This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Joe Biden is now confirming he was basically strong-armed out of the 2024 presidential race after his fellow Democrats expressed serious fears about their own political futures.

During an interview with Bob Costa on CBS "Sunday Morning," Biden explained:

"Polls we had showed that it was a neck and neck race, it would have been down to the wire. But what happened was, a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races.

"And I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic, you'd be interviewing me about why did Nancy Pelosi say – why did – and I thought it'd be a real distraction."

"When I ran the first time I thought of myself as being a transition president. I can't even say how old I am. It's hard for me to get out of my mouth. And but things got moving so quickly, it didn't happen. And the combination was that I thought it was a critical issue for me still, it's not a joke, maintaining this democracy," Biden said.

Top Democrats including former President Barack Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer and others reportedly urged Biden privately to exit the White House race for weeks in the wake of his disastrous, dementia-exposing debate with Donald Trump.

On July 27, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh released a report indicating he had spoken with a senior White House official who told Hersh that Obama was "deeply involved" with the coup to remove Biden. Obama reportedly called Biden on July 20, following Biden's medical emergency, and threatened him with the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to oust the president, saying he had "Kamala's approval" to force him out.

Succumbing to the pressure, Biden announced last month that he'd withdraw from the White House hunt, and immediately endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, to replace him.

Regarding the remainder of the 2024 campaign, Biden told CBS: "I talk to [Harris] frequently, and by the way, I've known her running mate is a great guy. As we say, if we grew up in the same neighborhood, we'd have been friends. He's my kind of guy. He's real, he's smart. I've known him for several decades. I think it's a hell of a team."

Biden said he plans to join Harris and Tim Walz on the campaign, pouring cold water on doubts about his health or stamina as a stumbling block.

"All I can say is, 'Watch.' That's all. Look, I had a really, really bad day in that debate because I was sick. But I have no serious problem," Biden added.

Meanwhile, Pelosi has revealed she has not spoken with Biden since he left the contest, and is containing too deny she told the president to depart the race.

"Now I was really asking for a better campaign. We did not have a campaign that was on the path to victory. Members knew that in their districts," Pelosi told reporters.

During a previous appearance on MSNBC, Pelosi was asked if sh would support Biden's bid for re-election.

"It's up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We are all encouraging him to make that decision, because time is running short."