WASHINGTON – In his first interview since announcing that he will seek a second term, United States President Joe Biden sought to downplay concerns about his age by saying he is the most experienced person to have ever run for the post.

“I have acquired a hell of a lot of wisdom and know more than the vast majority of people,” he told MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle in an interview that aired at 10pm on Friday night, on a network that is sympathetic to Democratic causes.

“And I’m more experienced than anybody that’s ever run for the office. And I think I’ve proven myself to be honourable as well as also effective.”

Mr Biden, 80, who will be 86 at the end of a second term should he win, has in recent days tried to reassure voters about his age, presenting it as an asset rather than a hindrance to running.

In the interview, he added that Vice-President Kamala Harris “hasn’t got the credit she deserves” and he promoted her past work as attorney-general of California and as a senator.

The wide-ranging interview showed a president seeking to make his case for re-election amid looming potential crises, including a deployment of American troops to the country’s southern border and a federal government that is potentially weeks away from defaulting on its debt.

Compared with his predecessors, Mr Biden has given far fewer news conferences and rarely sits for interviews with journalists, instead opting for friendly celebrity interviews or social media videos.

In the interview, Mr Biden said he is not yet prepared to invoke a clause in the 14th Amendment that will compel the federal government to continue issuing new debt should the government run out of cash and default on its loans, a date Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned last week could come as soon as June 1.

“I haven’t got there yet,” he added.

Republicans are demanding major spending cuts before raising the debt limit.

But Mr Biden has repeatedly said he will not negotiate over the debt ceiling, noting that it was raised several times under former president Donald Trump without issue.

In his interview, he reiterated that he is willing to negotiate on federal spending – as long as it is separate from debt-ceiling negotiations.

“This is not your father’s Republican Party,” Mr Biden said, repeating claims he has made before about extremists within that party.

“This is a different, a different group. And I think that we have to make it clear to the American people that I am prepared to negotiate in detail with their budget. How much are you going to spend? How much are you going to tax? Where can we cut?”

Mr Biden is supposed to meet with Republican and Democratic leaders at the White House this week to discuss a path forward.

He will need a negotiating partner in Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who last week marshalled a Bill to raise the debt ceiling while cutting spending and unravelling major elements of Mr Biden’s domestic agenda.

The legislation is considered dead on arrival but has given Mr McCarthy the opportunity to say he has done his part.

Mr Biden said in the interview that Mr McCarthy is an “honest man” but that he has “sold away everything” to the far-right wing of his party to become House Speaker.

“He’s agreed to things that, maybe he believes, but are just extreme,” Mr Biden added.

He defended his decision to send 1,500 troops to the border with Mexico as the ending of pandemic-era immigration restrictions threatens a surge of migrants. He said the troops will not be there to “enforce the law” but to “free up the border agents that need to be on the border”.

He also said that his son Hunter, who is the subject of a federal investigation into his business dealings, is innocent and that he did not think the legal problems would harm his presidency.

“My son has done nothing wrong,” Mr Biden said. “I trust him. I have faith in him. And it impacts my presidency by making me feel proud of him.” NYTIMES