A defiant President Biden on Friday refused to back an independent neurological evaluation and said the only way he could convince former President Donald Trump that he could win was if an “almighty lord” came down and said so.
In Mr. Biden’s first interview since the debate, ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos offered the president several opportunities to consent to independent cognitive or neurological testing, given widespread concerns about his lackluster debate performance. Instead, the president said he takes cognitive tests “every day” and that his tests “are taking over the world.”
“Look, I take cognitive tests every day,” Mr. Biden said, arguing that the rigors of the job are enough to prove his mental health. “I take those tests every day. In everything I do. You know, I’m not just running a campaign, I’m running the world.”
The president has repeatedly said he believes he is qualified to serve in the office for the next four years. Stephanopoulos asked the president if he was being honest about his own capabilities.
“Yes, George, the last thing I want to do is not meet that,” Mr. Biden said.
Stephanopoulos asked Trump whether he would back down if he could be convinced that he could not defeat him. The president said he did not believe he could defeat him. polls The show that Trump will win.
“It depends on whether the Lord comes down and tells me so, then I can do it,” he said, laughing, and later added, “The Lord won’t come down.”
Mr. Biden said he had talked “deeply” with Democratic leaders in Congress, all of whom had told him he should stay in the race. He did not consider the possibility that anyone would ask him to withdraw from the nomination.
“They’re not going to do that,” he told Stephanopoulos, noting that he had spent an hour with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, had spent “countless hours” with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and had also met with Democratic governors this week.
Stephanopoulos pressed further on what he would do if friends and supporters told him that if he stayed in the race, he would lose both the House and the Senate.
“I’m not going to answer that question,” Mr. Biden said. “That’s not going to happen.”
He said there may be people who want him off the ticket, but “I would say most of them are not where they are.”
Asked how he would respond if Trump were elected and everything he warned came to pass, Biden said he did his best and did the best he could, and “that’s what this is about.”
The president is his His poor debating performance He simply said it was a “bad episode” that “made him feel bad” and that he never saw the debate live on screen.
“It was a bad episode,” he said. “There was no indication of anything serious. I was just exhausted, didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparation, and it was a bad night.”
Stephanopoulos noted that the president had returned from a grueling trip to Europe a week and a half before the debate and spent six days at Camp David resting and preparing. So why did he still perform so poorly?
“I was feeling sick, because I was sick,” Mr. Biden said. “…I just had a really bad cold.”
Stephanopoulos went back to Mr. Biden and asked him if he had seen his performance, which had sent Democrats into a tailspin. Switch to crisis mode.
“I don’t think so,” he answered.
The ABC News anchor noted that the president appeared to be struggling from the moment the debate began.
“Well, I just had a bad night,” Mr. Biden said, repeating a line that many of his defenders and spokespeople have used frequently in the past week.
Stephanopoulos asked the president when he realized he was having a bad night. The president said he realized it when Trump started yelling or talking loudly and his microphone went off. The president said Trump was distracting him.
“I realized I wasn’t in control,” Biden said.
In a debate watched by more than 50 million Americans, Mr. Biden not only struggled to refute former President Trump’s claims, Claims, lies and misrepresentationsBut his responses to his own administration’s policies were also problematic, and he spoke softly, rambling and lost his train of thought. He moved stiffly and seemed more fragile than his opponents.
Mr Biden said of his struggles that “nobody is at fault but me.”
The President fight to make an incident He said he could still do it, even as Democrats expressed concerns publicly and privately about whether he should remain the Democratic nominee. As concerns grew within the party, he met with Democratic governors at the White House on Wednesday, after the president had a disinterested weekend debate and rarely reached out personally to key Democratic figures.
So far, several House Democrats have publicly called on him to drop out of the race: Reps. Lloyd Doggett, Raul Grijalva, Seth Moulton and Mike Quigley. Mr. Biden was defiant at a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday afternoon, addressing elected officials and donors as much as Wisconsin voters.
“I’m the Democratic candidate,” he said. “…You voted for me. No one else. You, the voters, did. And yet some people don’t seem to care who you voted for. Well, they’re trying to knock me out of the race. Well, let me be as clear as I can: I’m going to stay in the race.”
Asked after the speech whether he was considering a withdrawal or ruling it out, Biden said, “I’m completely ruling it out.”
Whatever decision Leave the race It has to be voluntary. The Democratic leadership cannot push Mr. Biden off the ticket because he has already secured the delegates needed to secure the nomination.
Vice President Kamala Harris stands next to the president.
She said, “Look, Joe Biden is our candidate.” Exclusive interview with CBS News Earlier this week: “We beat Trump once, and we’ll beat him again.”
