In his first U.S. sitdown interview since leaving office, Joe Biden said that he was not surprised when Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris and won the 2024 election.
“I was very disappointed, but I was not surprised,” Biden told the hosts of ABC’s The View.
He said that didn’t mean that he thought that Harris was the most qualified to be president. Instead, he said that the Trump team “went the sexist route” by casting doubt that a woman can be president, and also by playing the race card.
“I have never seen as successful and quite as consistent a campaign undercutting the notion that a woman couldn’t lead the country, and a woman of mixed race,” Biden said.
He also said that “we underestimate the the phenomenal impact that Covid and the pandemic” had, as the disruptions continued to impact voters views of the country.
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin asked Biden about polling last year that showed that only 28% of voters felt the country was on the right track, and whether he bears some responsibility for Trump’s return to office.
“Yes, I do,” Biden said. “I was in charge and he won.”
The former president, though, blamed Trump for scuttling a bipartisan agreement on border security, which would have given Biden an election year win on a primary issue in the campaign. Instead, Trump argued that Biden was ignoring the problem and was responsible for a flood of migrants across the border.
Biden also pointed to his administration’s legislative successes, including an infrastructure bill, but said that “we weren’t quite as good as he was” when it came to marketing accomplishments.
As he did in a BBC interview earlier this week, Biden blasted Trump’s performance in office, warning that he was undermining NATO and other key alliances.
“He has had the worst 100 days that any president has ever had,” Biden said.
Biden was later joined by former First Lady Jill Biden.
His appearance came as Donald Trump was commanding attention from the Oval Office, announcing a trade agreement with the UK. Trump’s press conference was to start at 10 a.m. ET, but was delayed about 45 minutes. Inadvertently or not, it countered Biden’s appearance.
Trump has continued to blame Biden. As Joe Behar noted, he mentioned his predecessor’s name 52 times at a recent cabinet meeting.
“Why is he so fixated on you?” Behar asked.
“I beat him,” Biden said. “I’m used to deal with bullies.”
He also said that he thinks he could have beaten Trump. “He still got 7 million fewer votes. A lot of people didn’t show up,” he said.
With a standing ovation from The View audience, Biden’s appearance before a friendly crowd may be a counter to what is likely to be negative attention to his initial decision to run in 2024. Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s Original Sin is due to be published on May 20.
Biden said that he is writing his own book, a presidential memoir, and “they told me i had to do it within a year.”
The post Joe Biden Tells ‘The View’ That He Wasn’t Surprised That Donald Trump Won 2024 Election, Blames Sexism And Covid On Kamala Harris’ Loss appeared first on Deadline.
