Biden Downplays N.H.: It Was ‘Always Going to Be an Uphill Fight’ for Me

BIDEN: I have lost a lot in my lifetime, like many of you have.

A car accident took away my wife and daughter. I lost my son Beau, like many of you have done. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand by and lose my country too, period.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

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STEPHANOPOULOS: And we began the interview with those first lines from Friday’s debate, where Biden seemed resigned to a loss here in New Hampshire.

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BIDEN: Now, let’s be realistic.

I think it’s always going to be an uphill fight. When you’re running against two people who are neighboring senators, you know the deal.

Bernie won here, the neighbor sooner, by 20 points last time. So I think it is an uphill fight. But I think it’s a fight we will do well in.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But then you’re going to be bucking history, because you know the history here. No one who has come in below second in Iowa/New Hampshire has ever won the nomination.

BIDEN: Well, no one has ever won the nomination without being able to get overwhelming support from the African-American community either.

And, so far, no one’s been doing that but me.

Look, the thing that changes this election is, everybody in the Democratic Party is united on one thing. You have to beat Donald Trump. In order to do that, everybody knows you have got to bring out the black vote and the brown vote, and you got to be able to do it.

I have been able to do that so far. So I don’t think it’s viewed the same way as it has been in the past.