President Joe Biden believes former President Donald Trump will challenge the 2024 election results if he loses again, he told The New Yorker in an interview published Monday, as the president doubled down on running in November amid concerns about his age and projected a “defiant belief” that he’ll win again.
When asked whether Trump will concede if he loses in November, Biden told The New Yorker he “just think[s] that he’ll do anything to try to win.”
Biden said he “think[s] [Trump will] contest” the election results “no matter what the result is” should he lose, telling The New Yorker, “Losers who are losers are never graceful.”
The president insisted he will run in November as concerns about his age have led to chatter about whether he’ll drop out of the race, with The New Yorker reporting Biden “betrays no doubts” and “projects a defiant belief in himself and his ability to persuade Americans to join him.”
“I’m the only one who has ever beat him. And I’ll beat him again,” Biden said when asked if it was a “risk” for him to declare himself up to the task of keeping Trump out of the White House.
Trump and his allies launched a multi-pronged and ultimately unsuccessful effort to overturn the 2020 election result, which led to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol building as Trump’s supporters sought to block Congress from certifying the election results.
Trump has been indicted on federal and state charges for his efforts to overturn the election, and has pleaded not guilty (his 2024 campaign has not yet responded to a request for comment).
“I’d ask a rhetorical question,” Biden told The New Yorker when asked about taking on Trump again. “If you thought you were best positioned to beat someone who, if they won, would change the nature of America, what would you do?”
25%. That’s the share of Americans who predict Trump to concede if he loses in November, according to a CNN/SSRS poll released in February, versus 76% who expect Biden to concede if he loses. An overwhelming 86% majority say the person who loses the presidential election “has an obligation to concede once the results are certified,” which CNN notes is the same share as in Oct. 2020.
Who will win in November. While Biden expressed confidence to The New Yorker that he’ll come out ahead, recent polls have had the two contenders neck and neck. A New York Times/Siena College poll released Saturday showed Trump with a 48% to 43% lead, marking the ex-president’s largest lead in the poll since his first presidential campaign in 2015.
Biden also spoke with The New Yorker about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, as the president has faced increasing criticism over his handling of the situation and 100,000 Michiganders voted “uncommitted” in protest against Biden during the state’s Democratic primary. “I don’t want to see any Palestinians killed—I think that it’s contrary to what we believe as Americans,” Biden told The New Yorker, though he thinks his critics “have to give this just a little bit of time, understanding what would happen if they came into their state or their neighborhood and saw what happened with Hamas.” “The pressure on the leadership to move with every ounce of capacity against Hamas is real. But it doesn’t mean it should be continued. It doesn’t mean it’s right,” Biden said, adding he’s “praying you’re going to see … a significant downturn in the use of force.”
The New Yorker interview comes at a key moment for Biden, as he prepares to deliver his State of the Union speech later this week and faces increasing concern about his viability as a presidential candidate. Special Counsel Robert Hur’s recent report exonerating Biden from any charges reignited criticism over the 81-year-old’s age, as former Trump administration prosecutor Hur described Biden as a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” Biden and his team have strongly opposed Hur’s reports and any criticism of the president based on his age, with Biden saying after the report was released, “I’m well meaning, and I’m an elderly man, and I know what the hell I’m doing.” In a report released last week after the president underwent a physical, physician Kevin C. O’Connor reported Biden “is a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.”
