President Joe Biden recently said in an interview that he thinks he could have defeated President-elect Donald Trump in an election. However, he admitted that he wasn’t sure if he had enough energy to manage another four years in office as president.
In a conversation with Susan Page for USA Today, Biden was asked if he thought he could have won reelection. He confidently said yes, explaining that the polls he looked at supported his belief. “It might sound a bit presumptuous to say, but I think yes, based on the polling,” Biden said.
However, many analysts doubt that Biden could have won another term. His short reelection campaign, which ended when he decided to back Vice President Kamala Harris, raised concerns about his ability to continue in the role. At 82 years old, Biden’s age has been a topic of discussion, with questions about his fitness to serve.
Although Biden didn’t specify which polls he was referring to, public data at the time painted a different picture. For example, a New York Times/Siena College poll conducted shortly before he dropped out of the race showed him trailing Trump. In that poll, over 70% of respondents said Biden was too old to serve as president. Among likely voters, Trump led Biden 49% to 43%. The gap widened among registered voters, where Trump had 49% support compared to Biden’s 41%.
When asked if he had the energy—or as he put it, the “vigor”—to serve another term, Biden said, “Who knows?” He admitted that while he believed he could beat Trump, he wasn’t planning to remain president into his mid-80s. “When Trump was running for reelection, I really thought I had the best chance to beat him. But I wasn’t planning to be president when I was 85 or 86 years old. So, I talked about handing over the baton,” Biden said.
Interestingly, Biden also shared a surprising story about his private interactions with Trump. According to Biden, Trump privately praised his accomplishments during a meeting, especially his work on the economy. This is quite different from the harsh criticism Trump often expresses about the current administration in public. “He was very complimentary about some of the things I had done economically,” Biden claimed. “He even said he thought I was leaving with a good record.”
This candid interview not only highlights Biden’s thoughts on his chances against Trump but also sheds light on his concerns about age, energy, and the importance of transitioning leadership when the time comes.
