Biden says he dropped out of 2024 race so Dems could focus on House, Senate seats

President Joe Biden briefly spoke to reporters on Monday night, saying that he decided to step out of the campaign, ceding the top of the ticket to Kamala Harris, so Democrats could focus on winning House and Senate seats. He made the candid comments before boarding Air Force One and leaving Chicago after delivering the opening night keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.

"Are you angry with Nancy Pelosi?" a reporter asked. Pelosi reportedly issued an ultimatum the night before Biden dropped out of the presidential race, threatening to go public with her concerns over whether Biden could win a second term against Trump.

"No, I haven’t spoken to Nancy at all. I mean, look, no one influenced my decision," Biden said. "No one knew it was coming. What I decided to do was — I didn’t want to — To the extent that the party that they’d lose Senate seats or House seats, that would have been the topic you would have had to cover the entire remainder of the campaign. And it wasn’t worth it."

Closing out his speech on Monday night, Biden said "we need you to vote. We need you to keep the Senate. We need you to win back the House of Representatives. We need you to beat Donald Trump." He said the Harris-Walz ticket would " lead America forward, creating more jobs, standing up for workers, growing the economy. Lower the cost for American families, so they just have a little more breathing room."

Currently, Democrats have a slim majority in the House with Kamala Harris' tie-breaker vote factored in, and Republicans have an eight-seat majority of Democrats in the House.