President Joe Biden admitted that he was unsure he would have survived another four years in office. It was the first time the 82-year-old president acknowledged that his age and mental decline would have been a significant factor if he had stayed in the 2024 race and won reelection against Donald Trump.
“I don’t know,” Biden said when asked if he would have been able to complete another term.
“That’s why I thought when I first announced, talking to Barack [Obama] about it, I said I thought I was the person,” he said about his 2020 election campaign.
The 82-year-old president’s admission contradicts years of White House and mainstream media claims about his fitness for office. While expressing confidence he could have defeated PTrump in a rematch, Biden acknowledged concerns about his mental fitness while serving into his twilight years.
“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 in the Oval Office interview.
“Who the hell knows? So far, so good. But who knows what I’m going to be when I’m 86 years old?” he admitted.
Biden was pushed out of the presidential race by Democratic Party leadership following a disastrous June debate performance against Trump that raised questions about his cognitive ability. He later endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris without her winning a single primary vote.
Harris lost to Trump in a landslide just three months later.
Despite acknowledging he may not have been able to survive a second term, Biden still defended his advanced age during his first term, citing his long-standing relationships with world leaders.
“I think the only advantage of being an old guy is that I’ve known every major world leader for a long time,” Biden said. “And so I had a perspective on each of them and their interests. And so I think it helped me navigate some of the fundamental changes taking place whether it’s in Europe, in Latin America, in the Middle East, in the Far East.”
Biden also reflected on what he hopes will be his legacy as president: “I hope that history says that I came in and I had a plan how to restore the economy and reestablish America’s leadership in the world. That was my hope.”
After the election, multiple former White House staffers came forward and expressed serious doubts about Biden’s stamina during his presidency.