Greater than 100 days into Donald Trump’s return to the presidency, former President Joe Biden has weighed in on former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 election loss.
Throughout a Thursday episode of “The View,” Biden mirrored on his withdrawal from the race final July, Harris’ 107-day marketing campaign as his successor, and the end result.
Host Sara Haines requested the previous president point-blank: “Why do you think the vice president lost, and were you surprised?”
Biden responded that he “wasn’t surprised” by the result regardless of believing that Harris met the {qualifications} for the position.
“I wasn’t surprised because they went the sexist route, the whole route. ‘This is a woman,’ she’s this, she’s that, really, I’ve never seen quite as successful and consistent [of a] campaign undercutting the notion that a woman couldn’t lead the country — and a woman of mixed race,” he mentioned.
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Biden reiterated that whereas he was “very disappointed,” he nonetheless “wasn’t surprised.” What did shock him, he mentioned, was “the success to which they’ve gone in some of the attacks they’ve made.”
In the course of the 2024 marketing campaign, critics questioned every part from Harris’ racial id to her upbringing and even whether or not she actually labored at McDonald’s.
The previous president additionally mentioned that he and Harris discuss “frequently,” noting she had just lately “sought his opinion” for a purpose he declined to reveal.
“She’s got a difficult decision to make about what she’s going to do,” Biden mentioned of Harris’ subsequent transfer. “I hope she stays fully engaged. I think she’s first-rate.”
He ended on an encouraging word, saying he stays “optimistic” about Harris’ future.
In the course of the interview, Biden — later joined by his spouse, former first girl Jill Biden— additionally spoke candidly concerning the “hurtful” assaults on his cognition, saying there was “nothing to sustain” the considerations about his health for workplace.
His spouse added her personal perspective.
“Being president is not like a job. It’s a lifestyle,” she mentioned. “You live it 24 hours a day. That phone can ring at 11:00 at night or 2:00 in the morning. It’s constant. You never leave it. And Joe worked really hard.”
