President Joe Biden’s highly anticipated interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos demonstrated that he’s still able to deliver answers, but it didn’t move any mountains.
Much of the interview centered around Biden’s highly-criticized performance in the first presidential debate in Atlanta, Georgia last week, with Stephanopoulos opening the discussion on the matter.
The 81-year-old candidate, who admitted to having a “bad night” last Thursday, told Stephanopoulos that the debate was “no indication of any serious condition,” adding that he was simply “exhausted.”
As Stephanopoulos laid out media reports that the debate could have been part of a bigger picture of signs of age, Biden blasted the reports, claiming that he is still fit to run, and to govern.
“Can I run 110 flat? No. But I’m still in good shape,” Biden said, before outright denying that he is more frail now than in 2020.
But Biden also resisted the idea that voters see him as older or less competent, telling Stephanopoulos that he doesn’t believe he is seriously behind.
“All the pollsters I talk to, they tell me it’s a toss-up,” Biden said, claiming that polls showing him losing after the debate weren’t substantial changes from pre-debate numbers.
Asked if staying in the race, despite bleak polling numbers, was worth the risk, Biden affirmed: “I don’t think there’s anybody more qualified to be president or win this race, than me.”
Biden went on to tell Stephanopoulos that his campaign hasn’t seen a falloff in the polls – just in the press.
Per the New York Times, top Democrats see the interview as “a wash,” essentially admitting that his performance isn’t devastating enough to push him out of the race, but failed to win over harsh critics.
Biden, who’s taken a more combative tone with the press as the media amplifies calls for Democrats to drop him off the ticket, rejected claims that top Democratic lawmakers would seek to see him leave the race.
“I’ve spoken to all of them [House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi] … If the Lord Almighty comes down and said ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race, but the Lord Almighty’s not coming down,” he told Stephanopoulos.
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