President Joe Biden said in an interview broadcast Sunday that he had dropped his bid for a second term because he did not want to create “distraction” to the Democrats, while failing to comment on criticism of whether he can be president because of his age.

In his first interview since ending his withdrawal from the presidential race, Biden said he had “no major problems” with his health, but added that the top priority had to be defeating former President Donald Trump. “We have to, we have to, we have to beat Trump,” he said on “CBS Sunday Morning».

The president attributed his decision to step down to pressure from within his own party, but offered no new details about the dramatic days leading up to his announcement. “Some of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought I would hurt the campaign,” he said. “And I was worried that if I stayed in the race, that would be the point. You would interview me about, “Why did Nancy Pelosi say that, why did she — and I thought it would be a distraction.”

Among other things, the US president warned that Republican candidate Donald Trump is a “real danger to American security.”

“Listen to me carefully. If he wins (…) this election, look what will happen. He is dangerous. He’s a real danger to America’s security,” the 81-year-old Democratic president, who withdrew from the race for a second term in favor of his running mate Kamala Harris, told CBS television.

“We are at a turning point. That’s where we really are (…) and democracy is the key element,” added Biden, in this interview that was recorded a few days ago at the White House and in which the American president appears in better physical condition, compared to the disastrous June 27 debate against Donald Trump.

“I was having a really, really bad day when that debate happened because I was sick, but I don’t have a serious health problem,” he assured a CBS reporter who asked him about it.