WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, under pressure from his Democratic colleagues to show he can win the election, said Monday he doesn’t know whether Saturday’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has changed the trajectory of the campaign.
“I don’t know and you don’t know,” Biden told NBC’s Lester Holt in a primetime interview Monday night as the Republican National Convention got underway in Milwaukee, just two days after the assassination attempt on Trump.
Biden also denied Republican accusations that he made divisive statements that may have incited the gunman who opened fire at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, piercing Trump’s right ear, killing one spectator and wounding two others.
“How do you talk about the threats to democracy that are real when you have a president who says things like he does? Do you not say anything because it might incite someone?” Biden said when asked if he had ever said something that could incite mentally unstable people to commit violent acts.
“Look, I didn’t say that. Now my opponent is saying that,” Biden said.
Biden refrained from criticizing Trump in the immediate aftermath of the assassination scare, but in an interview taped at the White House on Monday afternoon and aired Monday night, he again made his case against Trump’s reelection.
Here are six key moments from Biden’s interview.
more:Biden has long criticized Trump, but the shocking attack now forces him to side with his rival.
Biden says it was Trump who made the dangerous comments, not him.
Biden noted that Trump has previously said it would be a “catastrophe” if he lost the 2024 election, that he has promised to pardon those convicted of the Jan. 6 crime and that he joked about former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, after an intruder attacked his home with a hammer.
“Look, I’m not a guy who said on day one that I want to be a dictator. I’m not a guy who refused to accept the results of an election. I’m not a guy who said I don’t automatically accept the election of this country. You can’t only love your country if you win,” Biden said.
Biden also fired back at Republicans, including Trump’s new running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, who say Biden’s rhetoric and hostility toward Trump led to an assassination attempt by 20-year-old Thomas Crooks.
Republicans have particularly criticized comments Biden made during a July 8 call with campaign donors in which he said, “It’s time to put Trump at the center of the bullseye.” Biden said he was wrong to use the phrase “center of the bullseye” but said it was taken out of context. The comments came as Biden was talking about Trump’s lack of activity on the campaign and policy agenda.
“I was wrong to use that word. I didn’t say ‘crosshairs,'” Biden said. “What I meant to say was focus on him, focus on what he’s doing. Focus on his policies. Focus on the number of lies that he told in the debates.”
Trump said the phone call he had with him on Saturday night after the shooting at the rally was friendly: “He sounded good, he seemed OK, he thanked me for calling.”
Biden has ordered an independent investigation into the security at Trump’s rally to determine how a gunman was able to open fire from the roof of a nearby building.
“The Secret Service makes me feel safe,” Biden said after the shooting, expressing his confidence in the service.
Biden says he’s not focusing on how the shootings will affect the election
Biden’s interview with NBC was his second television interview since his disastrous June 27 debate with Republican front-runner Trump, which led to harsh questions about his mental health and calls from Democrats for him to withdraw.
more:Biden holds rally under the chant “Don’t quit” and slams media for giving Trump a “free pass”
Before the assassination attempt on President Trump, Biden was already lagging behind President Trump in most polls in key battleground states.
Now Republicans, and privately Democrats, expect the near-assassination of President Trump to galvanize support for his party among Republicans, whose supporters have used the shooting to bolster their long-held claim that the former president was the victim of a left-wing attack.
Rather than speculate about how the shooting at a Trump rally might affect the election, Biden said he was focused on two things: Trump’s health and the tone of the rest of the campaign.
“When you drive through certain rural areas of the country, you see people holding up big Trump signs that say, ‘Biden is shit,’ and little kids standing there with the middle finger up,” Biden said. “That’s just incitement and it’s hateful. It’s totally different from saying, ‘Look, I really disagree with the way Trump handled our taxes.'”
Biden says he hasn’t spoken to Obama since the debate
Biden reiterated, as he has done for more than two weeks, that he has no plans to withdraw from his position as the Democratic presidential nominee. “Fourteen million people chose me to be the Democratic nominee, OK? I’m going to listen to them,” he said when asked if he thought he had weathered the storm from Democrats calling for him to step down.
“I knew from the moment it was announced it was going to be a close race,” Biden said. “It was basically a 50-50 fight.”
more:Biden’s dam begins to break as new Democratic critics speak out
Biden said he hasn’t spoken to his former boss, former President Barack Obama, since his poor debate performance, and when asked who he would turn to on issues such as whether to stay in the race, he said he would turn to himself.
“It’s me,” Biden said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time.”
Biden furious at debate coverage
Biden said he “saw bits and pieces” of the infamous debate, but seemed annoyed when reporters continued to press him about it: “Why aren’t you guys talking about the 18 to 28 lies he told? What’s your take on this? Why isn’t the press talking about any of that?”
“It was a really bad night. I just didn’t feel good. I messed up,” Biden said.
“I’m old,” Biden, 81, acknowledged, but pointed out that Trump is just three years his junior.
“And secondly, my mental acumen has been so great. I’ve accomplished more in the last three and a half years than any president has ever done. And I don’t mind being recognized for that,” Biden said.
“I understand people saying, ‘Oh my goodness, he’s 81 already. Oh my goodness, what happens when he’s 83, 84?’ It’s a legitimate question.”
Biden mocks Vance for past criticism of Trump
Biden said he was “not surprised” by a federal judge in Florida’s decision on Monday to dismiss the classified documents lawsuit against President Trump. Judge Eileen Cannon ruled that Attorney General Merrick Garland unconstitutionally appointed special counsel Jack Smith in the case.
Biden called the firing “unjust” and argued that the special counsel in his classified documents case – which did not result in a federal indictment – found that “he did nothing wrong.”
Regarding Trump’s choice of Vance as his running mate, Biden said the choice was consistent with Trump surrounding himself with “people who totally agree with me.”
Biden made a sarcastic remark about Vance’s past criticism of Trump. “Look at what he’s said about Trump,” Biden said. He said Vance “embraces the same policies” as Trump, including opposing abortion rights, supporting tax cuts for the wealthiest and opposing climate change.
“So he agreed with Trump’s policies, which is what you should do if you’re going to campaign with Trump.”
Biden says he will perform better in next debate
Biden, who agreed to debate Trump again in September, seemed irritated when Holt asked if he would do an additional debate before then “to get back on track.”
“I’m on a horse!” Biden said. “Where have I been? I’ve done 22 major events in front of overwhelming crowds of thousands of people. There’s a lot going on. I’m on a horse. What I’m doing is going out and showing the American people that I’m in full command, I don’t need notes, I don’t need a teleprompter, I can go out and answer any question.”
Biden said he expects to do better in the next debate in September.
“I have no intention of performing at that level again,” Biden said.
Biden ended the interview on an annoyed note: “Would you mind coming in sometime and talking to me about what we need to talk about?”
Joey Garrison can be reached at X or on Twitter: @joeygarrison.
