FORMER PRESIDENT BIDEN is sitting for his first interviews since leaving office, as Democrats grapple with an identity crisis and seek a new generation of leaders to guide them out of the political wilderness.
Biden gave his first post-presidency interview to the BBC, where he criticized Trump's handling of global affairs, from the Russia-Ukraine war to his talk of acquiring Greenland.
"What the hell's going on here? What president ever talks like that? That's not who we are," Biden said. "We're about freedom, democracy, opportunity, not about confiscation."
President Trump swung back during a press conference in the Oval Office.
"He didn't know what the hell he was doing," Trump said.
"We went through four years of misery," Trump added, saying there wouldn't have been an Oct. 7 terror attack against Israel; inflation; or a war between Russia and Ukraine if Biden hadn't been elected.
For some Democrats, Biden's legacy will be about his decision to drop out of the 2024 campaign after a disastrous debate performance exacerbated voter concerns about his age and ability to serve.
He quickly endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris, who gave Democrats a jolt of excitement that fizzled out on election night, when Trump carried every swing state.
Biden said in the BBC interview that he has no regrets and that it wouldn't have mattered if he dropped out earlier or allowed for a competitive primary.
"I don't know how that would have made much of a difference," Biden said.
He argued that he stuck around because his first term was going so well he wanted to ride the momentum.
"I'd become so successful in our agenda, it was hard to say, I'm going to stop now," Biden said. "I meant what I said when I started, that I'm preparing to hand this to the next generation, it's a transition government, but things move so quickly it made it difficult to walk away."
A slew of new books hit the shelves this year reporting on Biden's decline and how those around him conspired to shield him from public scrutiny.
Biden and former first lady Jill Biden will appear for a joint interview on ABC's "The View" on Thursday.
Harris has not sat for any interviews, but she's given two public speeches and appeared at the Met Gala in New York this week.
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