Former President Donald Trump says President Biden would still be running if it hadn’t been for his poor debate performance and believes Democratic leaders “threatened” the president before he ceded way to Vice President Kamala Harris.
“It was a coup,” Mr. Trump said in a wide-ranging interview Tuesday on comedian Theo Von’s “This Past Weekend” podcast. “She got no votes, he got 14 million votes, all of a sudden they are telling him to get out or they threatened him.”
Mr. Trump pointed to Democratic leaders such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer as leaders of the effort to oust his initial foe.
“They threatened him, violently, I think,” Mr. Trump said. “He said only God will get me out.”
“Someone dressed up like God and just chased him out of there,” Mr. Von joked.
Mr. Biden insists he decided to drop out of the race to preserve unity within the Democratic Party.
SEE ALSO: Immigration could be the Trump card in must-win Pennsylvania
The president said he was persuaded by arguments his presence would hurt down-ballot Democrats running for the House and Senate.
Calls for Mr. Biden to step aside reached a crescendo after his incoherent debate showing in late June. The White House said his rambling answers were the result of a cold and jet lag.
On Tuesday’s podcast, Mr. Trump praised the debate’s CNN hosts as “very even-handed.”
“That was a very consequential debate, to put it mildly,” he told Mr. Von.
Mr. Trump is doing a series of interviews with nontraditional media.
He met with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson last year and spoke to X CEO Elon Musk for a two-hour live conversation this month.
SEE ALSO: Trump says feud with New York and Gov. Kathy Hochul could spill into White House term
Also in August, the GOP nominee joined online streamer Adin Ross, who gifted him a Tesla Cybertruck after the interview.
Two months before, Mr. Trump appeared on pro wrestler Logan Paul’s “Impaulsive” podcast.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.