Donald Trump has predicted that President Biden will remain in the race because of “ego” and Jill Biden’s fondness for being first lady.
Repeating his warning that Biden was leading the country into World War Three, Trump told Fox News that the president retained “a lot of power” over his fate because he had won most of the delegates to the Democratic Convention.
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In his first interview since his TV debate with Biden almost two weeks ago, Trump also continued to tease the announcement of his running mate, and said he wanted to save it until the Republican convention starting next Monday but may make the name public shortly before.
He confirmed four names put to him by the Fox News host Sean Hannity were still “absolutely under consideration”: the senators Marco Rubio, Tim Scott and JD Vance, and Doug Burgum, the governor of North Dakota.
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“It looks to me like he [Biden] may very well stay in. He’s got an ego and he doesn’t wanna quit,” Trump told Hannity by phone without appearing on screen, in a pre-recorded interview.
“I think Jill would like to see him stay. She’s having a good time. I noticed she really seems to be having a good time, and I’m hearing that [Biden’s son] Hunter is calling the shots. So this isn’t necessarily a very positive thing for our country but I think he, you know, might very well stay in. And if he does, nobody wants to give that up that way. He’s gonna feel badly about himself for a long time.”
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Trump, 78, added that “obviously he’s been sheltered by the fake news media, that’s why they call it the fake news”.
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He said that if Biden were to drop out he expected the Democrats to pick Kamala Harris, the vice-president. Asked if he wanted Biden, 81, to step aside, Trump said: “Well, we prepared for him but I don’t think it’s gonna matter. We had a great four years. Our border was the strongest ever. Our economy pre-Covid was incredible, the best ever.”
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Trump said he found the debate with Biden “strange” because “within a couple of minutes, the answers given by him … they didn’t make a lot of sense … I’m very disappointed in him. He’s the worst president in the history of our country.”
In a taste of his response to the Democratic convention, which takes place in Chicago next month, Trump reeled off the city’s latest shooting statistics. “117 people were shot and 17 people were killed. That was last weekend in Chicago and that’s like a war zone,” he said.
“But they have their convention in Chicago and they’re obviously very proud of Chicago and I love Chicago. I have investments in Chicago. But when you look at the crime in Chicago, when you look at what’s gone wrong with Chicago, it’s not a very good thing to be displaying right now.”
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On his running mate, Trump said: “I haven’t made a final decision, but I have some ideas as to where we’re going … I think probably within the next week, week and a half, probably sometime, I’d love to do it during the convention. My people say that’s a little complicated … But probably a little before the convention but not much.”
He added: “The choice will be very, very good. It’s gonna be a great vice-president, meaning a person that can do a fantastic job as president, because you always have to think of that first, and then second, somebody that helps you get elected.”
James Singer, a spokesman for the Biden-Harris campaign, said: “A low energy Donald Trump has been off the trail for 12 days and nothing has changed. 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.”
