Biden confirms Pelosi, Dems pushed him out of the race

President Joe Biden admitted on Sunday in an interview with CBS that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other prominent Democratic lawmakers forced him to drop his presidential reelection race even as he claimed he never really imagined a second presidential term.

“The polls we had showed that it was a neck and neck race, woulda been down to the wire. But what happened was a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was gonna hurt them in the races. And I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic,” Biden told CBS News Sunday Morning host Robert Costa.

“And I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic — you'd be interviewing me about why did Nancy Pelosi say [something] … and I thought it'd be a real distraction,” Biden told CBS.

During his 2020 campaign, when his age appeared to be an issue, the now-octenegarian had claimed that he believed he would be a "bridge" candidate. When he relinquished his campaign, he said he was "passing the torch" to the "next generation."

After Biden’s often incoherent debate appearance with former President Donald Trump on June 27, Democrats, Democratic donors and much of the mainstream media began questioning Biden’s ability to run again. The June debate was one of the earliest ever in general election history in the US.

Biden still maintains that if he stayed as the Democratic presidential nominee, the race with Trump would have been "neck and neck." All national polls paint a different picture, showing Trump with a healthy lead in most battleground states.

“The polls we had showed that it was a neck and neck race, woulda been down to the wire. But what happened was a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was gonna hurt them in the races. And I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic,” Biden said.

Biden was quick to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement, as did former President Barack Obama. Biden's announcement that he was dropping out and the announcement of Harris taking his place happened on the same day. Within 48 hours, the newly minted Dem candidate's supporters were claiming that she was the "grassroots" candidate, though she had not received a single vote.

Although Pelosi continued to claim Biden had her full confidence to seek reelection she was apparently working behind the scenes, along with Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to upend Biden, the Daily Mail reported. Immediately after ending his bid, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his spot on the ticket in November. 

Despite vociferously pledging several times that he would not step down, Biden now says he never imagined serving more than one term and being a link to a new generation of Democratic leadership. “When I ran the first time, I thought of myself of being a transition president,” Biden said.

“I can't even say how old I am, it's hard for me to get out of my mouth," he continued. "But, things got moving so quickly, it didn't happen.”

Biden was addressing Pelosi’s involvement in his decision to end his second presidential bid even as White House senior advisor Anita Dunn leaves her current job to work for a Kamala Harris super PAC.

“You know, clearly there were leaders of the party who decided to go ahead and go very public. And that gave permission to other people to go public,” she said.

Asked about rumors Biden was furious, Pelosi told the New Yorker magazine, “He knows that I love him very much. I pray so. I cry so.” She also recently told Rolling Stone that she has “never been that impressed” by Biden’s reelection campaign.