‘Who the Hell Knows?’ Biden Admits He’s Not Sure He’d Make It Through a Second Term
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
President Joe Biden revealed that even he is not sure he’d have made it through a second term had he stayed in the 2024 race and won reelection.
The outgoing president sat down with USA Today’s Susan Page for a lengthy interview that covered several topics and was published by the paper on Wednesday. Page asked Biden if he believes he “would have won in November” had he stayed in the race, to which the president replied, “It’s presumptuous to say that, but I think yes, based on the polling.”
Page then asked if he thought “he would’ve had the vigor to serve another four years in office?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I thought when I first announced, talking to Barack about it, I said I thought I was the person,” Biden replied in candor. “I had no intention of running after Beau died – for real, not a joke. And then when Trump was running again for reelection, 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,” he summed up. “Who the hell knows? So far, so good. But who knows what I’m going to be when I’m 86-years-old?”
Biden’s age became an unwanted issue as clear signs of cognitive decline became a serious distraction in the final months of his campaign just before he stepped down and allowed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him at the top of the ticket.
From USA Today‘s full transcript of the interview:
PAGE: Three quick questions. You could answer them in a single word.
BIDEN: Sure.
PAGE: Do you believe you could have won in November?
BIDEN: It’s presumptuous to say that, but I think yes, based on the polling that…
PAGE: Do you think you would’ve had the vigor to serve another four years in office?
BIDEN: I don’t know. That’s why I thought when I first announced, talking to Barack about it, I said I thought I was the person. I had no intention of running after Beau died – for real, not a joke. And then when Trump was running again for reelection, 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?
PAGE: And as you know, I represent the Wilmington News Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. And so on behalf of my colleagues here, I want to ask you. Your presidential library, Delaware or Scranton?
BIDEN: It won’t be in Scranton. Hopefully Delaware, but a real big push to-
PAGE: Or I meant Syracuse, actually. I knew it wasn’t going to be in Scranton. Delaware or Syracuse is really my question.
BIDEN: Well, the University of Delaware is building, has set up the Biden School of Public Policy.
