President Joe Biden, in his only exit interview with a print publication before his administration ends in two weeks, was candid about the constraints his physical limitations could have placed on a second term had he been reelected.
Despite continuing to insist he would have won last year’s election against President-elect Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, Biden conceded during his sit-down with USA Today, “Who knows what I’m going to be when I’m 86 years old?”
Concerns about Biden’s age and mental acuity, underscored by his one and only debate against Trump last summer, were the impetus behind a pressure campaign on him to step down as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee and be replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris.
“When Trump was running again for reelection, I really thought I had the best chance of beating him. But I also wasn’t looking to be president when I was 85 years old, 86 years old. And so I did talk about passing the baton,” Biden said. “But I don’t know. … Who the hell knows?”
Of his regrets from the last four years, Biden did not refer to his withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, in which 13 troops died in an Islamic State terrorist attack, or his decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race roughly 100 days before November’s election.
Instead, he cited his perceived problems with his messaging, including his failure to counter misinformation, for example, Trump implying an illegal immigrant was responsible for the New Orleans New Year’s Day terrorist attack, and his failure to convey his policy accomplishments to the public, particularly regarding his $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure spending bill.
“I think we would’ve been a hell of a lot better off had we been able to go much harder at getting some of these projects in the ground quicker,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve been very good at … [establishing] that the government did this for you.”
To that end, Biden has sought to spend as much of his infrastructure spending bill as possible “to lock in a changed economic policy.” He also defended his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which some economists contend contributed to creating 40-year-high inflation, arguing “the fact is that we had a soft landing, no recession.”
Although critics complain about Biden stymieing Trump’s agenda, the incumbent disclosed that his predecessor and successor complimented his economic policies during their transition meeting last November. At the same time, Biden discouraged Trump from introducing his tax cut and tariff proposals because they could “hurt himself, hurt the economy,” and advised him against seeking retribution against his political enemies as Biden himself considers issuing preemptive pardons to protect those people, including former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci.
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As Biden contemplates those pardons, he expressed hope his expansive pardon of his son Hunter would not become a precedent, saying he issued the order in response to Trump’s nominees for attorney general and FBI director.
“I hope not,” he said.