Joseph R. Biden Jr. defended his decision to praise an embattled Republican lawmaker during a paid speech in Michigan last fall, telling a group of mayors on Thursday morning that it reflected his philosophy of how to “get things done.”

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Mr. Biden had earned $200,000 for an October speaking engagement in Benton Harbor, Mich., three weeks before the midterm elections. During that speech, Mr. Biden gave a glowing commendation to Representative Fred Upton, a powerful Republican who joined with Mr. Biden to increase funding for cancer research and, separately, helped forge legislation to gut the Affordable Care Act.

In Washington Thursday, Mr. Biden offered a forceful defense of his supportive remarks about Mr. Upton, signaling that he has no intention of blunting his instinct toward bipartisanship and compromise in the event that he runs for president. The former vice president has told allies in recent weeks that he is leaning toward running against President Trump in 2020.

“I read in The New York Times today that I — that one of my problems is if I ever run for president, I like Republicans,” Mr. Biden said, according to a video posted by the public-affairs network C-Span.