"What has happened to President Joe Biden over the past few weeks has been very painful," declared former U.S. President Donald Trump during his press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Thursday afternoon. Trump stated, "The presidential candidacy has been taken from Joe Biden. I am not a fan of him, as you have probably noticed. He had a tough debate (with me), but that does not mean he should be stripped from the race like this." It has been 18 days since the Democratic Party removed the 46th president (Biden), and the 45th president (Trump) has not moved past this situation, according to the New York Times.
Trump empathized on behalf of Biden, narrating from his perspective the story of betrayal committed against him by former President Barack Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and, most importantly, Vice President Kamala Harris. Discussing how Harris attacked Biden in the Democratic primary debate in 2019, Trump commented, "Was Harris bad in describing Biden as a racist?" He asserted that Biden made a grave mistake in choosing Harris as his running mate. He continued, "I know he regrets choosing her; she turned against him too. She was working with the people who wanted him out."
There was none of the usual malicious glee in Trump's voice as he recounted all the drama. He told reporters that Biden was trying to "put on a good face, but his exit from the race was very harsh and very terrifying." Trump added, "I hate defending him, but he didn't want to leave. He wanted to see if he could win." This sudden outpouring of sympathy for a man Trump had recently described as "an old pile of crap" was somewhat surprising.
But was there some speculation? Did Trump's expressed horror toward his former opponent reflect the predicament he finds himself in now? According to the report, everything was going smoothly for Trump until Biden decided to withdraw. Now Trump faces a more active competitor, surpassing his fundraising ability and capable of competing with him in his most sacred benchmarks: rallying crowds. Just two days earlier, Trump had publicly wondered on social media if there was any chance of Biden crashing the Democratic National Convention in Chicago later this month to attempt to "regain the nomination."
What is surprising about Trump's inability to adapt to his new political reality is that his supporters were among the first to anticipate Biden's replacement at some point. Trump stated in an interview last year, "I don’t believe Biden will be the nominee." On Thursday, Trump seemed to empathize with President Biden's sentiment of being forced to concede the presidential candidacy, with his position appearing as if Trump was talking to himself about the strange idea of a former president voluntarily stepping down from a powerful position. Trump confirmed that Biden "is not happy with any of the people who told him: you have to leave; he is a very angry man right now, I can tell you that."
