Possible 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden is confident about his ability to do the job.

"I think I'm the most qualified person in the country to be president. The issues that we face as a country today are the issues that I've worked on my whole life — the plight of the middle class and foreign policy," the former vice president said Monday night at an event for his book tour in Montana, according to the Missoula Current.

The comments are the clearest signal yet that Biden could challenge President Donald Trump in 2020. However, the 76-year-old Democrat said his family "needs to decide as a unit whether we're ready" for a presidential campaign.

Biden, who represented Delaware in the Senate for more than 30 years before becoming President Barack Obama's No. 2, has one of the strongest resumes in what is expected to be a crowded Democratic presidential primary field. At least a dozen — and potentially more — candidates could announce presidential bids in coming months.

Biden has strong name recognition. Democrats deployed him and his colloquial style to hotly contested swing areas in this year's midterms. The party will likely need to win in those areas to defeat Trump in 2020, and Biden is seen as a strong pitchman to the white working class on issues such as health care, labor rights, Social Security and Medicare.