In a candid moment during a speaking event in San Diego, former President Joe Biden shared that he’s still receiving calls from world leaders and members of Congress—on both sides of the aisle—asking for his counsel amid President Donald Trump’s polarizing second term.
Speaking at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) conference on Wednesday, Biden opened up about how he’s been spending his time since leaving the White House. While he’s stayed largely out of the public eye, he said he remains quietly active in political circles.
“I stayed engaged because I really cared about what I was doing,” Biden said. “A lot of the things I worked so damn hard on are now changing so rapidly.”
Without naming names, Biden said he’s been fielding calls from multiple European leaders urging him to stay involved.
“I’m not going to go into it, I can’t,” he said. “But I’m giving advice. Because things are different now. And when America doesn’t lead, who will? That’s not about power—it’s just the truth.”
He added that lawmakers from both parties have also reached out. “They’re not asking for answers, just to bounce things off me. I’m not looking for it, but they ask to see me—and I see them.”
Biden also offered an update on his personal life, revealing he’s hard at work on a memoir focused on his four years as president. “They want it to be 500 pages,” he joked. “It’s not easy, but I’m working like hell on it.”
The former president, who in May disclosed a diagnosis of aggressive prostate cancer, said the book will explore what happened during his term and how it impacted the country—and the world.
“You don’t just walk away,” Biden said, reflecting on the gravity of today’s global challenges. “Mistakes now have far bigger consequences than they did 50 years ago.”
