President Biden on Friday gave the most important television interview of his career.
Biden spoke with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for 22 minutes during a campaign stop in Wisconsin.
This conversation took place at a time when his presidency was truly in jeopardy.
Democrats are deeply upset by Biden’s dismal performance in the debate with former President Trump in Atlanta on June 27.
Biden’s incoherent answers and overall demeanor during the standoff have further fueled voter concern about the 81-year-old president’s mental state. There are calls within Biden’s party for him to withdraw from the race, and credible media reports that a more coordinated effort may be on the way.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Biden and Stephanopoulos’ interview:
No fatal gaffe for Biden, but no salvation.
The interview had two dramatic possibilities: a gaffe that ended Biden’s political career, or a performance powerful enough to silence his critics and shore up his position.
Neither happened. There was nothing disastrous about Biden’s response, and nothing spectacular enough to quell widespread discontent.
Biden certainly had his strong moments, making the case that Trump is a “born-born liar” more effectively than he did last week in Atlanta, where he stood just a few feet in front of the former president.
Trump also wasn’t on the defensive in other moments, such as when laying out his priorities for a second term, including expanding health care and child care.
But Biden struggled on two of the most salient aspects of the crisis he faces.
First, his explanations for his debate mistakes were weak, repeating claims that he was tired, unwell, focused on details and distracted by Trump.
When Stephanopoulos responded to that last assertion by noting that Biden had looked unwell from the first question, Biden responded, “Well, tonight was just terrible.”
Second, and just as damaging, Biden was vague when he asked whether Stephanopoulos was willing to undergo an “independent medical evaluation” of his neurological and cognitive abilities.
“Look, I take cognitive tests every day … everything that I do,” Biden responded.
Stephanopoulos pressed the point twice more, eliciting broadly similar responses from Biden.
In fact, the president’s answer to the idea of such a test was effectively “no.”
That won’t do much to soothe Democratic nerves or voter anxieties.
The president, for better or worse, continues to resist.
The political world is closely watching for signs that Biden may be beginning to consider stepping down.
There was no such evidence on Friday, beyond a typically folksy reference to the possibility of “Almighty God” intervening.
This was a defiant Biden, pushing back against any suggestion that he would back down or that his weaknesses would make it harder for Democrats to defeat Trump.
“I don’t think there’s anybody more qualified to be president or to win this election than me,” he said at one point.
When asked by Stephanopoulos how he would respond if leading Democrats approached him and told him the end had come, the president laughed and said, “They’re not going to do that.”
“Really?” asked Stephanopoulos.
“Yeah, I guess,” Biden replied.
In some ways, it’s hard to tell what else Biden might say.
But his firm tone drew criticism that he was in denial about the scale of his political problems.
“The president is rightly proud of his record,” former Obama aide David Axelrod wrote on social media shortly after the interview aired, “but he is dangerously oblivious to people’s concerns about his own ability to deliver.” [sic] Moving forward and where he stands in this race.”
The interview comes amid more bad news for Biden
Biden is at such risk in part because the crisis continues to deepen.
On Friday, shortly before the interview aired, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) became the fourth Democrat to call for Biden to resign.
Quigley told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes that Biden’s “legacy is set” and that Democrats should be grateful to him.
But, he added, “The only thing I can do now to cement this forever and prevent total catastrophe is to step down and let someone else take this on.”
Also on Friday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, issued a statement calling on the president to “carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump.”
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) has launched an effort to rally a group of Democratic senators to urge Biden to withdraw.
So far, the president has been adamant that he will not do so.
Also on Friday, speaking with reporters at a Wisconsin airport, Biden was asked about resigning and said, “I completely deny that.”
Biden says he didn’t watch the debate
ABC initially aired a short excerpt of the interview on “World News Tonight” about 90 minutes before the full primetime broadcast.
Advance footage showed Biden remaining silent after Stephanopoulos asked him if he had watched the debate.
“No, I don’t think so,” the president replied.
Stephanopoulos said his fundamental point was whether Biden knew how bad the debate was while it was happening.
The president’s response was somewhat vague, making it unclear whether he knew how bad things had gotten when he stood at the podium.
Stephanopoulos said it was a good night for Biden.
Before the interview aired, attacks against Stephanopoulos had intensified on all fronts.
Conservatives had been wary that the ABC anchor, who first rose to national prominence more than three decades ago as an aide to former President Bill Clinton, was being too soft on Biden.
Biden supporters worried that Stephanopoulos would overly sensationalize or stage a forced “I’m done!” moment.
In fact, the anchor toed a firm middle path, remaining civil while asking tough, sometimes personal questions, such as whether Biden was being “honest” about his acuity.
At the start of the primetime broadcast of the interview, Mr. Stephanopoulos sought to dispel any allegations of selective editing.
The interview lasted 22 minutes and was “not cut, not edited, nothing taken out of it,” he said.
