Washington
CNN
—
President Joe Biden on Friday downplayed his poor performance in last week’s debate and offered further excuses for the outcome, adding that he had only himself to blame.
The president said in an interview with ABC that he had been “sick” and “feeling terrible” before the debate. Asked whether that was a bad symptom or a sign of something more serious, Biden denied those concerns.
“It was a bad episode. I had no signs of anything serious. I didn’t follow my instincts in terms of preparation and it was a bad night,” he said.
In the interview, Biden also detailed his health at the time of the debate, saying he felt sick and fatigued and that he had been tested for COVID-19. The White House did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for information on whether the president was tested before or after the debate.
He said: “I was feeling awful, I was sick. As a matter of fact, I asked the doctor who was with me if he’d done a Covid test. They were trying to work out what was wrong. They did a test to see if I had the virus. I didn’t. I just had a bad cold.”
The conversation was Biden’s first televised interview since his debate performance and a pivotal moment for Biden’s political future as many Democrats — lawmakers, donors and voters — express concern about the viability of his candidacy.
Four Democratic senators have called on Biden to resign. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey issued a statement on Friday urging Biden to “carefully evaluate” whether he is the party’s best choice to defeat Donald Trump. And Virginia Sen. Mark Warner is trying to reach consensus with Senate Democrats on the future of Biden’s reelection effort, aides told CNN, adding to pressure on the White House. Warner, who has a leading role in the effort, is coming to believe it’s time for Biden to end his reelection campaign, aides told CNN.
The president’s comments about his illness were the latest development in the White House’s explanation for his health during the debate. White House officials told reporters during the debate that the president had a cold, and then on Wednesday press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denied that Biden had seen a doctor, reiterating that the president had not had a medical check-up since his February physical.
“Guys, it’s just a cold. It’s a cold,” she said at the time. “I know it’s different for different people. We’ve all had colds. That’s why he hasn’t seen a doctor.”
The next day, the White House confirmed that the president had, in fact, been seeing a doctor about the illness, and on Friday, White House Press Secretary Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One that Biden had “verbally checked in” with his doctor after the debate.
After reporters pointed out that Biden had told Democratic governors he had seen a doctor, she characterized Biden’s visit as a “conversation” with physician Kevin O’Connor.
“Mr. Biden underwent a brief verbal examination in recent days regarding a cold. It was not a medical examination or a physical examination. I want to be very clear about that. It was a conversation and the doctor determined that a medical examination was not necessary,” Jean-Pierre said Friday, after saying Wednesday that Mr. Biden “has not been examined by a doctor.”
The president said he had not seen the replay of his speech, and when asked if he knew how bad it was, he said it was “nobody’s fault, but my own.”
In answering the question, Biden made confusing statements that were unrelated to the New York Times poll.
“I was sitting there working out the details, as I always do when I come back as a foreign leader or chairman of the National Security Council, and somewhere along the way I realized I was being quoted saying that The New York Times had lowered my rating by 10 points before the debate and now they’ve lowered it by nine points, or I don’t know what, but that’s it. The fact is, I looked it up, he lied 28 times,” he said.
When asked about his performance he said: “Well, I just had a bad day tonight.”
Biden addressed voters’ concerns moments before an ABC interview during a Wisconsin rally, when a rally-goer held up a sign that read, “Pass the Baton, Joe.” The sign was visible for a few seconds before someone else tried to cover part of it with a Biden-Harris sign.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
A rally-goer for President Joe Biden holds a sign that reads “Joe, let’s pass the baton” during a campaign event in Madison, Wisconsin on July 5.
Biden’s speech at the rally was lively and energetic, but he seemed aware that at this politically critical moment, his every word would be analyzed and carefully scrutinized. He vowed to “beat Trump again in 2020,” but quickly realized his mistake and corrected himself: “And by the way, we’re going to win again in 2024.” Biden blasted Trump’s economic policies, saying his opponent “want another $5 billion — no, not $1 billion, but $1 trillion, $5 trillion in tax cuts.”
He addressed criticism about his age head on, saying, “I was not too old to create more than 50 million new jobs, make 21 million Americans insured under Obamacare, and beat Big Pharma…. Am I too old to relieve the student loan burden of nearly 5 million Americans? Am I too old to appoint the first black woman to the United States Supreme Court? Am I too old to sign the Respect Marriage Act?”
Biden said unnamed forces were “trying to remove him from the race.”
“Now, let me say this as quickly as I can,” he added, “I intend to continue my campaign.”
That point was underscored by the Tom Petty song “I Won’t Back Down,” which was played at the end of Biden’s speech.
This is breaking news and will be updated.
