Joe Biden‘s prerecorded, 20-minute interview with former Bill Clinton White House aide George Stephanopoulos offered little reassurance for Democrats and American voters concerned about his cognitive decline. Addressing his disastrous debate performance, the 81-year-old blamed a cold, concerns that he had COVID-19, exhaustion, and interruptions by former President Donald J. Trump for what tens of millions of Americans witnessed. It should be noted that the microphones of each candidate were muted while the other spoke, and split screen shots of the two did not show Trump shouting or regularly interrupting Biden.
NO COGNITIVE EXAMS.
While Biden acknowledged he’s slowed a step, he insisted he remains in good health and can win the 2024 presidential election. Asked by Stephanopoulos if he’d receive an independent neurological examination and release the results, Biden refused—stating he receives one every day through his work as President of the United States.
Throughout the short interview, Biden never responded to any question with specifics. He did, however, stumble and make several major gaffes. The 81-year-old incumbent claimed he stopped Vladimir Putin despite Putin invading Ukraine under his watch.
MORE GAFFES.
Additionally, Biden claimed to have created NATO, lied about a New York Times poll showing him far behind Trump, and appeared to believe Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) ran for president—he’s never run for the White House. His denial of the reality of the state of the presidential race suggests information reaching Biden is tightly controlled by his inner circle.
Stephanopoulos repeatedly pressed Biden—who appeared overly focused on remembering a handful of prepared responses—as to whether he realizes how far he’s behind former President Donald J. Trump in the presidential race. Subsequently, Biden rattled off a line stating that the public polls don’t match his campaign’s data and that the race is a toss-up.
‘I GAVE IT MY ALL.’
In a moment that undercut one of Biden’s key campaign issues—that Trump is an existential threat to democracy—the octogenarian Democrat was asked by Stephanopoulos how he’ll feel if he stays in the race and Trump wins. “I’ll feel, as long as I gave it my all, and I did as good a job as I know I can do, that’s what this is about,” Biden responded—his answer offering little reassurance to Democrats who fear Trump’s victory is likely to come to pass.
WATCH:
Biden claims he’s not behind in the race, then forgets which polls he’s citing until George Stephanopoulos rescues him — and insists his humiliating debate performance didn’t negatively impact him pic.twitter.com/2jXu8R4rx8
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 6, 2024