CNN anchor Jake Tapper he ripped off President Biden on Sunday for what he described as a “preposterous” claim during a recent press conference that Vice President Kamala Harris could have defeated President-elect Donald Trump.
“Okay, first of all, I just think Kamala would beat Trump? She ran against him, and she lost, so it’s just meaningless,” Tapper said during “State of the Union.”
Biden told reporters on Friday that his decision to drop out was more about unifying the party, saying, “And I think if Kamala could have beaten Trump, she would have beaten Trump.” according to Mediaite. Biden has repeatedly said that he believes would win general election against Trump.
“I think he was trying to back off after spending the last few months, basically, belittling her,” the CNN anchor added.
CNN’s Jake Tapper called out President Biden on Sunday for claiming that Kamala Harris could have beaten Trump in the election. (Screenshot/CNN)
Former Biden communications aide Kate Bedingfield appeared to defend the president and said he was probably trying to give Harris “praise” for running a strong campaign.
“I think I could beat Trump, I could beat Trump. And I think if Kamala could beat Trump, he would beat Trump. It wasn’t about — I thought it was important to unify the party. And when the party was worried about whether I could move or no, I thought, even though I thought I could win again, I thought it was better to unify the party,” Biden told reporters Friday.
Bedingfield said Tapper’s analysis was unfair and said, “I think what he was trying to do there was acknowledge that she ran a strong race, that he’s proud of her. That’s how he articulated it.”
President Joe Biden speaks at a reception for new Democratic members of Congress in the State Dining Room of the White House, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Cenet)
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To the question of ua USA Today interview asked if he would have won if he hadn’t dropped out on July 21, Biden replied, “It’s presumptuous to say that, but I think so.” USA Today summarized that he continued “adding that he based that view on polls he reviewed.”
CNN guru Harry Enten said Biden’s claims are nonsense.
“Based on the polling data, I categorize Biden’s statement that he could have beaten Trump as ‘utter lunacy,'” Enten wrote in an X post on Wednesday. “Biden was well behind Trump when he dropped out. Biden has never led in all of 2024. And no incumbent who has been anywhere near as unpopular as Biden has ever won.”
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“Why am I saying that his statement that he could have won the 2024 election if he had stayed in the race is pure lunacy? Just look here,” Enten added.
He then showed poll results from around the time Biden dropped out of the race, particularly in the battleground states of the Great Lakes, where “Donald Trump was leading in all three.”
Fox News’ Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
