being “herself” and continuing to do what she’s doing.
“She’s smart as hell,” the president said. “She has the energy, she has the intelligence, she has the grit.”
According to Biden, he’s been able to delegate responsibilities to his second in command because of her abilities.
“As vice president there wasn’t a single thing that I did that she couldn’t do,” Biden said.
Harris will participate in her first one-on-one interview with a major television network since becoming the Democratic Party nominee when she appears on MSNBC Tuesday at 7 p.m. EDT.
National polling shows Harris holding a slight lead on Trump in what’s expected to be a very tight race.
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