Biden: ‘I’m the most qualified person to run for president’

WASHINGTON (AA) – US President Joe Biden said Thursday that he is well-qualified to run for president in November elections amid calls that he withdraw his candidacy.

“I think I’m the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once, and I will beat him again,” said Biden during a press conference on the final day of a NATO summit, referring to his rival, former President Donald Trump.

“I’m not in this for my legacy. I’m in this to complete the job I started,” he added.

Biden said he’s going to keep moving “because I got more work to do. We got more work to finish. We made so much progress. Think about it.”

“I’m optimistic about where things are going,” he added.

His remarks came in response to growing calls from Democratic lawmakers, donors and supporters for Biden to drop out of the race.

Biden also said that US allies at the NATO summit encouraged him to run for president again.

“I’ve not had any of my European allies come up here and say, ‘Joe, don’t run. What I hear them say is ‘You’ve gotta win. You can’t let this guy come forward, he’d be a disaster,’” he told reporters.

Biden has been facing calls to withdraw his candidacy since his poor performance against Trump in their first presidential debate on June 27.

If reelected, the Democratic president will be 86 years old when he leaves office.

– Trump and Europe –

When asked about a possible win by Trump in the presidential elections, Biden said foreign policy has never been his strong point.

“He seems to have an affinity to people who are authoritarian. That worries Europe. That worries Poland, and nobody, including the people of Poland, think if he wins, things will stop in Ukraine and that will be the end of it,” Biden said.

“What I can say is, I think I am the best qualified person to do the job, to make sure that Ukraine succeeds, that the European alliance stays strong,” he added.

Asked if he could handle Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping three years from now, Biden responded: “I’m ready to deal with them now and three years from now.”

He also said he has “no good reason to talk to Putin right now,” but added “there’s not much that he is prepared to do in terms of accommodating any change in his behavior.”

“I think that I’m prepared to talk to any leader who wants to talk, including if Putin called me and wanted to talk,” he said. “My point is I’m prepared to talk to anybody, but I don’t see any inclination.”