Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke out about President Biden’s age on Sunday after his performance in the debate with President Trump drew much criticism.
Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared on ABC’s “This Week” and was asked whether Biden, 81, should seek reelection.
“This is just a personal choice, and I don’t think you can generalize,” Fauci said.
Fauci, who has led the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, said he must look at each person as an individual and assess “how they feel, what they feel they can do.”
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Fauci said his interactions with Biden had been “very positive.” (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images, File)
“It’s about finding out what their passion is, what their energy is,” Fauci said. “That’s what it’s about.”
Asked if anything surprised him during Thursday’s presidential debate, Fauci said he didn’t want to comment on anything “that has political overtones.”
Biden’s debate performance was heavily criticized by the media. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He added that he was comfortable speaking about the “very positive” relationship he had with Biden during their time working together.
“He asks sharp questions. He gets to the point,” Fauci said of Biden, without citing specific examples. “So my personal experience with him has been very good.”
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Biden appeared to struggle during Thursday night’s debate, delivering garbled, incoherent answers and losing his train of thought at times, raising concerns among some Democrats and in the media.
Following the debate, the editorial boards of both The New York Times and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called on Biden to withdraw from the Democratic nomination.
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But the Democratic National Committee has said it continues to endorse Biden as the nominee.
Fox News’ Sarah Lampe Whitten contributed to this report.
