Biden says he could have defeated Trump

Joe Biden thinks he could have won reelection if he had stayed in the White House race, he said in an interview published Wednesday -- while conceding he was unsure if he would have served another full term.

The 82-year-old Democrat, who leaves office on January 20, was asked by USA Today if he believed victory over Republican Donald Trump was a realistic prospect last November, and he pointed to unspecified polling and said: "I think yes."

"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? So far, so good. But who knows what I'm going to be when I'm 86 years old?"

Biden, the oldest US president in history, faced persistent questions about his mental fitness before withdrawing from the election after a calamitous televised debate against Trump in which he looked incapable of making the case for another term.

He has given fewer sit-down interviews and press conferences than any president since Ronald Reagan, and USA Today was the only print outlet scheduled for a one-to-one before Biden leaves office.

Biden was asked about regrets from the last four years but did not mention the presidential debate, or his decision to break his promise to be a single-term president and a "bridge" to next generation.

Instead, he complained about misinformation -- pointing to falsehoods to spread by Trump and others about two New Year's Day attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas -- and to the glacial pace of infrastructure projects.

"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.

Washington has been abuzz with discussion since Trump's victory over potential preemptive pardons for those who may be in the Republican leader's crosshairs when he returns to office.

Biden confirmed that he was considering the idea but had not yet come to a decision.

He described how he told Trump during their Oval Office meeting shortly after the election not to go after perceived enemies, warning that it was "counterintuitive for his interest to go back and try to settle scores."

Trump listened but did not offer a response, Biden said.

For his legacy, the veteran Democrat said he wanted to be remembered for having a plan to restore the post-pandemic economy and reestablish American global leadership.

"That was my hope. I mean, you know, who knows?" Biden said. "And I hope (history) records that I did it with honesty and integrity, that I said what was on my mind."

© Agence France-Presse