President Joe Biden addressed concerns about his mental fitness and electability in a highly anticipated TV interview with ABC on Friday.
The president attributed his subpar performance in the recent debate with Donald Trump to a cold and exhaustion, dismissing calls from within his party to withdraw from the race.
Despite his efforts to reassure voters, Biden’s hoarse voice and meandering answers sparked further criticism from Democrats, who worry that his candidacy could jeopardize their chances of retaining the White House.
According to Channels TV, the president’s refusal to undergo a cognitive assessment and his claim that his daily duties serve as a sufficient cognitive test only added to the controversy.
The interview failed to stem the tide of panic within the Democratic Party, with some lawmakers and donors continuing to urge Biden to step aside.
Post-debate polls show a widening gap in favour of Trump, fueling concerns about Biden’s viability as a candidate.
The president remains defiant, insisting that he is fit to serve and vowing to beat Trump in the election.
His campaign has released an aggressive travel schedule for the coming weeks, and Biden delivered an energetic stump speech in Wisconsin, declaring, “I’m staying in the race.”
However, the crisis surrounding Biden’s candidacy shows no signs of abating, with Democratic leaders convening emergency meetings to discuss the party’s options. As the political pressure mounts, Biden’s fate as the Democratic nominee hangs in the balance.
Meanwhile, Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Mark Warner and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries were both planning crisis talks with lawmakers in the coming days, US media reported.
In Friday’s interview, ABC host George Stephanopoulos repeatedly referenced the growing Democratic clamor for a conversation on picking a new candidate, asking Biden if he would step down if convinced he couldn’t beat Trump.
“Well, it depends. If the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, I might do that,” he said.
Biden added that he had not watched the debate afterward, saying “I don’t think I did, no.”
And he dismissed the idea that his poor performance was a sign of a more serious health problem.
“It was a bad episode, no indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and — and I had a bad night,” Biden said.
David Axelrod, a top aide in Barack Obama’s White House and an occasional thorn in the side of the Biden administration, said the interview showed a president “dangerously out of touch” with concerns over his fitness for office.
“Four years ago at this time, he was 10 points ahead of Trump (in polls). Today, he is six points behind,” Axelrod posted on X.
The White House has announced Biden will visit Pennsylvania this weekend before holding a press conference during the NATO summit in Washington next week.
