U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday he did not believe his decision to run for re-election paved the way for President-elect Donald Trump to win in 2024 and indicated he is still considering pre-emptive pardons for people whom Trump has targeted.

President Joe Biden says he is still considering whether to give pardons to people who have been criticized or threatened by President-elect Donald Trump.

In an impromptu and at times contemplative back-and-forth with reporters Friday evening, President Joe Biden said he had no regrets about dropping his bid for reelection although he remained confident that he “would have beaten Trump, could have beaten Trump” if there had been no change at the top of the ticket.

President Joe Biden dismissed the idea of pardoning himself as he considers using his clemency powers to protect critics of President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised to seek revenge when he returns to the White House on Jan.

Biden’s final Oval Office address will follow a speech summing up his administration’s foreign policy legacy delivered from the State Department on Monday