“I think so.” This is what Joe Biden responded to the question of whether he could have won the November presidential election against Donald Trump. To justify this confidence a posteriori, the 82-year-old Democratic leader says he relies on polls, but without giving more details. “When (Donald) Trump ran, I truly believed that I was in the best position to beat him. But I also didn’t want to be president at 85 or 86 years old. So I talked about passing the baton”he said.
Joe Biden has expressed doubts about his ability to complete these four new years in the event of victory on November 5. “I don’t know (..) So far so good. But who knows what I will be when I am 86?added the octogenarian, who will be replaced on January 20 by the Republican billionaire, elected in November against the vice-president and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
The latter had replaced Joe Biden at short notice after the announcement in July of his withdrawal from the race for the White House, following a disastrous debate at the end of June against Donald Trump which had raised many questions about his mental acuity and his age.
Asked about his regrets, Joe Biden did not raise the subject of his health, but spoke about disinformation, citing for example the link made by Donald Trump between illegal immigration and the car-ramming attack on the New Orleans which left at least 14 dead on January 1.
“With honesty and integrity”
The outgoing president also confided to USA Today having asked Donald Trump after the election not to attack his perceived enemies, warning him that it was not in his best interest “to try to settle accounts”. Donald Trump did not respond, according to him. Joe Biden also confirmed that he was considering preventive pardons for people likely to be in the crosshairs of the next president, while claiming not to have made the decision.
He also said he wanted to be remembered for his efforts in recovering the economy after the Covid-19 pandemic and the role of the United States in the world. “I hope (History) remembers that I did it with honesty and integrity.”
Source: www.liberation.fr
