Former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said during an interview that Joe Biden’s “ego” will keep him clinging to the Democratic nomination, despite pressure to step aside. He also speculated that Kamala Harris would replace the president if he decides to drop out of the race.
“I think it’s very possible that he will stay. He has an ego and he doesn’t want to resign. He doesn’t want to do it,” Trump said in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News.
The Republican noted that if Biden’s critics manage to “force him out,” Vice President Kamala Harris could take over as the nominee, EFE reported.
“I think they’re very concerned about the votes,” Trump said, “and if it’s not her, I don’t think they want any other choice.”
Has accumulated enough delegates
Trump also argued that it would be impossible for Democrats to block Biden from running since he has amassed enough delegates to win the party’s nomination at next month’s Democratic National Convention.
“Unless he says, ‘I’m leaving,’ there’s nothing they can do to get him out,” the former president continued, although he added that Biden’s cabinet could possibly remove him from office using the 25th Amendment.
Donald Trump’s interview is the first he has given since the presidential debate on June 27, where Joe Biden’s performance sparked a political crisis within the Democratic Party.
Democrats call for him to step aside
Following Biden’s problems during the first debate, hosted by CNN, several congressmen have called for him to step aside from the candidacy so that someone else can represent the Democratic Party.
So far, 12 Democrats have made the request, including four who hold senior positions on House committees, who did so privately on Sunday in a call with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, local media outlets such as CNN and CBS reported.
The four representatives are Adam Smith of Washington, Jerry Nadler of New York, Mark Takano of California and Joe Morelle of New York.
Not only congressmen and legislators have joined in asking the president to consider leaving the presidential race, but also important media outlets, television commentators, editors, columnists, businessmen, artists, and others are asking him to make way for another candidate to face Trump in November, EFE reported.
But Biden has flatly rejected this idea and called on Democrats to end the internal “drama” and focus on defeating the former president in the November elections. “The question of how to move forward has been raised publicly for more than a week and it is time for this to end.”
In recent days, Biden gave an interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, where he said the only chance he could drop out of the presidential race would be if “the Lord Almighty” asked him to do so.
“If the Lord Almighty told me to get out of the race, I would get out of the race, but the Almighty is not going to get out of the race,” Biden said.
Democrats are split on whether Biden should remain the party’s presidential nominee, with 48 percent in favor and 47 percent in favor of another candidate, according to a poll by The New York Times and Siena College.
In a separate poll conducted by CBS News and YouGov, 72 percent of U.S. voters believe President Joe Biden, 81, should not run for president again.
Trump is scheduled to hold a rally on Tuesday, July 9, at his golf club in Doral, Florida, and another event on Saturday, July 13, in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The former president is also likely to reveal the name of his vice presidential candidate this week.
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