President Biden he acknowledged concerns about his age and discussed his legacy in an interview with USA Today in the Oval Office, still arguing that he would have won another term if he had run against Donald Trump, but admitting he wasn’t sure he could last another four years.
“Do you think you would have the strength to serve another four years in office?” asked Susan Page of USA Today.
“I don’t know,” Biden said. “That’s what I thought when I first announced, talking to Barack [Obama] about that, I said I thought I was that person. I had no intention of running after him [my son] Beau died – for real, not a joke. And then when Trump ran for reelection again, I really thought I had the best chance of beating him.”
“But I also didn’t want to be president when I was 85, 86. And so I talked about passing the baton,” Biden added, reflecting on concerns about his age, especially before he dropped out of the presidential race.
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President Biden acknowledged concerns about his age and discussed his legacy in a new interview. (Getty Images)
Multiple media reportsincluding from the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, included interviews with current and former White House staff who expressed serious doubts about the stamina of the 82-year-old Biden.
“But I don’t know,” the president continued. “Who the hell knows? So far so good. But who knows what I’ll be when I’m 86?”
The president’s words seemed to be a stark admission that despite what he had been saying claims before relegation that he is in excellent shape, he has realized his own limits as the oldest president in American history.
Biden again said he believed could beat Trump in the return match. The president announced he was leaving the race after his volatile debate against him in June exposed cognitive issues that many of his supporters denied or hid. He ended up endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost in the general election.
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President Biden spoke with USA Today in a wide-ranging interview before leaving office. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Biden’s comments were in the context of a debate about his legacy as president.
I hope history says that I came in and had a plan to rebuild the economy and re-establish American leadership in the world, the president said. – That was my hope.
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Biden claimed that the advantage of his age is his experience with world leaders and historical changes in different regions of the world.
“And I think the only advantage of being an old man is that I’ve known all the great world leaders for a long time,” Biden said.
“And so I had a perspective on each of them and their interests,” he continued. “I think it’s helped me navigate some of the fundamental changes that are happening, whether it’s Europe, Latin America, The Middle Eastin the Far East. And in any case, that’s what I’m hoping for anyway, to be seen in that context.”
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 24: US President Joe Biden speaks briefly with reporters as he leaves the White House on October 24, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (Chip Somodevilla)
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