Biden: “A number of my Democratic colleagues… thought I was gonna hurt them in the races”

President Biden has spoken to CBS News about his decision to end his re-election campaign.

In his first interview since dropping out of the race, Biden told “CBS Sunday Morning” that he made his decision, in part, so that the Democratic Party could fully concentrate on preventing former President Donald Trump from regaining the White House.

Biden said that he made his decision at his family home in Delaware, in late July, just weeks after his debate with Trump, which caused concern in some Democratic circles after Biden’s performance.

“The polls we had showed that it was a neck-and-neck race, would have been down to the wire,” Biden said. “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. You’d be interviewing me about ‘Why did Nancy Pelosi say…’ ‘Why did so-and-so…’

“And I thought it’d be a real distraction, number one.

“Number two, when I ran the first time, I thought of myself as being a transition President. I can’t even say how old I am; it’s hard for me to get it outta my mouth. But things got moving so quickly, it didn’t happen.”

Now that Vice President Kamala Harris has taken his place atop the Democratic ticket, with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, Biden was asked if he plans on campaigning with Harris. He said yes.

“I talk to her frequently, and by the way, I’ve known her running mate is a great guy. As we say, if we grew up in the same neighborhood, we’d have been friends. He’s my kind of guy. He’s real, he’s smart. I’ve known him for several decades. I think it’s a hell of a team.”

When asked about his health and his ability to be on the campaign trail and to finish his term, which ends in January, Biden said:

“All I can say is, ‘Watch.’ That’s all. Look, I had a really, really bad day in that debate because I was sick. But I have no serious problem.”

SEE THE CBS NEWS INTERVIEW HERE