US President Joe Biden repeatedly rejected suggestions of undergoing an independent medical evaluation after admitting he had a “bad episode” during a catastrophic televised debate against Donald Trump.
As he fights to save his re-election effort, Mr Biden told ABC News: “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.”
The 81-year-old made it through the 22-minute interview without any major blunders that would inflict further damage to his imperilled candidacy, but it appeared unlikely to fully ease concerns about his age and fitness for another four years and his ability to defeat Mr Trump in November’s election.
Mr Biden insisted he was not more frail than earlier in his presidency and said he undergoes “ongoing assessment” by his personal doctors, who “don’t hesitate” to tell him if something is wrong.
“Can I run the 100 in 10 flat? No. But I’m still in good shape,” the president added. As for the debate, Mr Biden said: “I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing,”
The Democratic candidate suggested Mr Trump’s disruptions – from just a few feet away – had flustered him. He added: “I realised that, even when I was answering a question and they turned his mic off, he was still shouting and I let it distract me. I’m not blaming it on that. But I realized that I just wasn’t in control.”
At times, Biden rambled during the interview, which ABC said aired in full and without edits.
At one point, he started to explain his debate performance, then veered to a New York Times poll, then pivoted to the lies Mr Trump told during the debate. Mr Biden also referred to the midterm “red wave” as occurring in 2020, rather than 2022.
Asked how he might turn the race around, the president argued that one key would be large and energetic rallies like the one he held Friday in Wisconsin.
When reminded that Mr Trump routinely draws larger crowds, the president laid into his opponent, branding him a “pathological liar”.
Accusing his opponent of bungling the federal response to the Covid-19 pandemic and failing to create jobs, he added: “You ever see something that Trump did that benefited someone else and not him?”
Despite Mr Biden’s assurances that he is in fighting shape for the election, internal party frustrations continue to fester.
One influential Democratic senator is working on a nascent push to encourage the president to exit the race, while Democrats are quietly chatting about where they would go next if the president drops out — or what it would mean if he stays in.
“It’s President Biden’s decision whether or not he remains in the race. Voters select our nominee and they chose him,” said California Rep. Ro Khanna, a member of the Biden campaign’s national advisory board.
“Now, he needs to prove to those voters that he is up to the job and that will require more than just this one interview.” (ITV)