Former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday struck a uniquely bipartisan and pragmatic tone as he joked about criticism he's received for getting along with Republicans -- perhaps an effort to distinguish himself from a largely liberal field of candidates vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, as he weighs a bid of his own.

“I get in trouble, I read in the New York Times that one of my problems is, if I ever run for president, I like Republicans: Okay well bless me, Father, for I have sinned,” Biden said, crossing himself. “But where I come from, I don’t know how you get anything done until we start talking to one another again.”

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Biden appeared to be referring to a New York Times story on Wednesday that reported how Biden praised Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., three weeks before the November elections. The Times said the move “stunned Democrats and elated Republicans” and “underscores his potential vulnerabilities in a fight for the Democratic nomination and raises questions about his judgment as a party leader.”

Biden addressed the U.S Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C., where he spoke at length about his experience in the Obama administration dealing with the recovery from the 2008 financial crash, and what he said was a successful decision to inject hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy via the Recovery Act. Last month, he described himself as the "most qualified person in the country to be president."

But he spoke repeatedly about how efforts to put the country back on track were achieved with bipartisan support, and expressed concern about how lawmakers from opposing parties weren’t talking to each other.

“It’s like we’ve divided this country into pieces, how can we be one America if we continue down this road?” he asked the audience.

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Biden has said he is considering a run for the White House, and is expected to make a decision soon. His presentation of himself as a bipartisan pragmatist could create some distance between him and other announced candidates -- many of whom have adopted a harder left-wing stance on issues unlikely to leave much room for bipartisanship.

So far, many of the candidates putting themselves forward -- such as Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. -- come from the party’s left. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who was once in the party’s center, tacked left in recent years before announcing a presidential bid last week.

In a recent analysis, The Associated Press reported that among the two-dozen possible candidates, virtually all have embraced universal health care in some form, while others have backed ideas such as free college, job guarantee programs, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a $15-an-hour minimum wage.

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A number of hopefuls have also expressed interest or support in a Green New Deal -- an enormous package of ideas combating climate change and income inequality inspired by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signature New Deal -- that would almost certainly be opposed by Republicans.

Some Republicans may be more skeptical of Biden’s claims of bipartisan outreach, however. Biden routinely tears into Trump in visceral terms, once even engaging in a war of words over who would win in a fight.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.