Joe Biden believes he could have been re-elected if he had remained in the race for the White House, he said in an interview published Wednesday – while admitting he didn’t know if he would have accomplished a another full mandate.
The 82-year-old Democrat, who leaves office on January 20, was asked by USA Today whether he thought victory over Republican Donald Trump was a realistic prospect last November. He referred to unspecified polls and replied: “I think so.”
“I really thought I had the best chance to beat him. But I also wasn’t looking to become president when I was 85 or 86 years old. And so I talked about passing the baton,” Biden said.
“But I don’t know. Who the hell knows? So far, so good. But who knows what I will be when I am 86?
Biden, the oldest US president in history, faced lingering questions about his mental health before withdrawing from the election after a calamitous televised debate against Trump in which he appeared unable to make the case for another term.
He has given fewer sit-down interviews and news conferences than any president since Ronald Reagan, and USA Today was the only print outlet scheduled for a one-on-one before Biden left office.
Biden was asked about his regrets over the past four years, but did not mention the presidential debate, nor his decision to break his promise to be a one-term president and serve as a “bridge” to the next generation.
Instead, he complained about misinformation — pointing to lies spread by Trump and others about the two New Year’s Eve attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas — and the glacial pace of infrastructure projects .
“I think we would have been a lot better off if we could have put a lot more effort into getting some of these projects off the ground quicker,” he said.
Washington has been in turmoil since Trump’s victory over possible preemptive pardons for those who could be in the Republican leader’s crosshairs when he returns to power.
Biden confirmed he was considering the idea but had not yet made a decision.
He described how he told Trump during their meeting in the Oval Office shortly after the election not to go after perceived enemies, warning that it was “counterintuitive that his interest would go back and try to settle accounts.”
Trump listened but did not offer a response, Biden said.
For his legacy, the veteran Democrat said he wants to be remembered for having a plan to restore the post-pandemic economy and restore U.S. global leadership.
“That was my hope. I mean, you know, who knows? » Biden said. “And I hope (the story) records that I did it with honesty and integrity, that I said what was on my mind.”
