Former President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will appear on ABC’s “The View” on Thursday for their first joint interview since leaving the White House.
The pair will join the co-hosts live in-studio to discuss life post-presidency, the Democratic Party’s losses in 2024, and the current political landscape as President Donald Trump passes the 100-day mark of his second term.
The Bidens have kept a relatively low profile since leaving Washington in January, though the former president is beginning to ratchet up his public appearances.
Joe Biden’s first major speech since departing the White House came last month in Chicago, when he rebuked the Trump administration’s approach to Social Security, accusing officials of “taking a hatchet” to the agency and more broadly causing “so much damage” to the federal government. Biden has appeared occasionally since.
In his first post-presidency interview, broadcast on the BBC on Wednesday, Biden sharply critiqued the current administration on a host of issues: He likened Trump’s push for a peace deal that would have Ukraine cede territory to Russia to “modern-day appeasement,” and blasted Trump’s threats to acquire Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal.
“What president ever talks like that?” Biden said. “That’s not who we are. We’re about freedom, democracy, opportunity — not about confiscation.”
Trump, for his part, routinely criticizes Biden as “the worst president in American history” and blames him for various difficulties in his own administration, including recent stock market turmoil and a decline in U.S. gross domestic product.
Biden’s presidency marked the culmination of a career in public service that spanned more than five decades, including 36 years as a senator and eight years as vice president. He leaves behind a complex legacy, punctuated by Trump’s historic victory in November.
Biden and his team were criticized for his decision to seek reelection and later withdraw after a poor debate performance against Trump that moved some Democrats to publicly question his ability as he approached the age of 82 to campaign for and serve another term.
Even still, Biden and his allies have maintained a belief that he could have beaten Trump had he stayed in the race. He’s said he decided to drop out and endorse then-Vice President Kamala Harris to help unify the party.
Asked by the BBC if he should have dropped out earlier, Biden said it wouldn’t have had an impact on the outcome.
“I don’t, I don’t think it would have mattered. We left at a time when we had a good candidate, she’s fully funded,” Biden said.
“I meant what I said when I started, that I think I’m prepared to hand this to the next generation, a transition government,” Biden added. “But things moved so quickly that it made it difficult to walk away from the ticket and it was a hard decision. But regret that? No, I think it was the right decision. I think that, well, it was just a difficult decision.”
Jill Biden, 73, who has also begun stepping up public appearances, has also emphasized she believes her husband would have been able to serve four more years.
“Sure,” she told the Washington Post in an interview before the Bidens left the White House in January. “I mean, today, I think he has a full schedule. He started early with interviews and briefings, and it just keeps going.”
More broadly, the Bidens’ appearance on “The View” comes as Democrats are in the midst of rebuilding their coalition and retooling some parts of their message; and grappling with what role — if any — the former president should play in the future of the party.
Two key electoral races this year will stress test those changes: gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey. It’s unclear if Joe Biden will be involved in campaigning.
Both Joe Biden and Harris have signed with the CAA talent agency.
Meanwhile, Jill Biden, who retired from her longtime teaching career in December, was recently named as chair of the recently launched Milken Institute’s Women’s Health Network, which will promote research and investments for women’s health.
Speaking about the initiative in Los Angeles on Monday, Jill Biden said that she does not think the federal government will be as involved with women’s health investments and research as it used to be.
“I think this is really an opportunity for business, for private equity to, you know, it doesn’t seem like the federal government is really going to be as involved as they were … I think we all have a part to play in every aspect of this,” Biden said when discussing what excited her about the initiative.
She was seemingly referencing federal government cuts, which have heavily hit health research initiatives as well, although she did not call out the White House or any figures explicitly.
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
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