Biden still regrets ending re-election campaign, feels he could have defeated Donald Trump: Report

Joe Biden still feels bad about withdrawing from presidential run in 2024 and thinks he could have defeated Republican leader Donald Trump, according to a new report.

He stepped out from the contest during the summer after an embarrassing first debate against Trump, low approval ratings, and declining revenue.

Insiders familiar with the discussions told the Washington Post that Biden recently expressed confidence that he could have beaten Trump in November, despite the challenges his campaign experienced.

Following his dismal debate performance on June 27, Biden ultimately announced his retirement from the campaign on July 21, as calls for his withdrawal from the race became louder among Democrats.

He delayed his endorsement of Kamala Harris, giving the vice president just three months to run against Trump. Harris ultimately lost the popular vote by 2.2 million votes and was swept in all of the battleground states.

Biden refutes to hold Harris responsible for his withdrawal

The US President told associates he would have won the election but has declined to hold Harris responsible for his withdrawal.

Biden has come under fire from Harris‘ followers for both pursuing another term and for waiting too long to resign.

Richard Blumenthal, a Democratic senator from Connecticut, told the Post that “Biden ran on the promise that he was going to be a transitional president, and in effect, have one term before handing it off to another generation.”

Biden regrets another wrong decisions

Biden acknowledged to his advisers that he had made other errors, such as choosing Merrick Garland to be attorney general, the outlet reported.

Biden has stated in private that while his Justice Department vigorously prosecuted and found his son Hunter guilty, Garland was too sluggish to bring charges against Trump after January 6.

The outgoing President pardoned son Hunter earlier last month, ignoring his previous declaration that he would not utilise his presidential authority to do so.