Appearing Thursday evening at a CNN town hall in Las Vegas, Nevada, former Vice President Joe Biden, 77, pledged not to run for a second White House term if his “mental acuity” declines.
A transcript is as follows:
TOWN HALL QUESTIONER: Some expressed concern about the ages of you and Senator Sanders. Would you, if you are the nominee, go as far as to commit to only one term if it meant uniting our party?
JOE BIDEN: No, I wouldn’t do that. But, I’ll tell you what: you’re going to be able to make a judgment. And by the way, the two youngest men on the stage now or me and Buttigieg. That’s the way it goes, you know what I mean? But look, It’s totally legitimate for you all to ask about my age, or anybody else’s age up there and our health. That’s why I give all my medical records. Everything, okay? The whole deal, so you know who I am.
Anybody who starts off saying “I’m only going to serve one term” is already behind the 8-ball because then you’re a one-term president, and no one worries what the hell is gonna happen after that. All the woman on that stage, including the woman you’re leaning toward, is over 70 years of age, and I’m in pretty good health… If anything changed in my health, making it incapable of me to fully exert all the energy and mental acuity that was needed to be done, then I give you my word: I would not run again.