In his final press conference just days before leaving office, President Biden reflected on his time as president, saying he had spent too much time on policy and not enough time on politics.
Biden spoke with MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell on Thursday after delivering a farewell address to the nation the night before.
O'Donnell said Biden was foolish not to sign COVID-19 relief checks issued early in his administration after President-elect Trump put his name on the checks during his first term. I asked him about something he said last month. He asked Biden if it had crossed his mind to sign his name.
“That crossed my mind. But I think the mistake we made was not having our allies acknowledge what the Democrats had done,” he said.
“Ironically, I spent too much time on policy and not enough time on politics,” Biden added. “Because… there are some senators in Congress, Democratic senators in Congress who say, ‘Well, you know, Joe Biden did this, so-and-so did this, and this. This is a new thing.’” It was built by the likes of the Democratic Party. ”
The president said people need to know who is responsible for aid like the COVID-19 stimulus package, but he thinks it's rude to boast.
“Let people know who is responsible for what happened. But I know it sounds very stupid and almost in bad taste to say that,” Biden told MSNBC.
In a December speech at the Brookings Institution, Biden said he learned something from Trump: He was “stupid” for signing checks for the people and not signing them.
In the MSNBC interview, Biden was also asked about his farewell address, which he said was intended to warn of the oligarchy that is forming in the United States and to ensure that the president will not be immune from prosecution for crimes committed in America. The tone was sombre as they called for a constitutional amendment. office.
Mr. Biden told Mr. O'Donnell that the burden had not been eased by the time he finished speaking Wednesday night, but that he had “grave concerns.”
“I'm really concerned about how fragile our democracies are. It sounds corny. But I mean, I'm really, really worried, you've heard me say it a hundred times. “I really think we're at a turning point in history here,” Biden said. “There's a presidency that says your authority is really limited. I mean, you're the top dog, but you can't decide everything. And, I don't know, they're chipping away at all those elements. It seems there is.”
The president is scheduled to leave office on Monday to coincide with Trump's swearing-in. Mr. Biden chose to run for re-election, but abandoned his candidacy in July due to concerns about his age and physical strength, and endorsed Vice President Harris, who lost to Mr. Trump in November.
