By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-09-25 16:21:47 | Updated at 2024-09-30 21:41:09
5 days ago
President Joe Biden revealed the advice he gave Kamala Harris on beating Donald Trump and talked about the state of his relationship with Nancy Pelosi during an appearance on ABC's The View on Wednesday.
He also slammed Trump as having no redeeming social value and indicated he'd like to squash him like a bug.
The president got a rock star welcome from the hosts, who fawned over him, and the audience, which gave him a standing ovation.
'It's like having one of the Beatles at the table,' The View's Sara Haines gushed.
Whoopi Goldberg praised the president repeatedly during his 30-minute appearance on the show.
'You were my ride or die,' she said. 'Thank you for everything you have done in my lifetime.'
'He's a kissy guy,' Joy Behar said. 'i like that about him.'
When Biden first walked out to the sustained applause, Behar told him of the audience: 'They love you.'
'It's always better when you're leaving,' Biden responded.
President Joe Biden opened up to the hosts of The View
For all the groveling, Biden did open up to the hosts, talking about his decision to leave the race and being blunt of his assessment of Trump.
'I am at peace with my decision,' Biden said of exiting the presidential race.
However, he had tough words for Trump, giving some of his harshest criticism to date of Republican presidential nominee.
'There's not a lot of social redeeming value there,' Biden said of the former president. 'He really does not – does not – believe in democracy.'
'I'm not sure he even understands what he is doing,' he added.
Host Whoopi Goldberg described Trump 'as like a bug, like a bug buzzing around.' As she spoke she waved her hand around her head like she was waving a bug away.
Biden, in response, clapped his hands together like he was squashing the bug.
The audience laughed.
Goldberg praised Biden repeatedly during his live appearance on the show.
'You were my ride or die,' she said. 'Thank you for everything you have done in my lifetime.'
The president repeated his argument he could have beat Trump but decided 'I love my country more' – an argument he has used repeatedly as he described his decision to step down, which came amid pressure from his party to leave the race.
'I never fully believed that assertions that somehow there was this overwhelming reluctance on my running again. I didn't sense that,' he said. 'We were always within in range of beating this guy.'
'I was confident. I would beat Trump,' he said.
But Democrats, led by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, believed Biden would lose and take the party down with him after his disastrous debate with Trump. Party leaders pressured him to step aside.
Biden laughed when the hosts of The View asked him about Pelosi.
'Our relationship is fine,' he said.
And then he changed the subject.
Whoopi Goldberg described Donald Trump as a 'bug'
Joe Biden did a live appearance on ABC's The View
Biden, who beat Trump in the 2020 election, revealed the advice he gave Harris, describing her as a partner in his administration.
'Be yourself. She's smart as hell, number one. She's tough,' he said.
'As vice president there wasn't a single thing I did that she couldn't do. I was able to delegate her responsibility from everything from foreign policy to domestic policy,' he noted.
He was effusive in his praise of his vice president.
'I just think she has the energy the intelligence the grits the stamina and she has the guts to do the right thing,' he said of Harris.
Biden, 81, also seemed in disbelief about his age.
'It's hard for me to even say how old I am. Seriously. I give my word. It's like holy god that can't be right.'
