In a taped interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, President Joe Biden said he had just had a bad debate last week against Donald Trump, but said it wasn’t indicative of his abilities and he defended his qualifications to be president.
Biden, who has had cosmetic surgery in the past, is normally pale, but was suddenly bronzed and freshly botoxed for ABC, as he attempts to tamp down the growing concern about his mental capabilities.
Either he was extremely tired and ragged during the debate or there’s been a lot of cosmetic work done on him over the past week. A third possibility is that ABC used a flattering lens filter to make him look more vibrant.
“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 a bad night,” Biden said.
“I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me,” Biden said. “Who’s going to be able to hold NATO together like me? Who’s going to be able to be in a position where I’m able to keep the Pacific basin in a position where we’re at least check being in China now? Who’s going to – who’s going to do that? Who has that reach?”
On Friday, he was pressed several times by Stephanopoulos, but again reiterated that he will not drop out of the race, even while pressure from his own loyalists has increased. He refused to agree to take a cognitive test, saying that every day is a cognitive test for him.
“Look. I have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I have that test. Everything I do. You know, not only am I campaigning, but I’m running the world,” he said.
When asked if he had watched the video of himself at the debate, he said wasn’t sure. He did not “think” he had watched it.
During the ABC interview, he said only God could convince him to drop out, but that God is not going to do that.
“Well, Yeah, I’m sure. Look. I mean, if the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get outta the race,’ I’d get outta the race. The Lord Almighty’s not comin’ down. I mean, these hypotheticals, George, if, I mean, it’s all…”
Stephanopoulos pushed back: “I agree that the Lord Almighty’s not gonna come down, but if– if– if you are told reliably from your allies, from your friends and supporters in the Democratic Party in the House and the Senate that they’re concerned you’re gonna lose the House and the Senate if you stay in, what will you do?”
Biden responded: “I’m not gonna answer that question. It’s not gonna happen.”
During the 22-minute interview, he called Donald Trump a pathological liar twice and a congenital liar once, and said Trump distracted him, which accounts for some of the trouble he was having at the debate.
“The fact of the matter is, what I looked at is that he also lied 28 times. I couldn’t — I mean, the way the debate ran, not — my fault, no one else’s fault, no one else’s fault.”
“Well, it came to me I was havin’ a bad night when I realized that even when I was answering a question, even though they turned his mic off, he was still shouting. And I — I let it distract me. I — I’m not blaming it on that, but I realized that I just wasn’t in control.”
Biden said his poor debate was due to having a “bad cold” and that his doctors did a Covid test to make sure he didn’t have the virus, but it came back negative.
When asked about the polling that shows he is behind in the race, Biden refused to agree: “I don’t buy that,” he said and then called the race a “toss up.”
Biden also stated falsely that he draws huge crowds: “You saw it today. How many– how many people draw crowds like I did today? Find me more enthusiastic than today? Huh?”
Stephanopoulos argued: “I mean, have … I don’t think you wanna play the crowd game. Donald Trump can draw big crowds. There’s no question about that.”
Biden’s response was: “He can draw a big crowd, but what does he say? Who — who does he have? I’m the guy supposedly in trouble. We raised $38 million within four days after this. Over — we have over a million individual contributors, individual contributors. That — that’s less than 200 bucks. We have — I mean, I’m not seen what you’re — you’re proposing.”
Stephanopoulos asked him how he would feel if Trump is elected.
“I’ll feel as long as I gave it my all and I did the goodest job as I know I can do, that’s what this is about,” Biden said. The tape shows that is what he actually said.
ABC later altered the transcript to read “good as job” rather than “goodest job.” That section of the interview is in the clip below:
