Biden names Nancy Pelosi while admitting pressure from some Democrats forced him to drop out of 2024 race

WASHINGTON, DC: President Joe Biden acknowledged that rising criticism from within his own party had influenced his decision to step away from the 2024 presidential race, during his interview with Robert Costa on 'CBS Sunday Morning'.

Biden also named Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi as among those who questioned his earlier decision to run for reelection, even after his abysmal performance in the first presidential debate against GOP nominee Donald Trump in June set alarm bells ringing with Democrats.

Pelosi recently told reporters that she has not spoken with Biden since he dropped out and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the top spot on the Democratic ticket, as per Fox News.

Joe Biden on his decision to end 2024 campaign

"The polls we had showed that it was a neck-and-neck race, it would have been down to the wire," Joe Biden told Robert Costa in his interview.

"A number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races. 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 -why did - and I thought it’d be a real distraction."

"When I ran the first time, I thought of myself as being a transition president. I can’t even say how old I am. It’s hard for me to get out of my mouth," continued the 81-year-old incumbent.

"But things got moving so quickly, it didn’t happen. And the combination was that I thought it was a critical issue for me still, it’s not a joke, maintaining this democracy..."

"Although it’s a great honor to be a president, I think I have an obligation to the country to do what I — most important thing you can do. And that is — we must, we must, we must defeat Trump," he concluded.

Internet believes Joe Biden stepped down because of a 'coup'

Netizens reacting on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to Joe Biden's statements in the interview insist that he was forced to not seek reelection by the Democratic Party. The following tweets demonstrate the prevalent take.

"We all know they blackmailed him!!" exclaimed a user.

"Of course they did I thought it was obvious," echoed another.

"Pressure, it was a coup!" wrote a third.

"Some day we will hear the full account of the threats and promises made to him to force him out. Election cheating," stated a fourth.

"Democrats don't believe in Democracy but just a total dictatorship," shared a conservative.

"Let him leave the office he's gonna reveal more things," quipped yet another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.