Joe Biden says he could have beaten Donald Trump in the election

US President Joe Biden has said he thinks he would have beaten Donald Trump and won re-election in November.

Speaking to USA Today in exclusive interviewBut Biden added that he wasn’t sure he would have had the stamina for another four-year term.

“So far so good,” the 82-year-old said. “But who knows what I’ll be like when I’m 86?”

In the wide-ranging interview with Susan Page, Biden also said he was still considering preliminary pardons for enemies of Donald Trump, including former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney and former top health official Dr. Anthony Fauci.

In the interview released Wednesday, Biden said he was “very straight with Trump” about potential pardons during their meeting in the Oval Office shortly after the November election.

“I tried to make it clear that there was no need and it was counterintuitive to his interest to go back and try to settle scores,” Biden said, adding that Trump did not fire back but “just listened.”

Biden said his final decision will depend on who Trump picks for his cabinet.

At the same meeting, Biden said Trump had “praised” his economic performance.

“He (Trump) thought I was leaving with a good record,” the Democrat said.

The interview with USA Today is the only exit interview Biden has ever given to a print publication.

Media access to Biden is tightly controlled by the White House — and the president has not held a press conference since dropping out of the race on July 21.

In the interview, the resigned 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 illegal gun purchase – despite repeatedly insisting he would not do so.

Biden, who first came to Capitol Hill in 1972. as a US senator, drew criticism from his own party for his apparent reluctance to drop out of the presidential race amid concerns about his age and mental acuity.

Speaking to USA Today, Biden said that “based on polls” he believed he would win, but acknowledged that his age may have affected his performance.

“When Trump ran for re-election, I really thought I had the best chance to beat him. But I also didn’t want to be president when I was 85 years old, 86 years old,” Biden said. “But I don’t know.” Who the hell knows?

After the loss of Vice President Kamala Harris to Trump, senior members of the Democratic Party, such as former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, said that Democrats he might have done better in the election if Biden had left the race earlier.