Biden says Kamala Harris ‘competent to run again’ — and ‘could have beaten Trump’ despite crushing loss

WASHINGTON — Retiring President Biden declared Friday night that Vice President Kamala Harris was “competent” to be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2028 — and said she “could have” won in November despite her blowout loss to President-elect Donald Trump.

“I think she’s competent to run again in four years. That will be a decision for her to make,” Biden, 82, said just 10 days before leaving the White House.

The nation’s oldest-ever president at first ignored the question during an evening Q&A with journalists after he defended his own decision to seek re-election last year before dropping out and backing Harris as his successor just 107 days before the election.

Asked if he regrets running again and whether that made it easier for Trump to win a second non-consecutive term, Biden, who had appeared to tout monthly jobs-growth data, said, “I don’t think so.”

President Biden declared Vice President Kamala Harris “competent to run again in four years.” REUTERS

“I think I would have beaten Trump, could have beaten Trump, and I think that Kamala could have beaten Trump, would have beaten Trump,” Biden said, looking down as he spoke and offering no explanation for Harris, 60, going on to lose all seven swing states.

Biden took questions from reporters after touting monthly jobs-growth figures. REUTERS

“I thought it was important to unify the party,” Biden said of his decision to drop out amid a mutiny by fellow Democrats concerned about his mental acuity following a dismal June debate.

“And when the party was worried about whether or not I was going to be able to move — even though I thought I could win again, I thought it was better to unify the party,” Biden said.

“It was the greatest honor in my life to be president United States, but I didn’t want to be one who caused a party that wasn’t unified to lose an election. And that’s why I stepped aside, but I was confident she could win.”

Harris won the fewest Electoral College votes of any Democratic candidate since Michael Dukakis in 1988 and likely would face stiff competition for the nomination in 2028.

Harris, 60, joined Biden for a California wildfire event earlier Friday and is set to embark on a world tour next week. AP

In a sign that she had been preparing for a continued political career, Harris planned to embark next week on a global tour touting what she regards as foreign policy achievements but nixed the whirlwind trip as deadly wildfires continue to tear through her home state of California.

She had planned to stop in Singapore to discuss the administration’s focus on Asia, then in Bahrain to discuss the Middle East and finally in Germany to recount the NATO response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Biden told reporters he plans to remain in the public eye after leaving office — unlike some predecessors, such as George W. Bush, who almost never makes public remarks on contemporary politics.

“I’m not going to be out of sight or out of mind,” he said.