Biden singles out Pelosi in first interview about dropping out

President Joe Biden gave his first televised interview on Sunday since dropping out of the 2024 presidential race. Biden highlighted his concerns about former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., coming out against him if he stayed in the race.

Biden said House and Senate Democrats pressured him to drop out, worrying he was hurting their chances of reelection, the New York Post reported. Biden gave Rep. Pelosi a special mention.

"A number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races," Biden said in the CBS News Sunday Morning interview. "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 [something] . . . and I thought it’d be a real distraction.

Biden said he saw himself in 2020 as merely a transition president and that the importance of "maintaining this democracy" influenced his decision to drop out.

Criticism of Biden's mental fitness intensified after a dismal debate performance in June that saw many Democrats publicly call on their party's standard-bearer to step down from his run for re-election.

Biden quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris after dropping out. Harris has since gained traction in the polls against former President Donald Trump.

Reports have suggested Pelosi led the charge to convince Biden to drop out, including by rallying other Democrats against Biden. Biden did not elaborate on this during his televised interview, and Pelosi has denied the accusations.