Biden still believes he could have beaten Trump and says successor ‘very complimentary’ in private

Joe Biden has said that he still believes he could have beaten Republican rival Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election had he not been persuaded to stand down to make way for Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket, only for her to lose the vote.

Speaking to USA Today, the outgoing president, 82, was asked whether he believed he could have succeeded where Harris failed had he pressed on, rather than bowing to pressure to step aside in July following his disastrous CNN debate performance.

“It’s presumptuous to say that, but I think yes, based on the polling,” Biden answered, without citing which poll he was referring to and despite his having lagged behind Trump throughout the campaign in both national and battleground state surveys.

Questioned on whether he would have been in robust enough health to serve as commander-in-chief for a further four years if he had won, Biden said: “I don’t know. When Trump was running again for re-election, 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. But I don’t know. Who the hell knows? So far, so good. But who knows what I’m going to be when I’m 86 years old?”

The president was also remarkably candid in the same interview on his private meeting with Trump at the White House on November 13, revealing that he had cautioned his successor not to give in to the temptation to “settle scores” with old enemies once he takes office.

“I was very straightforward with Trump when he got elected. I invited him immediately to the White House. I spent two hours with him,” Biden said.

“I tried to make it clear that there was no need, and it was counterintuitive for his interest to go back and try to settle scores.

“He didn’t say, ‘No, I’m going to…’ You know. He didn’t reinforce it. He just basically listened.”

He also portrayed Trump as much more ingratiating in private than he is in public, where he has repeatedly castigated the Democrat at his press conferences and rallies and on social media.

“He was very complimentary about some of the economic things I had done,” Biden said.

“And he talked about – he thought I was leaving with a good record.”

Asked about his greatest fear regarding Trump’s incoming administration, the president invoked his Inflation Reduction Act and answered: “On the economy, my single greatest fear is that he will try to, and maybe even succeed, in eliminating the elements of the climate law, that he’ll succeed in kicking back the restrictions on drug manufacturers.”

But Biden chuckled at the prospect of Trump attempting to roll back the act because of the popularity of some of the investments it has enabled in Republicans’ congressional districts and states.

“I think he’s going to have a problem,” the president said.

“I won’t mention the names because I can’t prove it, I’m told – but you probably know – there’s already several very conservative members of his delegation in the United States Senate and House who said, ‘Don’t block the plan in my state. Don’t block A, B, C, or D plan. They’re going to invest $3bn to build a factory here.’

“I don’t know how he comes along and gets rid of these investments.”

On his regrets as his single-term presidency draws to a close, Biden said he is sorry he did not take more credit for his administration’s achievements, particularly its $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and the success of America’s bounceback from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I think that 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,” Biden said.

“I hope that history says that I came in and I had a plan how to restore the economy and re-establish America’s leadership in the world. That was my hope,” he concluded.

“And I hope it records that I did it with honesty and integrity, that I said what was on my mind.”