Vice President Joseph Biden returned to CBS’s The Late Show tonight in his first talk show appearance since the presidential election, to clarify a remark he made one day earlier that he would run for the White House in 2020. Biden told host Stephen Colbert he did not regret his decision to stand down in the 2016 race, though he believed he was best prepared to lead the country at this time. “What I regret was the circumstance that led me not to be able to run,” Biden said, in reference to his son Beau’s death, at age 46, in May of 2015.
“In that sense I’m disappointed, but I don’t regret the actual decision. It was the right decision for me to have made,” Biden said. Plus, he added, he learned from the experience that the way to become the most popular guy in the country is to be a politician announcing you’re not running for POTUS.
Colbert noted that, just one day earlier, Bidden had told a reporter he would make a run at the White House in 2020. Biden told Colbert he’d only said that so he could stop by Late Show and, once again, announce he was not planning to run after all, bolstering his popularity. “I don’t plan on running again,” Biden insisted, while adding that he’s learned to never say never. “Hell, Donald Trump is going to be 74 and I’ll be 77 and in better shape,” our outgoing Veep joked.
Colbert and Biden kicked off tonight’s Late Show with a family meeting:
