Biden told Democratic governors that he had seen a doctor after his shaky performance at last week’s debate and that a medical exam had given him the clean bill of health.
comment, First reported by PoliticoThis is clearly contradictory to statements made by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. He told reporters on Tuesday. Biden had not undergone a medical check-up since his medical exam in February.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates confirmed to The Hill that Biden had visited a doctor a few days after last week’s debate to check on a cold and was now “recovering well.”
Biden’s campaign said the president was battling a cold during the debate, spoke in a husky voice and struggled to gather his thoughts and counter many of former President Trump’s false statements. His performance has raised concerns among some Democrats about his ability to serve a second term.
Jean-Pierre added Wednesday that Biden was still suffering from a “lingering cold” at the time but was generally doing well and “ready to go.”
After speaking with Biden on Wednesday, state governors said they felt comfortable with his campaign and fully supported it.
Biden acknowledged he stumbled during the debate in a radio interview from Wisconsin that aired Thursday.
“It was a bad night,” he said. “I messed up. I made mistakes. But I learned from my dad that you can get knocked down and still get back up. And we’re going to win this election. Just like we did in 2020, we’re going to beat Donald Trump.”
Several major U.S. media outlets, two House Democrats and others have called for Biden to drop out of the presidential race following the debate and for another Democrat to take on Trump.
The president argued that voters should not be discouraged by his performance in the debate, but should instead look at what he has accomplished so far.
“I didn’t have a good debate. I was on stage talking for 90 minutes,” he said. “Think about what I’ve done in the last three and a half years.”
National polls show the race for the White House remains tight, with Trump leading Biden by 0.9 percentage points in The Hill/Decision Desk polling average.
