In Exclusive Interview, Biden Shares His Biggest Regret and Compliment from Trump

In Exclusive Interview, Biden Shares His Biggest Regret and Compliment from Trump

Washington, D.C. In a conversation with USA TODAY, President Joe Biden expressed his belief that he could have won his reelection campaign. Still, he is uncertain if he would have had the energy to serve an additional four years in the Oval Office. Biden was both reflective and defensive as he discussed his legacy.

“So far, so good,” he stated. “But who knows what I will be when I’m 86?”

In an exit interview about policy, politics, and family, the president also stated that he has not yet determined whether to take one more significant action before he departs office in two weeks: preemptive pardons, a practice that has been implemented by only three presidents.

A massive portrait of FDR hung above the mantle, and a fire crackled in the fireplace on a chilly Sunday afternoon. The 46th president, seated at the historic Resolute desk, appeared resolute in his determination to establish his record in office. He deliberated on potential actions to take in his final days. His presidential idol was visible to him.Biden stated that he is contemplating the issuance of preemptive pardons for public figures, including former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney and former senior health official Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been threatened with investigation and prosecution by the incoming president, Donald Trump.Biden advised the president-elect to refrain from pursuing threats against individuals who have criticized him or, in the case of Cheney, have assisted in efforts to impeach him during their meeting in the Oval Office one week following the November election.

“I tried to make clear that there was no need, and it was counterintuitive for his interest to go back and try to settle scores,” said Vice President Biden. What was Trump’s response? “He did not respond with, ‘I am not going to…'” You are aware. He did not reaffirm it. He merely observed.

Biden stated that his decision would be partially determined by the individuals Trump nominates to senior administration positions. The president-elect has selected Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, as his nominee to lead the Justice Department and Kash Patel, a firebrand loyalist, as his nominee to lead the FBI.

Joseph Robinette Biden, a garrulous 28-year-old barrister, won his first election by unseating a Republican incumbent for a seat on the New Castle County Council in Delaware over fifty years ago. At the age of 82, he has served in the U.S. Senate for 35 years, as vice president for eight years, and as president for four years. He is not eager to depart from his final elective office.

He greeted a reporter with a grin, stating, “It is a pretty historic time, isn’t it?” hours before the impending arrival of a massive snowstorm that was expected to batter the capital. “I mean, who would’ve − as my brother’s kids − who would’ve thought it?”

‘Who the hell knows?’

In a June televised debate with Trump, America’s eldest president’s faltering performance reignited concerns regarding his age and acuity. In an unprecedented move this late in the campaign, Democratic leaders, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who were concerned that Trump would defeat Biden, encouraged him to withdraw from the contest.Vice President Kamala Harris was the Democratic nominee after he regretfully withdrew in July. She subsequently lost in November.Could he have emerged victorious?

Biden stated, “It is presumptuous to assert that, but I believe it is accurate.” He substantiated this assertion with polling data that he had examined. However, when asked whether he had the vigor to serve an additional four years in office, he did not convey such confidence. He responded, “I am uncertain.”

Certainly, numerous analysts question whether Biden could have secured an additional term from voters who were pessimistic about inflation and anxious for change. Furthermore, his verbal miscues and shuffling posture prompted concerns regarding his suitability for the position.

Biden was attentive and articulate throughout a nearly hour-long interview, despite occasionally speaking at a low volume that made it challenging to hear him. He only looked at the index cards on his desk once, at the conclusion, to ensure that he had addressed the most significant items. The cards appeared to contain talking points and statistics.

He was most animated, his voice rising, when he recounted his son Hunter’s efforts to maintain his sobriety. He spoke of him not as an individual whose struggles had humiliated the president but as a fighter who had made his father proud.

“I had no intention of running after Beau died – for real, not a joke,” Biden stated, alluding to his elder son’s passing in 2015 due to brain cancer. The familial tragedy that appeared to mark the conclusion of his political career was a companion to the one that marked its inception when his first wife and infant daughter, Naomi, were killed in a car accident.

Then, in 2020, “I truly believed that I had the best chance of defeating Trump when he was running for reelection.” However, I was not seeking to become president at 85 or 86. Therefore, I did discuss the “passing of the baton” to the next generation of Democratic leaders, a phrase that many in his party interpreted as a signal that he was unlikely to seek a second term.

“However, I am uncertain,” he replied, inquiring whether he could have continued to perform the world’s most challenging work for an additional four years. “Who the hell knows?”

Navigating fundamental changes in the world

Biden stated that his extensive experience has been valuable in managing foreign affairs.

“I believe that the sole benefit of being an elderly individual is that I have had the opportunity to establish a long-standing relationship with each major world leader.” Therefore, I understood their interests and perspectives,” he stated. Before his two mandates as vice president, he had served as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “And so I think it helped me navigate some of the fundamental changes taking place, whether it’s in Europe, Latin America, Middle East, or Far East.”

“Man, the world is truly shrinking.” With the United States serving as its indispensable leader, he declared, “The world is truly shrinking.” That perspective opposes Trump’s advocacy for “America First,” which emphasizes the importance of a national government less concerned with its global obligations. “The events in Japan have a profound impact on the events in Ukraine.” Events in Zambia will impact the Gulf.

The scarcity of interviews of this nature has characterized Biden’s tenure. He has conducted fewer news conferences and individual sessions with reporters than any president since at least Ronald Reagan. As he departs his office, USA TODAY is the sole print organization that has scheduled an interview with him.

The fact that the White House consented to this interview indicates Biden’s desire to establish a strong and positive legacy despite his ability to still command the world’s attention. The fundamental message is that the evaluation of his presidency cannot be accurately based on the controversies surrounding his health, his on-again-off-again presidential campaign, and his decision to grant a broad pardon to his son.

“I hope that history says that I came in and planned to restore the economy and re-establish America’s leadership in the world,” Biden asserted. “I had hoped for that.” Who knows? And it will serve as evidence that I conducted myself honestly and honestly and expressed my thoughts as they were.

Numerous indications indicated that his time was limited. A member of the small pool of journalists was asleep in a chair in the briefing room, and the press room was nearly vacant. While they could still do so, White House staff members gave family and friends private tours of the West Wing, allowing them to observe the Roosevelt and Cabinet rooms.

In the late afternoon, Biden would proceed to the East Room to sign the Social Security Fairness Act, which would expand the benefits of millions of retirees and serve as one of his final pieces of legislation.

Trump’s surprising compliment

Biden defended the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and other legislative programs enacted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as essential for boosting economic growth and jobs. However, massive spending has also been criticized for fuelling inflation. “We incurred expenses in the process.” But the reality is that we experienced a soft landing, and there was no recession,” he stated. The majority of economists anticipated a recession.

“How is it possible for America to lead the world in a changing world without the most advanced infrastructure, the best education system, or the best healthcare system in the world?” They are simply items that I believed were essential.

Although inflation has moderated, the increased costs of foodstuffs and rent continue to cause kitchen-table issues for millions of Americans. The economy is expanding, stock markets have risen, and the unemployment rate is at historic lows as Biden prepares to depart.

Trump has publicly criticized the nation’s current state as “a disaster” and “a mess.” Nevertheless, Biden stated that Trump expressed his admiration for him during their private meeting. “He expressed his admiration for certain economic initiatives I had implemented.” He also discussed that he believed I was departing with a positive record.

The two men will be eternally intertwined in history, with Trump’s two terms sandwiching Biden’s one. They have provided Americans with markedly divergent viewpoints on the most fundamental issues, such as the significance of political norms and the role of democratic institutions.Ultimately, one may be perceived as a portent of the nation’s future direction, while the other is a political anomaly.Biden warned that Trump risked upending the economic good times if he enacted some of his advocated policies.

If he moves on the $5 trillion tax cuts, I believe if he moves on dealing with increasing tariffs across the board, all they are is increasing the costs of consumers in America. And if he decides to do away with some of the major programs, whether it’s the rescue plan, infrastructure, or the climate law, he’s just going to hurt himself and the economy.

Biden’s predecessor-turned-successor has vowed to reverse much of his legacy. Biden has tried to make that as difficult as possible by spending billions of dollars from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill in red states and districts − projects now lauded by some of the Republican members of Congress who represent them.“It’s the way to lock in a changed economic policy,” said Vice President Biden. He harbours aspirations.

Biden’s biggest disappointments

Regrets? He has a few.

Biden said his greatest disappointment was his failure to effectively counter misinformation, including that from Trump. He said that challenge reflects the revolution in how Americans get their news and whom they trust to convey it.

“Because of the way, nature, the nature of the way information is shared now, there are no editors out there to say, ‘That’s simply not true,'” Biden said. He mentioned Trump’s rhetoric about the threat from migrants. However, in doing so, he apparently conflated two recent assaults by Army veterans involving trucks, one in New Orleans and the other in Las Vegas.“The guy in Las Vegas is a guy, is a veteran, born and raised in America,” Biden said. “And yet the president comes along, shortly to be president again, and says: ‘It’s clear. It’s an invasion from the south. All these immigrants are causing all this problem.’ … And I’ll bet you there’s 70% of individuals out there that read that and believe it. How do you cope with that?”

In Las Vegas, the man behind the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel was reportedly a Trump supporter, leaving writings labeling it a “wake-up call” and saying the United States was “terminally ill and headed toward collapse.”

In New Orleans, the man who drove a truck into a gathering in the French Quarter was a Texas-born American who the Islamic State group, or ISIS, had radicalized.

“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” Trump posted on Truth Social after the New Orleans attack.

Biden also expressed frustration about how long it took to get shovels in the ground for the infrastructure initiatives. “Historians will talk about (how) great the impact was, but it didn’t (have) any immediate impact on people’s lives,” according to him. “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.” I have not been exceptionally proficient in… ” He paused.

Is credit being claimed?

“Or not so much me, but establish that the government did this for you.”