US President Joe Biden has said he dropped out of his bid for re-election amid scrutiny from colleagues who believed he would "hurt them in the races" as polling day approached.
The 81-year-old gave his first interview since quitting the race, sitting down with CBS News to discuss his own legacy, the Harris-Walz ticket, and what will be at stake in November.
Mr Biden announced he would not be running for re-election last month, with Vice-President Kamala Harris now the Democratic candidate.
Ms Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
In his interview with CBS, given at his private residence, Mr Biden said he was concerned if he had stayed in the race, the debate about whether he was up to the job would have been "a big distraction".
"Polls we had showed that it was a neck and neck race, it would have been down to the wire," he said.
"What happened was, a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and the Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races.
"And I was concerned that if I stayed in the race, that would be the big topic. You'd be interviewing me about, 'Why did Nancy Pelosi say, why did so-and-so say,' and I thought it would be a big distraction."
He noted he had also thought of himself during the 2019 election campaign as a "transition" president.
"I thought it was important because although it's a great honour being president, I think I have an obligation to do the most important thing we can do," he said.
"And that is that we must, we must, we must defeat Trump."
[twitter biden] Mr Biden is set to hit the campaign trail in Pennsylvania and other key states, offering support to Ms Harris and Mr Walz.
He said he had "no serious problem" despite the poor debate performance which earlier this year sparked concern over his health and suitability for office.
Mr Biden appeared to lose his train of thought and have difficulty speaking during the debate against former president Trump in June.
But, he told CBS, issues in the debate were due to illness at the time and that he planned to do "whatever Kamala thinks I can do to help most".
Asked whether he believed there would be a peaceful transfer of power in the aftermath of election day, Mr Biden said he was "not confident at all".
"[Trump] means what he says, we don't take him seriously," Mr Biden said.
"He means it. All this stuff about, 'If we lose, it'll be a bloodbath.' … You can't love the country only when you win.
"Mark my words. If he wins [this election] watch what happens. It's a danger. He's a genuine danger to American security.
"We're in an inflection point in American history, we really are. The decisions we make … in the next three or four years are going to determine what the next six decades look like.
"And democracy is the key."
The US election will be held on November 5, 2024.
