Biden Hesitated to Drop Out Over Concern Kamala Couldn't Beat Trump, Report

President Biden delayed dropping out of the race in part because of concerns Vice President Kamala Harris could beat Donald Trump in November ... at least according to a new report.

Biden and his senior advisors worried whether or not Kamala had the chops to take on Trump and win ... and those concerns made POTUS hesitant to pull the plug on his reelection campaign.

Axios national political correspondent Alex Thompson cites 3 Biden aides in his report ... and he says Biden's "anxieties" are a reflection of a broader concern about Harris as the potential Democratic presidential nominee.

As you know ... Biden finally caved Sunday, and dropped out of the 2024 election amid mounting pressure to pass the torch to a younger candidate.

The Prez dropped the news on social media and then endorsed Kamala ... as did the Clintons and a bunch of other prominent Dems.

Kamala appears to have the inside track on the nomination, but it's not official yet.