MADISON, Wis. (AP) — President Joe Biden, struggle To save his imperiled re-election, he used a highly anticipated television interview to repeatedly refuse to undergo an independent medical evaluation that would show voters he was ready to serve another term, while blaming his disastrous debate performance on a “bad episode” and saying there was “no indication of any serious condition.”
“I take a cognitive test every day,” Biden told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, referring to the tasks he faces daily in a rigorous job. “Every day, I take that test. Everything I do. You know, not only am I campaigning, I’m running the world.”
Biden, 81, made it through Friday’s 22-minute interview without making any major blunders that could further damage his imperiled candidacy. But that seems unlikely to completely allay concerns about his age and fitness for another four years and his ability to win Donald Trump in November.
On Saturday, another Democratic lawmaker joined nearly a half-dozen people in saying Biden should not run again. Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota said that given what she saw and heard at the debate, and Biden’s “lack of forceful response” afterward, he should step aside “and allow a new generation of leaders to come forward.”
Craig won one of Democrats’ key suburban victories in the 2018 midterms and could serve as a bellwether for districts that were vital to Biden in 2020.
The interview put Biden in a bind with a sizeable faction of his party, four months before Election Day and just weeks before the Democratic National Convention. The extended spectacle could help Biden’s efforts to stay in the race by limiting the party’s options to replace him. But it could also distract from vital efforts to frame the 2024 race as a referendum on Trump.
During the interview, Biden insisted that he was no more frail than he was at the start of his presidency. He said he was under “continuous evaluation” by his personal doctors and that they “don’t hesitate to tell me” if something is wrong.
“Can I run the 100m in 10 minutes? No. But I’m still in good shape,” Biden said.
As for the debate, “I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparation,” Biden said.
Biden suggested that Trump’s interruptions — from just a few feet away — had unsettled him: “I realized that even when I was answering a question and they cut his microphone off, he was still yelling and I was getting distracted. I don’t blame it on that. But I realized that I just wasn’t in control.”
Biden rambled at times during the interview, which aired in its entirety and without cuts, according to ABC. At one point, he began to explain his performance in the debate, then brought up a New York Times poll, then the lies Trump told during the debate. Biden also referred to the “red wave” of the midterm elections that would have taken place in 2020, rather than 2022.
Debate was a critical moment In the rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump for president, they were able to make their case to a nationally televised audience. Debate observers seem to agree that Biden had a bad night.
- Biden is swearing defiantly to continue to run for re-election. THE increasing pressure Biden continued to seek to withdraw from his Democratic Party after a disastrous debate performance, raising questions about his preparation. “Nobody is pushing me to leave,” Biden said.
- Kamala Harris endorses Biden. During campaign events, she concedes that Biden did not perform well, but it underscores the stakes of the election as she tries to rally worried Democrats.
- Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, kept a low profile. The strategy comes as Trump and his campaign revel in a series of legal and politics victories on the way to the Republican National Convention.
- A cold, too much preparation, a feeling of malaise and jet lag: Here are President Joe Biden’s statements evolutionary reasons for his terrible performance in last week’s presidential debate.
Asked how he could turn the tide in the race, Biden said one key would be to hold big, dynamic rallies like the one he held Friday in Wisconsin. When reminded that Trump regularly draws larger crowds, the president blasted his opponent.
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“Trump is a pathological liar,” Biden said, accusing him of botching the federal response to the COVID pandemic and failing to create jobs. “Have you ever seen anything Trump has done that has benefited someone else and not him?”
The interview, part of a campaign this weekend in the key states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, is part of Biden’s rigorous efforts to correct course after his rocky debate performance. But internal party frustrations continue to fester, with a leading Democratic senator working on a nascent initiative to encourage the president to drop out of the race and Democrats quietly discussing where they would go if the president dropped out — or what it would mean if he stayed in office.
“It’s up to President Biden to decide whether or not he stays in the race. The voters chose our nominee and they chose him,” said Rep. Ro Khanna of California, a member of the Biden campaign’s national advisory board that brings together its top appointees. “Now he has to prove to those voters that he’s up to the task, and that’s going to take more than just this interview.”
One Democrat who watched said he found Biden still unstable under controlled conditions and predicted more people would call for him to quit the race.
In Wisconsin, Biden nonetheless struggled to prove his ability to serve another term. Asked whether he would stop his campaign, he told reporters that he “completely ruled it out” and was “certain” he could serve another four years. At a rally before hundreds of supporters, he acknowledged his lackluster performance in the debates but insisted, “I’m running and I’m going to win again.”
While anxiety among Democratic lawmakers, donors and strategists has been deep since the debate, most in the party have publicly responded by waiting to see whether the president can rebuild trust with his weekend travel and handling of the interview. Senior Biden campaign officials have texted lawmakers urging them to refrain from public comment on the situation and give the president a chance to respond, according to a Democrat who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the situation.
To that end, Sen. Mark Warner has been reaching out to his fellow senators throughout the week to discuss whether to ask Biden to drop out of the race, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity about private conversations. The Virginia Democrat’s moves are notable given his chairmanship of the Senate Intelligence Committee and his reputation as a lawmaker who supports Biden and has working relationships with colleagues in both parties. Warner’s effort was first reported by The Washington Post.
The strategy remains unclear. One of the people familiar with Warner’s efforts said there are enough Democratic senators concerned about Biden’s ability to run for reelection to take action, though there is no consensus yet on what that plan would be. Some Democratic senators could meet as early as Monday to figure out how to proceed.
Top Democrats on House committees plan to meet virtually Sunday to discuss the situation, according to a person familiar with the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity.
At least five House Democrats have called on Biden to drop his candidacy. Stopping short of that, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said in a carefully worded statement Friday that Biden must now make a decision on “the best path forward.”
“I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully assess whether he remains our best hope of defeating Donald Trump,” Healey said.
During the interview, Biden was asked how he could be persuaded to leave the race. He laughed and replied, “If the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me, maybe I will.”
There were also some signs of discontent at Biden’s campaign rally on Friday, with one person on stage holding up a sign that read “Pass the Torch Joe” as the president exited. His motorcade was also met at the school by a few people urging him to move on.
But Rebecca Green, a 52-year-old environmental scientist from Madison, said Biden’s energy reassured her. “We were just waiting for him to come back strong and combative, like we know he is.”
Many Democratic lawmakers, who received responses from their constituents during the holiday week, are deeply frustrated and divided over whether Biden should stay or go. Privately, discussions among House Democrats exploded this week, as news spread that some of them were writing public letters suggesting the president should drop out of the race.
Biden appears to have brought his family closer together while trying to prove he is still the best option for Democrats.
The omnipresent presence of Hunter Biden in the West Wing since the debate became an uncomfortable dynamic for many staffers, according to two Democrats close to the White House who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue.
For many staffers, the sight of Hunter Biden, just weeks after his conviction for the crime of carrying a weaponTaking on a larger role advising his father was destabilizing and a questionable choice, they said.
At a hastily organized gathering with more than 20 democratic governors On Wednesday night, Biden acknowledged that he needs to get more sleep and limit evening events in order to be rested for his job. In justifying his comments, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre stressed that Biden “works around the clock,” but that he “also recognizes the importance of finding balance and taking care of myself.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who attended the meeting, said Biden “certainly engaged with us on some complex issues.”
“But again, this is something that he has to reassure not only Democratic governors, but the American people,” Beshear said.
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Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Todd Richmond in Madison, Joey Cappelletti in Saugatuck, Michigan, Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky, and Will Weissert, Zeke Miller, Mary Clare Jalonick, Aamer Madhani, Lisa Mascaro and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.
