In a key interview on Friday following his disastrous performance at last month’s debate in Atlanta, President Biden defended his health and insisted he can beat former President Trump in November.
“I don’t think there’s anybody more qualified to be president or more qualified to win this election than me,” Biden told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.
“I’ve convinced myself of two things: I’m the best person to defeat Trump, and I know how to get things done,” Biden said of Trump.
Stephanopoulos noted that Biden is lagging behind Trump in the polls, especially in battleground states and even after his 34-count conviction in the New York hush-payment case.
Asked whether the poll results meant he should not run again, Biden said: “I shouldn’t, because I’m running against a pathological liar.”
A New York Times/Siena College poll released Wednesday found that Trump’s lead has widened to six points since the debate.
Stephanopoulos pressed Biden on whether he thought the president was not trailing in the polls, to which Biden responded that pollsters he had spoken to said it was a 50-50 split and that the New York Times poll was an outlier.
When Stephanopoulos suggested Biden was trailing in the popular vote ahead of November, Biden responded, “I don’t believe that.”
Asked whether he might be persuaded to withdraw, Biden said: “If the Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, step down,’ I would step down. The Almighty is not going to come down.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) is trying to rally support from Democratic senators to urge Biden to not seek reelection, two sources familiar with the effort told The Hill.
“Well, Mark is a good guy,” Biden said. “Mark and I think differently. I respect him.”
The president leaned on the current support from Democratic congressional leaders, meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday to reassure them, but did not answer a question about what he would do if they changed their minds and demanded a withdrawal.
“I’m not going to answer that question. It’s not going to happen,” he said.
Stephanopoulos raised several questions about the president’s health, given that Biden spoke in a soft, raspy voice during the debate and often struggled to complete sentences. Biden maintained that he was “still in good health.”
The White House said during the debate that Biden had a cold and blamed his poor performance on recent international travel, even though he had returned from Europe 12 days before the debate.
“It was a horrible event. I had no signs of any serious symptoms. I was exhausted,” Biden said. “I didn’t follow my instincts in terms of preparation and it was a horrible night.”
He also declined to respond to a question about whether he would be willing to undergo an independent medical evaluation, including neurological and cognitive testing, and make the results public.
“Look, I take cognitive tests every day. I take them every day, everything I do,” Biden said, adding that he met earlier in the day with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Stephanopoulos again questioned whether he was mentally and physically capable of serving in his role for another four years.
“I believe that. I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t believe that,” Biden added. “I’m running again because I believe I better understand what we have to do to take this country to a whole new level. We’re on the road. We’re on the road.”
A source familiar with the Biden campaign’s thinking argued after the interview aired that Biden has “demonstrated time and time again that he knows how to do this job” and that the campaign is ready to look beyond the debate.
Prior to the interview, Biden held an energetic rally in Wisconsin where he vowed to not drop out of the race and pushed back against critics. He also told reporters as he left the state that there was “no way” he was dropping out and promised to debate Trump again.
But Democrats’ initial response was not that Biden was doing damage control with the interview.
“He may stutter a little, he may stumble a little, but he’s speaking clearly,” CNN political commentator Van Jones said. “This will stop some of the bleeding, but I’m not sure it will repair the damage.”
David Axelrod, former senior adviser to President Obama, Called Biden “It’s dangerously out of touch with the concerns people have about where he stands in this election.”
And as one Democratic activist told The Hill, “I can’t imagine anybody running under him is going to feel good about this.”
Julia Manchester contributed to this report.
