President Joe Biden speaks as he welcomes the Texas Rangers to celebrate their 2023 World Series championship at the White House on August 8, 2024.

Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

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Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

President Biden says he bowed out of the 2024 presidential election to avoid creating a “distraction” in what he characterized as a high-stakes race that would determine the future of the country for decades to come.

Speaking on CBS in his first interview since announcing he was dropping out, Biden said his primary goal was to ensure that former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, loses in November. He noted that polls earlier in the summer showed Biden neck-and-neck with his Republican opponent.

“Although I, it was a great honor being president, I think I have an obligation to the country to do what I, the most important thing you could do, and that is we must, we must, we must defeat Trump,” Biden told CBS.

“The critical issue for me still is — not a joke — maintaining this democracy,” he added.

Although polls showed the two men in a tight race, Biden’s halting performance in a June debate with Trump resulted in some polls giving the Republican an advantage in key swing states. The ensuing panic among Democrats resulted in a pressure campaign on Biden to withdraw, culminating in his historic decision July 21.

Biden said some Congressional Democrats believed their chances in the election could be hurt by him remaining on the ticket and he also wanted to avoid any public infighting. “I thought it would be a real distraction,” he said.

After dropping out, Biden endorsed Vice President Harris, who has since become the official Democratic nominee.

But Biden said he is still concerned about the election and the months that will follow. He alluded to the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and said he was not confident that there would be a peaceful transfer of power if Harris defeats Trump in the fall.

“If Trump loses, I’m not confident at all,” Biden said.