Despite forgetting the name “Herbert Hoover” during the same BET interview, President Biden insisted he was in “better shape” than former President Donald Trump while dismissing calls from Democrats for him to resign over concerns about his mental health.
“Look, I’m only three years older than Trump, and I think I’m in a little better shape than him,” Biden said with a laugh, referring to the Republican presidential nominee’s weight.
“It’s not unreasonable for people to say, ‘Wait a minute, you’re 81 years old,'” Biden said in an interview with BET News’ Ed Gordon that was taped in Las Vegas on Tuesday and released Wednesday night.
“So I think it’s legitimate for the race and as long as I can prove that it’s not affecting my ability to compete and my ability to get things done and my ability to literally lead the world, then I’ll do it.”
Gordon pressed Biden, who will turn 86 at the end of his second term, on whether he would re-evaluate whether he was fit to serve as president in the future.
“So, do you look at your health and your abilities every year and make changes from there?” the reporter asked.
“As a practical matter, yes,” Biden said, “but I have no reason to believe that it isn’t. [sic] It’s about to happen.”
In a move that appeared to deepen Democratic concerns about his intellectual ability, Biden invoked the name of the 31st president, Hoover, who presided over the start of the Great Depression, while sharply criticizing Trump’s record on job creation, which has been dented by the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a campaign speech, Biden called his rival “Donald ‘Herbert Hoover’ Trump,” a moniker that didn’t sit well with him.
“You know, there have only been two presidents in American history who have left office with fewer jobs,” Biden said.
“And the other one is a guy that we all know well, um, so, um, I called him. Anyway, Trump is one of them.”
Biden is facing calls from 22 Democrats to resign after his disastrous performance in the June 27 debate but has refused to step down.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) met with President Biden recently to convey their colleagues’ concerns, but the White House fired back Wednesday night, reporting that they had shared the adverse guidance.
“The President told both leaders that he is his party’s nominee, that he intends to win and that he looks forward to working with them to pass a 100-day package to help working families,” a Biden spokesman said.
Biden recorded the BET interview the day before he tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to cut short a trip to the battleground state of Nevada.
