Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) said during a new interview that he thinks President Joe Biden likely blames his abrupt end to his reelection campaign on the Obamas.
Gingrich shared his thoughts on Sunday while talking with the radio show “Cats Roundtable — WABC 770 AM,” claiming that Biden holds the Obamas “directly responsible” for his choice to step out of the race.
He also added that he was “told that he has still not talked to Nancy Pelosi.”
“I think he holds the Obamas very directly responsible,” Gingrich said. “He thinks that the Obamas pushed him out of the way in 2016 for Hillary [Clinton]. And then he thinks that they sort of shoved him out [this year]. Basically, Speaker Pelosi and the Obamas were the driving force in kicking him out. He didn’t want to go.”
After facing off against former President Donald Trump in a debate on June 27, President Biden faced harsh criticism from Democrats, with calls for him to drop out slowly increasing throughout the month.
During the debate on CNN, Biden often lost his train of thought, struggled at times to complete sentences, and appeared confused.
With concerns about his ability to win a second term, Democrats slowly began to call on him to step aside and let someone else take over. About a week after former President Trump survived an assassination attempt, Biden made his decision and dropped out of the race.
His endorsement to succeed him as the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, has successfully accepted her party’s nomination, setting the ticket for the final stretch of the election.
During the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last week, Biden spoke on night one, sharing a message that he loved his country too much to put his own personal aspirations ahead of what was best for the nation.
However, Gingrich said he thought Biden speaking on the first night was “almost insulting” to the president.
“I thought the first night was a little sad in a way,” Gingrich said. “I sort of sensed that Biden had that same feeling. Here are all the people who had knifed him in the back chanting, ‘Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe.’ I think he’s probably thinking to himself, ‘Wait a second. If you like me that much, how come I’m not the nominee?’ He [spoke] so late at night, it was almost insulting … And then he immediately left on an airplane and went to California.”
President Biden maintains that the decision to drop out of the race was his own.