Biden confident 2024 election will be fair. But he does have one worry.
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden raised concerns that the 2024 election won't be peaceful during a rare visit Friday to the White House press briefing room, saying he worries what former President Donald Trump might do if he loses.
"I'm confident it will be fair. I don't know whether it will be peaceful," Biden told reporters, making his first appearance at the White House press briefing room over his nearly four years as president.
Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee, tried to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden by making repeated baseless claims of election fraud, an effort that culminated with a mob of supporters attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump faces federal criminal charges tied to his efforts but has pleaded not guilty.
Ahead of the November 5 election, Trump has made similar unsubstantiated claims of a "rigged" election as he faces off against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.
“The things that Trump has said and the things that he said last time out when he didn't like the outcome of the election were very dangerous," Biden said.
Biden was responding to a question from a reporter about whether he's confident the 2024 election will be free, fair and peaceful.
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Trump's running-mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, refused to acknowledge that Trump lost the 2020 election when asked directly about it by Harris running-mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during the CBS News Vice Presidential debate earlier this week.
“I noticed that the vice-presidential Republican candidate did not say he'd accept the outcome of the election and hasn't even accepted the outcome of the last election,” Biden said on Friday. “I'm concerned about what they're going to do.”
More: 'A damning non-answer': Vance dodges Walz's question on 2020 election during VP debate
Biden used his unannounced appearance at the White House press briefing to tout the September jobs report, which showed 254,000 new jobs added last month, and a recent agreement between port companies and dock workers that ended a strike with major economic ramifications. He pushed back at skeptics who have criticized his economic record.
"The simple fact is we've gone from an economy in crisis to literally having the strongest economy in the world," Biden said. "But we have more work to do."
Past presidents Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush frequently took questions in the White House press briefing room. But the 81-year-old Biden, who ended his reelection bid last July amid concerns about his age, has opened himself up to questions from reporters far less frequently than his predecessors.
Asked why Biden never came to the briefing room over the previous three and a half years, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded, "He came today."
Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden is confident election will be fair. But he does have one worry.