Biden: No one-term promise from me

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday flatly denied a report that he’d told aides he was considering pledging to serve only one term if he’s elected president in 2020, saying he’d leave that decision up to fate.

Politico reporter Ryan Lizza wrote Wednesday that four associates of the 77-year-old Biden said it was “virtually inconceivable” that he would run for a second term in 2024, assuming he wins the Democratic nomination and defeats President Trump in November.

“Not true, not true,” Biden said during an interview at the Culinary Union Local 226 hall in Las Vegas, following a town hall meeting with UNITE HERE members from across the country. “Never spoke to any aides or anybody for that matter about serving one term.”

“I’m not even elected yet,” Biden added. “Look, what I do, I’m a great respecter of fate. Let’s see if I get elected first and see how I feel, three years into it.”

Biden also addressed a series in the Washington Post that began running this week, which used documents and interviews to suggest the American people had been misled about the conduct of the war in Afghanistan and its chances of success during the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

Biden defended Obama’s handling of the war.

“I think the president pushed as hard as he could. He wanted facts,” Biden said. “I was very skeptical but there was no hard data. There was always competing ideas and I think, I know, the president tried to be as straightforward as he could based on what we knew.”

Biden said he believes it’s time to negotiate an end to the Afghanistan war “entirely,” and said that future military conflicts should have “a consensus of the American people,” meaning a congressional authorization for the use of military force.

The former vice president has also found himself answering questions about his son’s service on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma during Biden’s term. The House is currently considering articles of impeachment against Trump because the president asked his counterpart in Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden, a move that could have had implications for the 2020 race.

But Biden sidestepped a question about whether it was appropriate for Hunter Biden to serve on the board in the first place.

“Look, I’m not going to let Donald Trump take our eye off the ball,” Biden said. “The question is, what did Donald Trump do? Was it an impeachable offense? It appears as though it was.”

Pressed, Biden referred to comments from Hunter Biden, who said in retrospect he would not have taken the Burisma position.

“His comments speak for themselves. He’s spoken to that, and let him speak to that,” Biden said. “There’s no allegation that there was anything that was done that was wrong. And Hunter has said himself that if he had to do it over again he probably (would) not.”

Biden also said he supports the Culinary Union’s efforts to organize Station Casino properties. Unions have succeeded in winning recognition at seven Station properties. Biden said he supports mandatory arbitration to ensure workers at those hotels get a signed contract.

Contact Steve Sebelius at SSebelius@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253. Follow @SteveSebelius on Twitter.