Joe Biden drops a surprising comment about impeachment - here's what he said

Former Vice President Joe Biden was asked if he thought it would be wise for Democrats to impeach President Donald Trump, and he gave a surprising response that will disappoint many on the left.

"I've been around a long time"

Biden was speaking to "CBS This Morning" co-host Norah O’Donnell in an interview to be aired Thursday.

"The Mueller investigation. The special counsel into influence in the 2016 election - do you believe that report should be issued before the midterms?" asked O'Donnell.

"I think it should be issued when they finish the investigation," Biden answered simply.

"I've been around a long time," he continued. "You wait until the investigation's finished. You don't put an arbitrary end to it. You wait until it's finished. And let's see what it had to say."

"And if Democrats win the House, do you believe that they may move forward with articles of impeachment?" she asked.

"I hope they don't," he replied.

"I don't think there's a basis for doing that right now," he concluded. "I think we should wait until the report comes out."

In a recent poll, Biden was seen as the strongest candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination to challenge Trump in the 2020 election.

Here's the video of Biden's comments:

Some of the more extreme Democrats have called for impeachment of the president since before he took office.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has been one of the more vituperative impeachment advocates, but her rhetoric has been decried by even some of the leaders in her own party.