In his first interview since withdrawing from the presidential race, US President Joe Biden criticized Republican nominee Donald Trump.
President Biden expressed doubts about a peaceful transition of power in January 2025, regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican wins the upcoming November election.
Biden made this statement during a Wednesday interview with CBS News. When asked about a peaceful transfer of power, he replied:
“If Trump wins, no I’m not confident at all. If Trump loses, I’m not confident at all,”
The US president lamented the public’s dismissal of Trump’s past comments about a “bloodbath”.
“He means what he says. We don’t take him seriously. He means it. All the stuff about ‘If we lose, there’ll be a bloodbath, it’ll have been a stolen election,’” he said, adding that “you can’t love your country only when you win.”
Biden was referring to a speech given by former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at an Ohio rally in March. During his campaign trail, Trump’s use of the term “bloodbath” caused controversy in the US media, with numerous outlets taking his statement out of context. The Republican frontrunner later claimed the term was meant to highlight the potential risks of Chinese competition to the American automotive manufacturing industry. He pledged to impose significant tariffs on Chinese imported cars if he wins the election, warning of a “bloodbath” for the US automotive industry if he loses.
Biden’s reference to Trump’s “bloodbath” comment coincides with an escalation of hostile rhetoric between Democrats and Republicans. Last month, following a failed assassination attempt on Trump, Biden expressed the “need for us to lower the temperature in our politics,”
The former US president narrowly escaped a bullet to the head at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania when a shot grazed his ear in an attack that resulted in one fatality and injuries to two others. The gunman, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, allegedly fired eight shots with an AR-style rifle from a nearby rooftop before being killed by a Secret Service sniper.
Kimberly Cheatle, the head of the Secret Service, submitted her resignation in July amidst scrutiny surrounding the incident.