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US President Joe Biden believes he would have defeated Donald Trump and won re-election in November. However, the 82-year-old Democrat added that he was unsure if he would have had the vigour for a four-year term in the Oval Office.
"So far, so good," the 82-year-old said. "But who knows what I'm going to be when I'm 86 years old," Mr Biden said in a wide-ranging interview with USA Today.
The outgoing US President admitted that he was contemplating pre-emptive pardons for foes of his successor Donald Trump, including former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney and former senior health official Dr Anthony Fauci. Mr Trump has threatened to investigate and prosecute Dr Fauci for his criticism of Republica's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic during his first term and in Cheney's case, helped lead efforts to impeach him.
So far, the interview with USA Today is the only exit interview Mr Biden has given to a print publication as media access to him has been strictly controlled by the White House.
In the interview published on Wednesday, Mr Biden said with Mr Trump in the Oval Office a week after the November election, he asked him not to go forward with threats and "make clear that there was no need, and it was counterintuitive for his interest to go back and try to settle scores."
When asked about what was Mr Trump's response to his plea, the President said, "He didn't say, 'No, I'm going to ...' You know. He didn't reinforce it. He just basically listened."
The US President said his final decision would depend on whom the Republican leader picks for top administration roles. The incoming President has named former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi as the head of the Justice Department and firebrand loyalist Kash Patel to head the FBI.
Mr Biden also noted that during the same meeting, Mr Trump was "complimentary" about his economic record and told him that "He [Trump] thought I was leaving with a good record."
The outgoing President also defended the full and unconditional pardon he issued to his son, Hunter Biden, who was facing sentencing for two criminal cases - tax evasion and illegally buying a gun. Mr Biden said he meant it when he repeatedly said he would pardon Hunter but then he "found out two factors."
"Number one, that he had paid all his taxes. He paid them late. He was fighting a drug problem. And he beat it. He's been square and sober for almost six years now...And then the second thing I found out was that on this purchasing a gun, at the time, you have to sign a form if you're under the influence of anything. Well, I don't even know whether they got straight on the signing of the form. But the point was, no one's ever been tried on that. Nobody," he said.
When asked if he could have won the polls against Mr Trump, Mr Biden said "based on polling" he believed he would have won.
"When Trump was running again for re-election, 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," Mr Biden said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by News Agency staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)