The Bidens appear dug in as they prepare to leave the White House Monday.
Joe Biden said in a recent exit interview that he was confident he could have beaten Donald Trump if he stayed in the race despite widespread polling — including private Democratic polling — that suggested a massive defeat.
Now, the outgoing first lady suggested in a separate interview she’s still harboring a grudge against longtime friend Nancy Pelosi, who helped lead the charge to pressure the Democratic incumbent to step aside after his disastrous debate performance against Trump.
From The Washington Post’s Kara Voght:
“Like I said,” Jill says now, seated in the Green Room of the White House on the first Sunday of January, “I’ve been thinking a lot about relationships.”
Her face, nearly pearlescent with lustrous foundation, betrays no particular emotion. She’s holding a china cup.
Tea. With honey and lemon.
“It’s been on my mind a lot lately, and — "
Jill pauses.
“We were friends for 50 years.” She is using her teacher’s voice now. “It was disappointing.”
Joe Biden told USA Today in an exclusive sit-down interview that he believed he could have won another four years in the White House if he stayed in the race and didn’t bow out and endorse his vice president, Kamala Harris. He cited his internal polling at the time, but didn’t mention public polling that showed Trump trouncing the incumbent and signs that Republicans could make gains in other races due to Biden’s unfavorable numbers
Longtime Republican turned never-Trumper Sarah Longwell scoffed at the idea Biden could have won.
“Kamala Harris saved his a-- from getting absolutely annihilated and, also, taking many more senators and many more house members down with him,” Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, said on “The Next Level” podcast.
Public polling showed Biden losing to Trump that Harris ultimately won, like Virginia. And David Plouffe, who was a senior adviser to Harris’ campaign later described the internal polling for Biden and the party as “gruesome” and “catastrophic.”
