US PRESIDENT JOE Biden thinks he could have been re-elected if he had stayed in the White House race, while conceding he was unsure if he would have served another full term.

The 82-year-old Democrat, who leaves office on 20 January, was asked by USA Today if he believed victory over Republican Donald Trump was a realistic prospect last November, and he pointed to unspecified polling and said: “I think yes.”

“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,” Biden said.

When asked if he had the “vigour” to serve another four years in office, Biden replied: “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?”

Biden, the oldest US president in history, faced persistent questions about his mental fitness before withdrawing from the election after a calamitous televised debate against Trump in which he looked incapable of making the case for another term.

He has given fewer sit-down interviews and press conferences than any president since Ronald Reagan, and USA Today was the only print outlet scheduled for a one-to-one before Biden leaves office.

Biden was asked about regrets from the last four years but did not mention the presidential debate, or his decision to break his promise to be a single-term president and a “bridge” to the next generation.

Instead, he complained about misinformation, pointing to falsehoods spread by Trump and others about two New Year’s Day attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas.

“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” Trump had posted on Truth Social after the New Orleans attack.

Biden told USA Today: “Because of the nature of the way information is shared now, there are no editors out there to say ‘That’s simply not true’.

“The guy in Las Vegas is a veteran, born and raised in America.

“And yet the president comes along and says: ‘It’s clear. It’s an invasion from the south. All these immigrants are causing all this problem.’ … And I’ll bet you there’s 70% of people out there that read that and believe it. How do you deal with that?”

Meanwhile, Washington has been abuzz with discussion since Trump’s victory over potential pre-emptive pardons for those who may be in the Republican leader’s crosshairs when he returns to office.

Biden confirmed that he was considering the idea but had not yet come to a decision.

He described how he told Trump during their Oval Office meeting shortly after the election not to go after perceived enemies, warning that it was “counterintuitive for his interest to go back and try to settle scores.”

Trump listened but did not offer a response, Biden said.

For his legacy, the veteran Democrat said he wanted to be remembered for having a plan to restore the post-pandemic economy and reestablish American global leadership.

“That was my hope. I mean, you know, who knows?” Biden said. “And I hope (history) records that I did it with honesty and integrity, that I said what was on my mind.”

- © AFP 2025 and with additional reporting from Diarmuid Pepper