Former Vice President Joe Biden declared Monday that President Trump “deserves a chance” to lead the country.

During a press conference at the University of Delaware, Mr. Biden told reporters that Mr. Trump has been “playing catch-up” since taking office because he didn’t think he was going to win and was unprepared for a smooth transition. Asked if the Republican president “deserved a chance to govern,” Mr. Biden replied, “Sure he does,” according to audio posted by The Blaze.

“That’s exactly why you haven’t seen the president on any of the shows,” the former vice president said. “He deserves a chance and in fairness to him, this is a man in my view, who understandably like all the press thought, didn’t think he was gonna win.”

Mr. Biden said the Democrats and former nominee Hillary Clinton had a “transition team” in place nine months ahead of the election.

“We knew if we won who we were gonna ask to do A, B, C, and D,” he said. “In fairness to [Mr. Trump], I don’t think there was thought to be any necessity to do that.

“So he’s really playing catch-up,” he added, The News Journal reported. “He should be given a chance. It’s too early to judge.”

Mr. Biden gave a speech Monday at the University of Delaware formally launching the Biden Institute, which will focus on civic engagement and other domestic issues. While he vowed to hold Mr. Trump accountable on policies he personally disagrees with, the vice president assured the crowd of about 200 that the institute will be nonpartisan.

“It is not going to be a political organization trying to challenge Trump policy,” he said.

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