Joe Biden fended off questions about his mental fitness and electability, assuring Americans that he is the best qualified to win the next presidential election.
Recall that President Joe Biden and Donald Trump squared off in the first debate of the 2024 US presidential race at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Georgia.
From the beginning, Biden’s speech was unclear and at times he trailed off. A notable slip occurred when criticising Trump’s tax cuts and national debt, where he confusingly ended with: “We finally beat Medicare.”
Trump capitalised on this moment, quipping: “He did beat Medicare. He beat it to death, and he’s destroying Medicare.”
His low-energy, subdued, and incoherent performance fell short of expectations and raised more concerns about Biden’s age and fitness for office.
However, on Friday, Biden fended off questions about his mental fitness and electability in a TV interview meant to draw a line under a disastrous debate performance that triggered calls for him to quit his re-election bid.
He blamed sickness for his sub-par performance and repeatedly dismissed polling and fears within his party that the debate had gravely wounded his prospects.
“I was sick, I was feeling terrible… I just had a really bad cold,” said the president, in his first unscripted remarks of any length since last week’s showdown with Republican rival Donald Trump.
Asked if staying in the race might jeopardize Democrats holding on to the White House, Biden said: “I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me.”
He dodged calls to have doctors assess his mental acuity, saying that the duties of the presidency mean “I have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I have that test, everything I do.”
In Friday’s interview, ABC host George Stephanopoulos repeatedly referenced the growing Democratic clamor for a conversation on picking a new candidate, asking Biden if he would step down if convinced he couldn’t beat Trump.
“Well, it depends. If the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, I might do that,” he said.
Biden added that he had not watched the debate afterward, saying “I don’t think I did, no.”
And he dismissed the idea that his poor performance was a sign of a more serious health problem.
“It was a bad episode, no indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and — and I had a bad night,” Biden said.
David Axelrod, a top aide in Barack Obama’s White House and an occasional thorn in the side of the Biden administration, said the interview showed a president “dangerously out of touch” with concerns over his fitness for office.
“Four years ago at this time, he was 10 points ahead of Trump (in polls). Today, he is six points behind,” Axelrod posted on X.
The White House has announced Biden will visit Pennsylvania this weekend before holding a press conference during the NATO summit in Washington next week.
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