Former Vice President Joe Biden doesn’t think Democrats should push for President Trump’s impeachment if they retake the House in November.
In an interview with CBS This Morning, Biden told host Norah O’Donnell that he doesn’t think “there’s a basis for doing that right now,” saying he hopes Democrats don’t initiate impeachment proceedings. Biden called on Democrats to wait until Special Counsel Mueller concludes his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, saying, “I think we should wait until the report comes out.”
Instead, Biden suggested focusing on “all the terrible things that are happening now in terms of interest of the middle class people and working class people,” noting that “there are so many things to attend to immediately.” Specific issues that Biden cited include the ‘decimation’ of unions by the Trump administration and ‘evisceration’ of the Environmental Protection Agency. “Let’s see where the investigation takes us,” he added.
In the wide-ranging interview with CBS, Biden also touched on Trump’s response to the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, voter suppression, and a possible run for president in 2020.
On Trump’s apparent defense of the Saudi government in light of Khashoggi’s disappearance, Biden expressed concern that Trump “seems to have a love affair with autocrats.” He added that he doesn’t know “why this administration seems to feel the need to coddle autocrats and dictators from Putin to Kim Jong-un to you know Duterte.”
Biden told O’Donnell that “absolutely, positively, without question” voter suppression continues to occur in the U.S., citing thousands of applications currently on hold in Georgia. “Seventy percent of those are African American. Surprise, surprise,” Biden said.
And on whether he’s seriously considering a 2020 run, Biden said “very private decisions” relating to his family and what he wants to do with the rest of his life would determine his ultimate decision. But, he conceded, his age would be a “legitimate issue”—he is currently 75.
“I think people are going to judge it, if I were to run. I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality. Can I still run up the steps of Air Force Two?” he said. “Do I have all my faculties? Am I energetic? I think it’s totally legitimate for people to ask those questions.”
