Former President Joe Biden said he "wasn't surprised" Kamala Harris lost the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump and claimed that had he stayed in the race, he would have won. The remarks came during a wide-ranging appearance Thursday on ABC's The View, marking only his second television interview since leaving office.
"I wasn't surprised, not because I didn't think the vice president wasn't the most qualified person to be president. She is," Biden said, before asserting that Trump "got 7 million fewer votes" in 2024 than in their 2020 matchup. "A lot of people didn't show up," he added, referencing the steep drop in voter turnout.
Trump's victory over Harris included flipping seven key battleground states: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia. The win marked the first time since 2004 that a Republican candidate secured the popular vote.
Asked by co-host Joy Behar why Trump remained so focused on him, Biden replied, "I beat him."
The former president also addressed persistent speculation that he pressured Harris not to contradict his administration's policies during her campaign. When co-host Sunny Hostin reminded him that Harris once said she wouldn't have changed "a thing" about his presidency, Biden responded: "I did not advise her to say that." He added, "She has to be her own person - and she was. We'd argue like hell by the way."
Although Biden praised Harris as "first rate" and said she was "qualified to be president of the United States of America," he attributed her loss in part to what he described as a sexist and racially charged campaign run by Trump and his allies. "I wasn't surprised because they went the route of a, the sexist route, whole route, this is a woman, she's this, she's that," Biden said. "I've never seen quite, uh, as successful and consistent campaign undercutting the notion that a woman couldn't lead the country - and a woman of mixed race."
After the election, Democratic firm Blueprint cited inflation, illegal immigration, and Harris' focus on cultural topics like transgender issues as the top reasons for her defeat. Biden did not reference any polling data but maintained that Trump's campaign "played that... fairly well."
The 46th president also reflected on his own withdrawal from the 2024 race, noting that concerns over his performance in the June 27 debate with Trump-widely seen as a turning point-accelerated pressure within the Democratic Party. Biden admitted the night was "terrible" and attributed his poor showing to illness, which he called "no excuse."
Jill Biden also appeared on The View and defended her husband's record. "Joe looked at me, and he said, 'Well, I screwed up.' I said, 'Yeah, you did, Joe, but we have hundreds of people waiting for us. Put your shoulders back, walk out there, be who you are.'"
Biden said he exited the race not out of fear of losing to Trump but to avoid splitting the party. "I didn't want to have a divided Democratic Party," he said. "I thought it was better to put the country ahead of my interest, my personal interest."
Asked about rumors that Harris is considering a run for California governor, Biden said, "She's got a difficult decision to make about what she's going to do." He added, "I hope she stays fully engaged."
Biden said the two remain in close contact and had spoken "yesterday," though he declined to elaborate on the topic. He characterized Harris' loss as part of a broader global trend. "Liberal democracies all across America, all across the world lost last time," Biden said. "I think we underestimate the phenomenal negative impact that COVID had and the pandemic had on people, on attitudes, on optimism, on a whole range of things."
