I’m not surprised by Kamala’s election loss — Joe Biden

Former US President, Joe Biden says he’s “not surprised” by Kamala Harris’ 2024 election loss — not because of her qualifications, but because of the sexism and racism he believes she faced throughout her campaign.

“I wasn’t surprised, not because I didn’t think the vice president was the most qualified person to be president … I wasn’t surprised because they went the route of — the sexist route, the whole route,” Biden said Thursday during an interview on ABC’s The View.

“I’ve never seen quite as successful and consistent campaign, undercutting the notion that a woman couldn’t lead the country — and a woman of mixed race,” he added.

Despite Harris’ defeat, Biden insisted that if he had stayed in the race, he would have beaten Donald Trump again.

“Yeah, he still got seven million fewer votes,” he said, pointing to his 2020 popular vote victory.

Biden’s comments come as he begins to reemerge publicly after months away from the spotlight. He recently gave a speech on Trump’s threat to Social Security and spoke at Harvard.

He revealed that he’s currently writing a book and reflecting on his future. “Things are moving along and we’re getting squared away trying to figure out what the most significant and consequential role I can play, consistent with what I’ve done in the past,” Biden said.

On his relationship with Harris, Biden said they had spoken as recently as Wednesday. He avoided giving specifics but emphasized they remained close and spoke frequently.

“She’s got a difficult decision to make about what she’s going to do. I hope she stays fully engaged. I think she’s first-rate,” he said. “But we have a lot of really good candidates as well. So, I’m optimistic. I’m not pessimistic.”

Rumors have circulated about Harris potentially running for governor of California or launching another presidential campaign in 2028. But Biden declined to comment on her future moves.

Asked whether he advised Harris to closely align herself with him during her campaign, Biden said no.

“I did not advise her to say that,” he said, referencing Harris’ October appearance on The View where she stated there wasn’t “a thing that comes to mind” she would have done differently from Biden.

“She was part of every success we had. We’d argue like hell, by the way,” Biden said, calling their disagreements signs of a healthy working relationship.

Still, some progressives remain unsatisfied. Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said Biden is in “denial.”

“Joe Biden is in denial about the fact that neither he nor Kamala Harris should have been the 2024 Democratic nominee. Voters demand authentic anti-establishment figures… and that’s not Biden or Harris,” Green said.

When asked if he should have exited the race earlier and endorsed Harris sooner, Biden responded that she had plenty of time to campaign and that they were united in decision-making throughout their term.

As for his relationship with former President Barack Obama, Biden didn’t directly address tensions.

He instead said, “The only reason I got out of the race was because I didn’t want to have a divided Democratic Party … I thought it was better to put the country ahead of my interest, my personal interest.”

Biden acknowledged concerns about his age — 81 during the campaign — but defended his record.

He closed with optimism about the party’s future: “I hope she stays fully engaged. We’ve got a lot of good candidates, and I’m optimistic.”

(ABC News)

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