Biden calls Trump ‘maybe future president,’ jokes he’s ‘400’ years old

WASHINGTON — President Biden sounded pessimistic about his re-election chances Thursday, calling his predecessor and 2024 challenger Donald Trump the “maybe future president” of the United States.

Biden, 80, also referred to himself as “400” years old during a rambling speech in Philadelphia that was meant to highlight the release of his annual budget proposal — which includes key planks of his re-election campaign platform.

“As you can tell, I’ve only been around a few years — like 400,” Biden said jokingly after declaring he’d “never been more optimistic about America’s future than I am today.”

Biden is already the oldest-ever president but is gearing up for a rematch against the 76-year-old Trump in the next election.

He would be 86 if he completes a full second term.

“I had a big fight with the former president — and maybe future president,” Biden said, adding as the audience booed, “Bless me, Father.”

“The big fight you may remember going on was was our good friend, the former president, decided all the inspectors general … he fired them all.

“I said, ‘You shouldn’t do that.’ Well, guess what? Now we’re finding out there’s billions of [COVID-19 relief] dollars were stolen.”

Biden veered off-script repeatedly during his 53-minute speech, which he began with a shout-out to Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who has been hospitalized since Feb. 15 for clinical depression after also experiencing hearing difficulties since a stroke last May.

“John, if you could hear this at all, we’re with you, pal,” Biden said.

The president, who last year pushed through a $369 billion package of environmental projects, including subsidies for electric vehicles — after blocking the construction of oil pipelines and new drilling projects, also forecast the near-term end of US reliance on oil as an energy source.

“We’re gonna still need oil for the next 10 to 15 years,” Biden said — giving a more specific timeframe than in last month’s State of the Union address to Congress, when he said that “we’re going to need oil for at least another decade.”

Biden spoke after White House officials unveiled his budget plans, which called for $5.5 trillion in tax increases over 10 years, targeted mostly at wealthier people and corporations.

But that plan stands no shot of passing the GOP-held House.

Biden and House Republicans are locked in a standoff over raising the nation’s borrowing limit later this year, with conservatives calling for spending cuts in exchange for agreeing to expand the national debt.

At one point in his remarks, Biden reiterated his claim that Republicans are angling to cut Social Security — despite House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) repeatedly ruling out changes to the senior benefits program.

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“I will protect Social Security and Medicare without any change, guaranteed. I won’t allow them to be gutted or eliminated as MAGA Republican threatened to do,” Biden said.

Moments later, Biden noted that House Republicans who heckled him during the State of the Union had indicated they would not cut the social safety net benefits.

“Through their shouting and unruliness, they seemed to say they’re not going to cut Social Security or Medicare.

“But what about Medicaid? What about the Affordable Care Act? What about veterans’ benefits? What about law enforcement? What about aid to our rural communities? What about support for our military?” Biden said.

“Here’s the deal: if MAGA Republicans try to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, I’m not gonna let them.”