US President Joe Biden said he believes he would have defeated Donald Trump and won re-election in November.
Speaking to USA Today on Exclusive interviewHowever, Biden added that he is not sure whether he will have the stamina for another four-year term.
“So far, things are very good,” the 82-year-old said. “But who knows what I'll be like when I'm 86?”
In a wide-ranging interview with Susan Page, Biden also said he was still considering preemptive pardons for Donald Trump's enemies, including former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney and former top health official Dr. Anthony Fauci.
In the interview published on Wednesday, Biden said he was “very direct with Trump” about a potential pardon during their meeting in the Oval Office shortly after the November election.
“I tried to make clear that there was no need, and it was counterintuitive, for his interest to go back to trying to settle scores,” Biden said, adding that Trump did not back down, but “just listened.”
Biden said his final decision will depend on who Trump chooses for his cabinet.
At the same meeting, Biden said Trump “complements” his economic record.
“He (Trump) thought I would leave with a good record,” the Democrat said.
The interview with USA Today is the only exit interview Biden has given so far for a publication.
Media access to Biden is strictly controlled by the White House, and the president has not held a press conference since withdrawing from the race on July 21.
In the interview, he also defended the outgoing president The full and unconditional pardon he issued to his son, Hunter Biden, Who was facing sentencing in two criminal cases – tax evasion and illegal gun purchase – despite his repeated insistence that he would not do so.
Biden, who first came to Capitol Hill in 1972 as a US senator, has faced criticism from his party over his apparent reluctance to withdraw from the presidential race amid concerns about his age and mental capacity.
Speaking to USA Today, Biden said “based on the polls” he believed he would have won, but acknowledged his age may have affected him in office.
“When Trump was running again for re-election, I really thought I had the best chance of beating him,” Biden said. “But I also wasn’t looking forward to being president when I was 85 years old, or 86 years old.” “But I don't know. Who the hell knows?”
After Vice President Kamala Harris lost to Trump, high-ranking members of the Democratic Party, such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said Democrats Biden might have done better in the election if Biden had dropped out of the race sooner.
