Politically speaking, this has been the worst week ever for President Joe Biden. His performance in last Thursday’s debate was abysmal, but the response from his campaign, allies and the White House somehow made it even worse.
After the debate, blame was leveled everywhere, with the president’s aides calling on Biden to prove it was just a one-off bad performance. Surprisingly, when asked if Biden had seen a doctor after the debate, the White House and Biden gave contradictory answers. A White House spokesman said he hadn’t, but Biden insisted just hours later that he had.
Now Biden’s team is scrambling to offer the president a new opportunity to prove himself.
Can Joe Biden survive the intense election campaign? And if elected, do What about work? This question has been asked many times over the last seven days, but has never been answered satisfactorily.
Remember, Biden was supposed to set aside concerns. in With last week’s debate underway, Biden’s campaign is eager to create new opportunities for the president to prove himself with more public events and interviews. His first big test will be an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that will air as a primetime special on Friday.
This critical meeting with Stephanopoulos may help ease calls for him to resign, but it won’t stop them – and it could completely end his hopes of a second term.
With so much at stake, here are nine things Biden needed to do during Friday night’s interview.
- He needs to explain to the American people why he is doing this interview, admit that he wants to address concerns about his performance in the debates, and not be so scripted. He is trying to start a dialogue.
- He was forced to admit Thursday that he had been so focused on making his case to voters with numbers and data that he had failed to speak clearly and honestly in a way that the American people could understand.
- He should never get defensive or make excuses. do not have Tell them you have jet lag or a cold.
- He must speak directly about his health, mentioning any ongoing treatments or recent diagnoses. This is a long-standing issue, and Biden must address these questions head on.
- You must never forget the camera is on and must always appear enthusiastic, interested and in good spirits, even if that means taking a few extra sips of orange Gatorade or eating a few extra chocolate chip cookies.
- He shouldn’t overcompensate with masculinity: don’t, even jokingly, go into the details of his exercise routine or brag about his golfing skills, his ability to carry his own clubs, or how many push-ups he can do.
- He needs to take a few minutes to give the answers he should have given in the debate. His answers on abortion would be a great start. He needs to show how terrible Donald Trump is on this issue and why his policies are fundamentally good for America.
- Don’t be too prepared. Nobody cares if you can remember every data point; they want to know that you have a holistic grasp of the subject.
- He needs to smile and show a little bit of that old charismatic Scranton Joe, but not too much.
