With now less than two weeks left in the White House, President Joe Biden appeared to confirm he is weighing preemptive pardons for figures that are seen as potential targets by a second Trump administration but said he has still not made a final decision. 

What You Need To Know

  • With now less than two weeks left in the White House, President Joe Biden appeared to confirm he was weighing preemptive pardons for figures that are seen as potential target by a second Trump administration but said he has still not made a final decision
  • In the interview, Biden also told USA Today that he still believes he could have won the 2024 election while acknowledging such an assertion is “presumptuous" and said he didn't know if he would've had the vigor to serve another full term

In a wide-ranging exit interview with USA Today conducted Sunday and published Wednesday, Biden said his decision on whether to issue pardons for those such as former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and Dr. Anthony Fauci “depends on who he puts in what positions,” seemingly referring to President-elect Donald Trump. 

The president-elect has already named his choices for most key positions in his second administration, including those who would theoretically be involved in any investigations. They include Pam Bondi for attorney general and Kash Patel for FBI director. None of his nominees have officially started their confirmation processes in the Senate yet, however. 

On the topic, Biden went on to say that he was “straightforward” with Trump when the pair met for two hours at the White House days after the November election.

“I tried to make it clear that there was no need, and it was counterintuitive for his interest to go back and try to settle scores,” Biden said, before saying Trump didn’t give an answer on what he was going to do and “just basically listened.” 

Recently, Trump and Republicans, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson, have railed against Biden’s decision to award Cheney — a vocal critic of the president-elect who was one of two Republicans to serve on the House committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — with the second highest civilian medal earlier this month. Johnson pledged that the Republican-led House will continue to investigate the committee. 

Fauci, a former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, became a key target of Republicans’ frustrations with the U.S. government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The possibility that the outgoing Democratic president could grant Cheney, Fauci and other figures that include Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., preemptive pardons gained steam after Biden shocked the political world when he signed a sweeping one for his son, Hunter — a move the president told USA Today he hopes does not set a precedent for future commanders in chief to abuse the power. 

Meanwhile, Biden also told USA Today that he still believes he could have won the 2024 election, even after his vice president's solid loss to Trump.

“It's presumptuous to say that, but I think, yes, based on the polling," Biden said. 

Asked if he would’ve had the vigor to serve another four years in the White House, however, the 82-year-old president said he didn’t know, noting Trump’s decision to seek another four years in office is what spurred his initial decision to run again. 

“And then when Trump was running again for reelection, I really thought I had the best chance of beating him,” Biden said. “But I also wasn't looking to be president when I was 85 years old, 86 years old. And so I did talk about passing the baton.

“But I don't know. Who the hell knows?” Biden continued. “So far, so good. But who knows what I'm going to be when I'm 86 years old?”