Joe Biden gave the strongest indication yet he will attempt a presidential run in 2020, claiming he is the “most qualified person in the country” for the job.

The former vice president said he would consult his family before making a final decision within the next two months on whether to seek the Democratic Party nomination.

Mr Biden admitted to an audience at the University of Montana he was a “gaffe machine”, but suggested he was preferable to incumbent president Donald Trump, who he described as “a guy who can’t tell the truth”.

“I'll be as straight with you as I can. I think I'm the most qualified person in the country to be president,” he said, according to CNN.

“No one should run for the job unless they believe that they would be qualified doing the job.

“I've been doing this my whole adult life, and the issues that are the most consequential relating to the plight of the middle class and our foreign policy are things that I have — even my critics would acknowledge, I may not be right but I know a great deal about it.”

Mr Biden had traded insults with the president during his first two years in office, both going as far as to speculate over which of them would win in a physical fight.

“I have two young grandchildren my son left who love me and adore me and want me around. I want to be there to take care of them, so we've got to figure out whether or not this is something we can all do as a family,” he added.

“We're going to make that decision in the next six weeks to two months, and that's the basis of the decision.”

The veteran Delaware senator denied his age would hinder any presidential ambitions – he would be 78 by the time he took office if a run in 2020 proved successful – but admitted he is prone to sometimes making embarrassing errors.

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“I am a gaffe machine, but my God what a wonderful thing compared to a guy who can't tell the truth,” he said.

“I'm ready to litigate all those things, the question is what kind of nation are we becoming? What are we going to do? Who are we?