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Former President Joe Biden has admitted that he "wasn't surprised" by former Vice President Kamala Harris' election loss.
On Thursday (May 8), Biden appeared on The View, where he discussed Harris losing to now-President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. The former president last appeared on the daytime talk show just after he dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris as the Democratic candidate.
"Last time you were here was a little over a month before the election, and you had made the selfless and very difficult decision, I'm sure, to step aside," The View's Sara Haines said. "Democrats were feeling optimistic about the Vice President's chances of winning the presidency. But then election night came, and it was like 2016 all over again. So, why do you think the Vice President lost, and were you surprised?"
Though he "wasn't surprised" by Harris' defeat, Biden suggested that he wasn't expecting her "successful" campaign to be undercut by sexism.
"She is, she's qualified to be President of the United States of America. I was surprised because they went the sexist route, the whole route. 'This is a woman,' she's this, she's that, really, I've never seen as successful and consistent [of a] campaign undercutting the notion that a woman couldn't lead the country — and a woman of mixed race," Biden said, noting he "was very disappointed" by the outcome of the election.
The former president said he still speaks to Harris "frequently," adding that she's asked for his advice on her next steps. Biden declined to reveal what options the former vice president was considering.
During Thursday's interview, The View co-host Sunny Hostin pressed Biden about the pivotal moment in Harris' campaign when she stated that there was "not a thing that comes to mind" when asked what she would do differently from Biden's presidency.
"First of all, I did not advise her to say that, No. 1. I was Vice President, I understand the role. No. 2, I think she was talking about, she wouldn't have changed the successes we've had, as opposed to wouldn't change anything at all," Biden said. "That was used in a way that is contrary to what she meant by it when she said that. She was part of every success we had. We argued like hell, by the way. That's good.... we worked it out, it was a mutual thing."
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