Biden claims his mental acuity has been ‘damn good’ and denies he is in cognitive decline as he fights back against calls to drop him from the race
President Biden has said his mental acuity is “pretty darn good” and defended his fitness to serve, while rejecting calls to step down and not run for a second term.
The 81-year-old commander in chief sat down with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt in a sometimes confrontational interview at the White House, where Biden was pressed about his disastrous performance during last month’s debate.
Holt asked Biden who he listens to when it comes to “very personal issues,” such as the decision whether or not to enter the race.
“Me,” Biden said defiantly. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, but the idea is that I’m the old guy. I am. I’m old, but I’m only three years older than Trump, number one. And number two, my mental acuity has been pretty good.”
Biden claimed he has accomplished more than any president in a “long, long time.”
A proud President Biden defended his fitness, saying his mental acuity is “pretty damn good”
Nineteen Democratic lawmakers have called on Biden to drop out of the race, but the intensity of criticism has waned since the attempted assassination of his political rival Donald Trump.
When Holt told Biden he seemed confused during the debate, the president became aggressive.
“Why do you never talk about the 18– the 28 lies that he told? Where– where do you stand on this story? Why does the press never talk about that? Twenty-eight times, it’s been confirmed, he lied in that debate,” Biden shot back, referring to Trump.
Biden reiterated his position that he had a bad night and made a mistake.
President Biden went after the press at his campaign rally in Detroit on Friday in a move similar to that of his rival Donald Trump, accusing them of giving his GOP opponent a free pass
The president’s criticism of the press comes after he also criticized the media during his rally in Michigan on Friday.
In a similar stance to that of his political opponent, the president accused the press in Detroit of giving Trump a free pass, and his supporters booed the media at the campaign rally.
Biden and Holt went head-to-head over debate coverage, with Holt ending the exchange by saying they would provide the president with the reports.
“May God love you,” Biden replied.
President Biden accused the press of failing to address rival Donald Trump’s lies during an interview with Lester Holt, in which the president was at times combative
President Biden has defended his performances since his poor debate performance, specifically pointing to his press conference at the end of the NATO summit, where he answered questions for nearly an hour
Biden’s campaign has been trying to overcome his poor debate performance and look ahead as election season gets underway. He has since appeared for multiple interviews and campaign events.
“What I’m doing is going out there and showing the American people that I’m in control of all my capabilities, I don’t need notes. I don’t need a teleprompter, I can go out there and answer any questions,” Biden insisted to Holt.
The president was referring to his press conference at the end of the NATO summit last Thursday. Biden spoke for just under an hour, calling on 10 reporters for a total of 19 questions.
Holt asked Biden what would happen if he delivered another performance like he did during the June 27 debate in Atlanta.
“I don’t plan on performing at that level again,” Biden said.
When Holt thanked Biden at the end of the interview, Biden delivered one final dig.
“Sometimes you can come and talk to me about what we need to talk about,” he said.