Vice President Biden argued Tuesday that even Ronald Reagan wouldn't be able to win the Republican presidential nomination if the former president were alive today.

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"If Ronald Reagan were alive today ... he could no more get the nomination of the Republican Party than I could get the nomination," said Biden, a Democrat, according to a reporter traveling with the vice president in the Middle East.

Biden said U.S. politics had become "petty and venal" and suggested "a nasty political environment" has emerged in recent years. He also bashed Republicans for redrawing congressional districts, saying it contributed to extreme positions.

His remarks came during a brief question-and-answer session after a speech in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before young entrepreneurs about relations between the U.S. and UAE.