Former President Trump on Monday said it appeared to him that President Biden will remain in the race despite calls from some elected Democrats for him to step aside following a disastrous performance in last month's debate.
"It looks to me like he very well may stay in. He’s got an ego, and he doesn’t want to quit," Trump told Sean Hannity on Fox News. "He doesn’t want to do that. It just looks to me like that’s what he wants.
"I think Jill would like to see him stay. She seems to be having a good time," Trump added, referring to first lady Jill Biden.
"I think he might very well stay in and if he does-- nobody wants to give that up that way. He’s going to feel badly about himself for a long time. It’s hard to give it up that way -- the way where they try to force him out," Trump added.
Trump, who has been criminally charged over his attempts to subvert the 2020 election results, predicted that if Biden does drop out, Vice President Harris would become the nominee. But he said Biden "has all the power" because he secured the overwhelming majority of delegates through primary voting.
Biden has faced intense scrutiny from Democrats following his June 27 debate with Trump, during which Biden frequently struggled to complete his train of thought or land many blows on issues like abortion or the economy.
Several House Democrats have suggested Biden should step aside as the nominee or predicted he would lose to Trump, while numerous other Democratic lawmakers have said Biden must show he is capable of campaigning more vigorously to defeat Trump in November.
Biden's campaign has countered that the president has been conducting events and meeting with voters in recent days, while Trump has not held a public event since the day after the debate.
“A low energy Donald Trump has been off the trail for 12 days, and nothing has changed," Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer said in a statement.
“He is still a habitual liar, still a 34-time convicted criminal, still running on his Project 2025 agenda to destroy America, make himself a dictator on day one, rip away our rights, and raise costs on the middle class to give tax cuts to the wealthy and price-gouging corporations – and most importantly, still going to lose this November to Joe Biden," Singer added.
