Interview Quotes

Decision to Run for President and Legacy

"But what happened was a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races. And I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic. You'd be interviewing me about, why did Nancy Pelosi say, why did so on? And I thought it would be a real distraction, number one."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:01:05

"Number two, when I ran the first time, I thought of myself as being a transition president. I can't even say how old I am. It's hard for me to get it out of my mouth. But things got moving so quickly, it didn't happen."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:01:20

"And the combination was that I thought it was a critical issue for me still, it's not a joke, maintaining this democracy. But I thought it was important, because although it's a great honor being president, I think I have an obligation to the country to do what I, the most important thing you can do, and that is we must, we must, we must defeat Trump."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:01:32

Reflection on Family and Beau

"It's what they said to me. They said, my grandchildren call me Papa, my children call me Dad. And they said they were proud, and it mattered to me a lot."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:02:10

"Look, I can honestly say that I think of him all the time. Whenever I have a decision, it's really hard to make. I literally ask myself, what will Beau do? He was, he should be sitting here and be an interviewer, not me. He was really a fine man."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:02:35

"And he said, I'm going to be okay, Dad. I'm all right, I'm not afraid. But, Dad, you've got to make me promise. I said, what's that, Beau? He said, I know when it happens, you're going to want to quit. You're not going to stay engaged. He went with my dad, he said, look at me. Look at me, Dad. Give me your word as a Biden. When I go, you'll stay engaged. Give me your word. Give me your word. And I did."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:03:18

The Charlottesville Moment and Decision to Run

"When I spoke to the mom who lost her daughter, it's a consequence of those neo-Nazis and white supremacists coming out of the fields in America with torches, carrying Nazi banners, singing the same sick anti-Semitic bile that was sung in Germany in the 30s. And when her daughter was killed, the press went to the then-President Trump and said, what do you think? He said, they're very fine people on both sides. I knew then. I knew I had to do something. And that's how I decided to run. Because democracy was literally at stake."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:04:24

"Think of this. Every other time the Ku Klux Klan has been involved, they've wore hoods so they're not identified. Under his presidency, they came out of those woods with no hoods, knowing they had an ally. That's how I read it. They knew they had an ally in the White House. And he stepped up for them."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:05:06

Confidence in Peaceful Transfer of Power

"If Trump wins, no, I'm not confident at all. I mean, if Trump loses, I'm not confident at all. He means what he says. We don't take him seriously. He means it. All the stuff about if we lose, there'll be a bloodbath. It's going to have to be a stolen election. Look what they're trying to do now in the local election districts where people count the votes. They're elected. They're putting people in place in states that they're going to count the votes, right? You can't love your country only when you win."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:05:41

Ceasefire Possibility and Foreign Policy

"It's still possible. The plan I put together, endorsed by the G7, endorsed by the UN Security Council, etc., is still viable. And I'm working literally every single day to, and my whole team, to see to it that it doesn't escalate into a regional war, but it easily can."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:06:54

Ambition and Economic Record

"And we have, with the great help of so many people. Look, democracy works, and it was very important to prove that it worked, prove that it worked. I mean, look at what we've been able to do. We've created 16 million jobs, I mean, real new jobs. We've gotten around the brink of having the private sector invest over a trillion dollars, a trillion dollars in the American economy. One of the things I fought for as a senator for a long time was to change the dynamic of how we grow the economy, not from the top down, but from the bottom up. The idea of trickle-down economics doesn't work, in my view."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:07:36

Campaigning and Health Concerns

"Yes, yes, you will. I talk to her frequently. And by the way, I've known her running mate as a great guy, as we say. If we grew up in the same neighborhood, we'd have been friends. He's my kind of guy. He's real. He's smart. I've known him for several decades. I think it's a hell of a team."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:08:20

"All I can say is watch. That's all. Look, I had a really, really bad day in that debate because I was sick. But I have no serious problem. I was talking to Governor Shapiro, who's a friend. We have to win Pennsylvania, my original home state. He and I are putting together a campaign tour in Pennsylvania. I'm going to be campaigning in other states as well. And I'm going to do whatever Kamala thinks I can do to help most."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:08:50

How History Should Remember President Biden

"That he proved democracy can work. It got us out of a pandemic. It produced the single greatest economic recovery in American history. We're the most powerful economy in the world. We have more to do. And it demonstrated that we can pull the nation together. Look, I've always believed, and I still do, the American people are good and decent, honorable people."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:10:07

"When I announced my candidacy to run way back for president, I said, we've got to do three things. Restore the soul of America. Build the economy from the middle out in the bottom up, not the top down. And bring the country together. No one thought we could get done. And the collusion was not my own people, but we got done."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:10:35

The Stakes of the Election

"I give you my word, I think, that I mark my words. If he wins this nomination, I mean, excuse me, this election, watch what happens. It's a danger. He's a genuine danger to American security."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:11:21

"Look, we're at an inflection point in world history. We really are. The decisions we make in the last three, four years, the next three, four years, are going to determine what the next six decades look like. And democracy is the key."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:11:40

"And so I propose that we limit terms to 18 years. So, anyway, there's little regard by the MAGA Republicans. For their political institutions. That's what holds this country together. That's what democracy is about. That's who we are as a nation."

— Joseph R. Biden • 00:12:09