President Biden on Friday touted his “wisdom” and called himself “honorable” and “effective” when asked to explain why voters should choose him to occupy the White House for a second term at age 82.
Biden, currently 80, made his case for re-election during a rare sit-down interview with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle on Friday.
“I have acquired a hell of a lot of wisdom. And know more than the vast majority of people – I’m more experienced than anybody who has ever run for the office,” Biden bragged, referring to his nearly 50 years in public office.
“And I think I’ve proven myself to be honorable as well as also effective,” he added.
As he embarks on his 2024 re-election campaign, Biden, the oldest president in US history, is still under criminal investigation by the Justice Department over his handling of classified material from his time as Barack Obama’s vice president and from his 36 years in the Senate.
Republicans on Capitol Hill also revealed this week that a whistleblower has informed the House Oversight Committee that the FBI received a tip about alleged criminal conduct involving Biden.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) revealed the whistleblower information Wednesday, saying the tip involves “an alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.”
Biden has not taken questions about the allegation since it was levied.
When asked about his negotiations with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to try and raise the nation’s debt ceiling, Biden said that he believed the House speaker was an honest broker but argued that he is beholden to far-right elements of the Republican Party.
“I think he’s an honest man,” Biden said of McCarthy. “I think he’s in a position though – he had to make a deal that was pretty, you know, 15 votes, 15 votes, that he just about sold away everything that he – to the far far right.”
“There’s the Republican Party and there is MAGA Republicans, and the MAGA Republicans really have put him in a position where in order to stay speaker, he has to agree, he’s agreed to things that maybe believes but are just extreme,” Biden argued.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned lawmakers this week that the US government could default on its debt as early as June 1 if Congress does not raise the country’s borrowing limit.
Biden, McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) are expected to meet at the White House on May 9 to discuss the debt ceiling.
When asked if there is any chance Congress can pass any legislation on a bipartisan basis before the 2024 presidential election, Biden responded, “Yes.”