Biden: I am responsible for Trump's election, but Harris' failure is due to gender discrimination

Former President Biden stated in a television interview that he bears "responsibility" for Trump's return to the White House and criticized his successor for failing to protect national interests.

"Yes, I think I have responsibility because he won when I was in office, so I have to take responsibility," Biden said while answering questions about his declining approval ratings and voter concerns over border security and inflation.

Evaluating Trump's return to power, Biden said that his successor "frankly did a very poor job in upholding American interests."

"I think the greatest alliance in the world is NATO, and it's no joke, but he messed it up," he said. "His first 100 days were the worst of any president."

The White House issued a statement regarding Biden's interview: "Joe Biden is a disgrace to this country and his position. His mental capacity has clearly diminished, and it is baffling that his staff thought it was a good idea to let him give interviews and ramble nonsensically in response to each question. Unfortunately, it feels like abuse." Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, stated.

Biden insisted on running for president until he dropped out last July, receiving strong criticism from within the Democratic Party. Polls showed that the majority of the public believed he was too old to serve as president and performed poorly in polls against Trump. The turning point came after Biden's obvious verbal slip-up during a debate with Trump.

Despite his insistence that there had been no significant decline in his cognitive abilities, Biden again stumbled over his words during the interview, at which point his wife took over the conversation.

The former president defended his decision to remain in the race until late July, as he mentioned in an interview with the BBC released on Wednesday. He stated that Vice President Kamala Harris still had "a full six months" to prove herself to the American public.

When asked if he was surprised by Harris' loss in November, he said he was not surprised and accused Republicans of using a sexist campaign strategy against her. "I'm not surprised—not because I think the vice president isn't qualified to be president—but she is fully qualified. She is qualified to be President of the United States," Biden said. "I'm not surprised because they went the route of sexism."

His relationship with Harris remains good. She once defended him, saying there was "nothing I would have done differently."

In response, Biden said, "First of all, I didn't suggest that she say that; she has to be herself. And she has. She is a participant in every success we've had," he added.

Biden said he remains in contact with Harris, who sought his advice on her next political moves. She is considering running for governor of California or seeking re-election to the White House.

"She needs to make a tough decision about what comes next," he said. "I think she's outstanding, but we also have many excellent candidates. So I'm optimistic, not pessimistic."

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1831611264582668/

Disclaimer: This article represents only the author's views.