Biden says Trump doesn’t want to face him: ‘I will beat him. Period.’

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday said that President Trump doesn’t want to face him in the general election because he “will beat him. Period.”

While making an appearance on NBC’s “Today,” Biden answered a question from host Savannah Guthrie about Trump’s claims that the Democrats are “staging a coup against” the former vice president’s main rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), after Biden’s big wins on Super Tuesday.

“Wonder why he’s saying that,” Biden at first said while laughing.

“Look, I think the one thing the president doesn’t want to do from the very beginning is face me because I will beat him. Period,” he said.

The former vice president also targeted Trump over his impeachment, saying he “even risked his presidency because he doesn’t want to face me.”

“Have you ever, ever seen a sitting president get so involved in a Democratic primary and focus so much attention on not wanting a single person, me, becoming the nominee?” he said. 

“Do you think (President Trump) is rooting for Sanders?” –@savannahguthrie

“Look, I think the one thing the president doesn’t want to do from the very beginning is face me because I will beat him. Period. … The president does not want me to be the nominee.” –@JoeBiden pic.twitter.com/L4IuJYsKuT

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 5, 2020

Guthrie also pressed Biden about Sanders’s post-Super Tuesday remarks that Biden represents the “corporate establishment.”

“It’s ridiculous. Bernie, you got beaten by overwhelming support I have from the African American community,” he said, while also citing his support from suburban women and the middle class. 

.@JoeBiden responds to Bernie Sanders saying his campaign is heavily supported by the corporate establishment: “It’s ridiculous. Bernie, you got beat by overwhelming support I have from the African American community.” pic.twitter.com/dKbUMi40Ll

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 5, 2020

Biden also responded to the Vermont senator’s use of former President Obama in a recent ad, saying “it’s not at all a surprise” because “everybody’s embracing Barack.”

“But look, the idea that Bernie Sanders was a great supporter of the president of the United States and shares his views, I mean come on,” he said, before adding, “It doesn’t matter much.”

The former vice president had a number of key victories on Super Tuesday, winning 10 of the 14 states up for grabs, with Sanders winning the other four.

Biden sits at 577 delegates, and Sanders has 510, although not all of the delegates for Super Tuesday have been distributed.