President Joe Biden discussed his greatest fear about Donald Trump’s second term, revealed what he told the president-elect during their post-election White House meetingand pondered the outcome had he stayed in the 2024 election in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY.
The interview with USA TODAY’s Washington Bureau chief Susan Page, which took place Sunday in the Oval Office, is the only exit interview Biden has granted with a print publication before his term ends in less than two weeks.
Biden entered the White House four years ago after campaigning on a “battle for the soul of the nation” following four years of Trump. But on Jan. 20, he will be attending Trump’s inauguration ceremony outside the Capitol as his successor ‒ and predecessor ‒ takes the Oath of Office to cap a remarkable White House return.
Here are seven takeaways from the interview:
Biden believes he could have defeated Trump
Biden said he believes he could have defeated Trump had he stayed in the race yet expressed uncertainty whether he had the stamina to serve another four years until he’s 86 years old.
“It’s presumptuous to say that, but I think yes, based on the polling,” the 82-year-old Biden said when asked whether he could have won the 2024 presidential election.
Biden dropped out of the election in late Julyamid mounting pressure from top Democrats following a disastrous debate performance that exposed an aging president struggling to articulate clear thoughts and make the case against Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris quickly coalesced support to secure the Democratic nomination.
It’s unclear what polling Biden was referencing. He trailed Trump throughout the campaign in both national and battleground state polls. After Biden’s exit, Harris quickly erased Trump’s sizable polling leads despite ultimately losing all seven closely contested swing states.
Had Biden stayed in and won, would he have had the vigor to serve four more years?
