Vice President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he had supported the U.S. raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, seeking to clarify his role and shield himself from potential criticism as he weighs whether to enter the 2016 presidential race.
Biden previously had said he advised President Barack Obama against approving the 2011 raid without trying one more time to verify that bin Laden was present at the Pakistan compound where he was eventually found.
On Tuesday, Biden said he had told the president privately to proceed.
"As we walked out of the room and walked upstairs, I said - I told him my opinion that I thought he should go, but follow his own instincts," Biden told an event at the George Washington University.
"I never ... say what I think finally until I go up in the Oval (Office) with him alone."
Obama said previously that Biden was not in favor of the raid that became one of the Democratic president's top foreign policy achievements.
Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner in the 2016 presidential race and secretary of state at the time, has highlighted her support for the raid.
Biden, mulling a challenge to Clinton, also took a dig at Clinton's remarks during last week's Democratic debate in which she listed Republicans as an enemy.
"I don't think my chief enemy is the Republican Party. This is a matter of making things work," Biden said.
Clinton's strong performance at last week's candidates' debate has led some in the party to conclude Biden has waited too long to jump into the race, despite controversy over her use of a private email server as secretary of state.
The White House declined to weigh in on whether Biden had changed his story about his position on the bin Laden move.
"I don't have any insight to share with you about the private conversations between the president and the vice president," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.
Biden has said previously that he urged Obama to follow his instincts on the matter.
A Biden campaign would put Obama in the awkward position of having to choose between his vice president of seven years and his former secretary of state should the president decide to endorse a candidate during the 2016 primary season.
Biden spoke during an event to honor former Vice President Walter "Fritz" Mondale, who served under President Jimmy Carter. Several political heavyweights spoke about their relationships with Mondale, a former U.S. senator from Minnesota.
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