Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he expects President Joe Biden to stay in the race for the White House, despite increasing pressure from within the Democratic Party for Biden to step aside in favor of a younger nominee.
Speaking on Monday, Trump suggested that Biden would refuse to quit the campaign due to his ego and the fact that he has already secured the Democratic nomination with the delegates he won during the primary elections earlier this year.
"Interestingly, he's got a lot of power, because he's got the delegates. You know, when you have the delegates, unless he says, 'I'm getting out,' they can't do anything to get him out other than the 25th amendment," Trump told Sean Hannity in a phone interview broadcast on Fox News.
The 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution allows the vice president and cabinet members to declare the president unable to perform the duties of the office, thereby transferring power to the vice president as acting president. There is currently no indication that Vice President Kamala Harris or top Democrats are pursuing this option.
"He's got an ego, and he doesn't want to quit. He doesn't want to do that. It just looks to me like that's what he wants," Trump said about his rival, who defeated him in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump's remarks come amid turmoil within the Democratic Party following Biden's poor performance in a debate against Trump on June 27, which has led to growing calls for Biden to withdraw from the campaign.
Interestingly, Trump's interview contradicted his own recent casual statements, where he falsely told supporters at one of his golf courses that he had driven Biden out of the race. "He's quitting the race ... I got him out," Trump said in a video published by the Daily Beast on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Biden has consistently stated his intention to remain in the race. The current U.S. President sent a letter to congressional Democrats on Monday, saying he remains “firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump.”