In one of the most contentious moments in his first face-to-face interview since his slammed performance at last week’s presidential debate, President Biden three times avoided answering a question about whether he would undergo a neurological exam.
“Have you undergone thorough neurological and cognitive testing?” ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos asked Biden in an interview conducted Friday afternoon and aired that evening.
“I undergo a full neurological exam every day. I have had a full physical exam. I went to Walter Reed Hospital for a physical exam,” Biden responded.
Stephanopoulos again pressed the president to undergo a neurological exam, but Biden again dodged the call.
President Biden caught people’s attention in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos when he said he wasn’t sure if they watched the debate performances. (Screenshot/ABC)
“Have you had any specific cognitive testing done, or seen by a neurologist or other specialist?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“No, nobody said they had to do that. They said, ‘OK,'” Biden responded.
Stephanopoulos pressed Biden for a third time to submit to cognitive and neurological testing and asked whether he would make the results of those tests public if he agreed to do so, but the president ignored the question, saying he gets tested every day as president.
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“Look, I take cognitive tests every day,” Biden said. “I take those tests every day. Everything I do. You know, I don’t just run a campaign. I run the world. This may sound like a big deal, but we’re the center of the world.”
He added: “And every day, for example today, before I came here, I’m on the phone with the prime minister — well, I shouldn’t go into detail — with Netanyahu. I’m on the phone with the new British prime minister. I’m working on what we’re doing in Europe, on enlargement to NATO and whether that will continue. I’m dealing with Putin. So every day, not a day goes by that I don’t have a decision to make.”
According to Olivia Nuzzi, President Biden’s disastrous debate performance “changed the calculus of how open people will be” about his cognitive problems. ((Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) | (Photo by Andrew Caballero Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images) | Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images))
Biden’s ABC interview will be his first full one-on-one interview since last Thursday’s disastrous debate with former President Donald Trump, which raised concerns about the president’s mental health and age and prompted a flurry of calls from traditional Democratic allies and mainstream media outlets such as The New York Times for him to drop out of the race.
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His debate performance was dismal, with the president stumbling over his words, occasionally losing his train of thought, and replying in a husky voice. His slow, measured demeanor paled in comparison to that of his opponent, Mr. Trump.
Former President Trump participated in the first presidential debate held at CNN studios in Atlanta, Georgia on June 27. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Biden, his administration and campaign remain adamant that he will continue to campaign, despite growing calls for someone else, such as Vice President Kamala Harris, to be the party’s nominee in November.
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In the interview, Biden said he knew he performed poorly in the debate and told Stephanopoulos it was just a “bad episode.”
“I have no signs of serious symptoms. I was just exhausted,” Biden said. “I didn’t follow my instincts in terms of preparation. It was a bad night.”
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Biden added, “I prepared, no one’s fault, I’m fault. I prepared, no one’s fault, I’m fault. I prepared, like we always do, by sitting down when we met with foreign leaders and with the National Security Council to clarify the details.”
