Joe Biden interview: President gives worrying answer when asked if he’ll take independent medical evaluation
A tanned Joe Biden has repeatedly refused to undergo an independent medical evaluation that would demonstrate to voters he can serve another term in office.
That came after Biden said during his first televised interview since the Atlanta showdown that his poor debate performance was due to exhaustion, a mystery illness and even Donald Trump distracting him.
“Look, I have a cognitive test every day,” Biden told George Stephanopoulos, referring to the tasks he faces daily in a demanding job. “Every day I’ve had tests. Everything I do.”
He insisted he was not weaker and was “still in good shape.” He said he was “continuously assessed” by his personal physicians and that they “would not hesitate to tell me” if anything was wrong.
Biden, 81, spoke to Stephanopoulos in a voice that echoed the weak, raspy tone of his debate show, after questioning whether he had even watched it. He said, “I don’t know why” he had performed so poorly.
A tanned Joe Biden blamed his poor debate on exhaustion, a mystery illness and even Donald Trump distracting him during his first televised interview since the Atlanta showdown
He insisted he was not weaker and was “still in good shape.” He said he was “continuously assessed” by his personal physicians and that they “would not hesitate to tell me” if anything was wrong.
Often the President would become distracted halfway through his answer and begin to speak unintelligibly.
When asked further about what happened during the debate, he suddenly blamed Trump not being behind the microphone.
“I realized that even when I was answering a question, even when they turned his mic off, he was still yelling and I was distracted by that. I just realized I wasn’t in control,” he said.
Biden later claimed he had invented a new type of computer chip and that he had created and strengthened NATO during the 30-minute conversation.
He claimed his performance last week was “a bad episode” and that there was “no indication of a serious condition” in a highly anticipated interview with ABC seen as a key test of his fitness to run for office.
“I felt terrible,” Biden said, his voice hoarse and sometimes faltering. “Actually, the doctors were with me. I asked if they had done a COVID test, because they were trying to figure out what was wrong. They did a test to see if I had an infection, you know, a virus. I didn’t. I just had a really bad cold.
“I didn’t listen to my instincts in the preparation,” Biden added.
Still, Biden’s sweeping attempts to correct course based on his debate performance failed to assuage internal party frustrations. A powerful Democratic senator, for example, was working on a nascent effort to encourage the president to withdraw from the race, and Democrats were quietly talking about what they would do if the president did withdraw — or what it would mean if he stayed.