Former President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that world leaders and lawmakers from both parties continue to reach out to him for advice and encouragement to stay politically engaged, as President Donald Trump’s second term reshapes the U.S. and global landscape.
Speaking at the Society for Human Resource Management conference in San Diego, Biden was asked how he’s been spending his time since leaving office. While he’s no longer in the spotlight, he made it clear he hasn’t stepped away from politics entirely.
“I stayed engaged because I really cared about what I was doing,” Biden said. “So many things I worked so damn hard on—things I thought had changed the country—are now being undone so quickly.”
He didn’t mention Trump by name, but his remarks were a clear reference to the current administration’s efforts to dismantle many of his policy accomplishments.
Biden shared that he’s been receiving calls from European leaders urging him to stay involved.
“I’m not going to get into details—I can’t—but I’ve heard from a number of European heads of state, asking me to get engaged,” he said. “I’m not actively involved, but I do offer advice. Because the world is different now. Mistakes today carry much greater consequences than they did 50 years ago.”
“If America doesn’t lead,” he asked, “who will? That’s not a joke. It’s not about raw power—it’s about the ability to bring people together.”
Biden also said he frequently hears from Democrats and Republicans alike who want to meet with him—not necessarily for answers, but to exchange ideas.
“I’m not out there publicly doing much,” he said. “But people are asking to talk, and I do. I’m not chasing it—they come to me.”
The former president, who announced in May that he’s battling an aggressive form of prostate cancer, also revealed he’s currently writing a new memoir.
“I’m working like hell on a 500-page book,” he said. “They want me to focus just on the four years, and to write about what happened—and how it shaped the world, if it did.”
