President Joe Biden is interviewed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” co-anchor and “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos in Wisconsin during the campaign trail on July 5, 2024. (Photo courtesy of ABC News)
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday defended his re-election bid in his first television interview since the presidential debate and rejected calls for him to step down amid growing concern among some Democrats about his mental and physical health.
22-minute interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos came after some lawmakers and other prominent Democrats said Biden should suspend his campaign and let someone else become the official nominee.
But Biden has said that was unnecessary, calling his actions during the June 27 debate simply a “bad night.”
“It was a bad episode, there was no indication of a serious condition,” Biden said. “I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts about preparation, and it was a bad night.”
Biden declined to say what he would do if allies and friends in Congress urged him to drop out of the presidential campaign.
“I won’t answer that question. It’s not going to happen,” Biden said.
Democratic members of Congress and governors They expressed concern Biden remained the presumptive nominee as he struggled to answer questions and there were times when he appeared disoriented during first presidential debate.
Biden ignored plans by Virginia Sen. Mark Warner to convene Democratic senators on Monday to discuss the future of Biden’s candidacy, multiple news organizations reported. reported Friday. Both houses of Congress will return to Washington next week.
“Mark is a good man,” Biden said, before falsely claiming that Warner was “trying to get the nomination” for president — Warner in 2006. he said he did not make an offer. “Mark and I have different views. I respect him.”
Biden Won’t Commit to Cognitive Examination
During the interview, Stephanopoulos pressed Biden on whether he actually has the mental and physical stamina to remain president for another four years, and whether Biden is being candid with himself about his age.
“I think so,” Biden said. “I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t think so. Look, I’m running again because I think I understand best what it takes to take this nation to a whole new level.”
Biden has repeatedly refused to take a cognitive test, suggesting that his schedule and daily workload are sufficient evidence of his fitness to serve as president.
“I take a cognitive test every day. I take that test every day, everything I do,” Biden said. “You know, I’m not just running a campaign, I’m running the world.”
Biden added that there are 125 days left in the campaign and that people should watch him in the coming months to assess his suitability for re-election to the highest office in the Cabinet.
In Wisconsin, Biden points out Trump’s mistakes
The ABC News interview aired just hours after Biden’s speech. organized a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, where he repeatedly criticized presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Biden said the November presidential election is about character, integrity and decency.
“Let’s focus on what really matters: We are running against the biggest liar and the biggest threat to our democracy in American history,” Biden said. “That’s not an exaggeration.”
Biden sought to shift the focus from his debate speech to Trump’s mistakes over the years, including in a 2019 Fourth of July speech when the former president said securing airports was critical during the American Revolutionary War.
“He said George Washington’s army won the Revolution by taking control of the airports from the British,” Biden said, before crossing himself somewhat jokingly. “You mean my slip of the tongue — airports from the British in 1776? That’s true, he’s a steady genius.”
Trump at that time criticized the prompter for your comment.
During the rally, Biden listed what he considers his accomplishments, including canceling some student loan debt, nominating Ketanja Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, signing a same-sex marriage bill into law, approving firearm safety regulations and working with Congress on comprehensive climate change legislation.
“I will not let one 90-minute debate undo three and a half years of work,” Biden said.
Biden said that over the next four years, whoever takes over the Oval Office will appoint at least two fresh Supreme Court justices.
If it were Trump, the recent ruling by judges Biden said the decision to limit presidential immunity could spell complex times for the country.
“For more than two centuries, America has been a free, democratic country,” Biden said. “And I’ll be damned if, in 2024 — just two years shy of our 250th anniversary as a nation — I’m going to let Donald Trump take that away.”
Illinois Democratic congressman thinks Biden should go
Biden spoke briefly to reporters in the White House pool after the rally, saying he was committed to staying in the race and rejecting calls from some lawmakers for him to drop out.
Asked by a reporter about Warner’s suggestion that Biden let someone else take over as the party’s presidential nominee, Biden replied that Warner “is the only one who’s considering it.”
Later in the evening, Illinois Democratic congressman Mike Quigley said on MSNBC that Biden should resign.
“Mr. President, your legacy is set. We owe you our deepest gratitude” – Quigley he said“The only thing you can do now to make it permanent and prevent total disaster is to step aside and let someone else do it.”
The article Biden denies health in first TV interview since debate: ‘It was a bad episode’ first appeared on The Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
