Vice President Joe Biden is hoping Donald Trump does not become the next president, but he acknowledged it's a possibility.

"Yes, I think it's possible,'' Biden told Savannah Guthrie during TODAY's live broadcast from the White House on Tuesday when asked whether he could imagine Trump taking the Oval Office.

"I hope that if that were to occur — I hope it doesn't because I have fundamentally different views than he does — I'd hope that he gets a lot more serious about the issues, a lot more serious about gaining knowledge about this this nation functions and foreign policy and domestic policy, but look, that's a long way off."

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Biden's views on Trump's White House chances differed a bit from those of his boss.

Speaking with Matt Lauer earlier, President Obama said Trump's message wasn't connecting with a majority of voters, saying, "Talk to me if he wins."

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The president added, "But I'm pretty confident that the overwhelming majority of Americans are looking for the kind of politics that does feed our hopes and not our fears, that does work together and doesn't try to divide, that isn't looking for simplistic solutions and scapegoating but looks for us buckling down and figuring out, 'How do we make things work for the next generation.'"

On that point, Biden agreed Trump's bid for the Republican nomination was polarizing.

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"I think he is divisive,'' Biden said. "I think he'd have to acknowledge that he's very divisive. That's not healthy. We always do best when we act as one America."

"We always do best when we appeal to our better angels, and we always do poorly when we appeal to our fears and our differences."

Separately, Biden reflected on what life may be like when his tenure in the White House is finished, saying that he'd continue to focus on issues like cancer research.

Biden's son, Beau, died of brain cancer last year at 46.

In October, the 73-year-old announced he would not seek the Democratic nomination for president.

He reiterated that claim Tuesday — "I made the right decision, I'm positive of that," he told Savannah — but admitted that filling the void following a long life of public service will be a challenge.

"I've not dreamt of being president,'' he said. "Here's what's hard to let go. From the time I was 28 years old, I've held public office.

"Every morning I've gotten up, I've had some policy concern that was on my mind, and I was able to work on trying to change things. It's hard to figure what replaces that, that sense of purpose, when you're not in this office."

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