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Read the transcript of President Biden’s first post-debate interview

Read the transcript of President Biden’s first post-debate interview

President Biden participated in his first sit-down news interview since his disastrous debate performance last week.  He spoke on Friday to ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, commenting on his “bad episode,” when it occurred to him that he was performing poorly at the debate and dodging repeated questions about taking a neurological test.  Biden’s interview aired in full for the first time Friday evening, following mounting calls within the Democratic Party that Biden should bow out of the race due to concerns over his age and mental acuity. Biden has vowed to remain in the race despite traditional allies and legacy media outlets calling on him to pass the political baton to a younger Democrat contender. Below is Biden’s full interview transcript with Stephanopoulos, as reported by ABC News: BIDEN REPEATEDLY DODGES QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER HE’D TAKE NEUROLOGICAL TEST: ‘NO ONE SAID I HAD TO GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Mr. President, thank you for doing this. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Thank you for having me. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Let’s start with the debate. eh, You and your team said, have said you had a bad night. But your– PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Sure did. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: But your friend Nancy Pelosi actually framed the question that I think is on the minds of millions of Americans. Was this a bad episode or the sign of a more serious condition? PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: It was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and– and a bad night. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You know, you say you were exhausted. And– and I know you’ve said that before as well, but you came– and you did have a tough month. But you came home from Europe about 11 or 12 days before the debate, spent six days in Camp David. Why wasn’t that enough rest time, enough recovery time? PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Because I was sick. I was feeling terrible. Matter of fact, the docs with me. I asked if they did a COVID test because they’re trying to figure out what was wrong. They did a test to see whether or not I had some infection, you know, a virus. I didn’t. I just had a really bad cold. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: And– did you ever watch the debate afterwards? DEMS ‘COMING TO TERMS’ THAT BIDEN ‘NOT IN CONTROL’ FOLLOWING DISASTROUS DEBATE: FORMER WH DOC PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I don’t think I did, no. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, what I’m try– what I want to get at is, what were you experiencing as you were going through the debate? Did you know how badly it was going? PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Yeah, look. The whole way I prepared, nobody’s fault, mine. Nobody’s fault but mine. I, uh– I prepared what I usually would do sittin’ down as I did come back with foreign leaders or National Security Council for explicit detail. And I realized–bout partway through that, you know, all– I get quoted the New York Times had me down, at ten points before the debate, nine now, or whatever the hell it is. The fact of the matter is, what I looked at is that he also lied 28 times. I couldn’t– I mean, the way the debate ran, not– my fault, no one else’s fault, no one else’s fault. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: But it seemed like you were having trouble from the first question in, even before he spoke. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Well, I just had a bad night. You’ve had some bad interviews once in a while. I– I can’t remember any, but I’m sure you did. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: I’ve had plenty. I guess the question of– the problem is here for a lot of Americans watching is, you’ve said going back to 2020, “Watch me,” to people who are concerned about your age. And, you know, 50 million Americans watched that debate. It seemed to confirm fears they already had. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Well, look. After that debate, I did ten major events in a row, including until 2:00 in the morning after the debate. I did events in North Carolina. I did events in—in in Georgia, did events like this today, large crowds, overwhelming response, no– no– no slipping. And so, I just had a bad night. I don’t know why. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: And– how– how quickly did it– did it come to you that you were having that bad night? PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Well, it came to me I was havin’ a bad night when I realized that even when I was answering a question, even though they turned his mic off, he was still shouting. And I– I let it distract me. I– I’m not blaming it on that, but I realized that I just wasn’t in control. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Part of the other concern is that– this seems to fit into a pattern of decline that has been reported on recently. New York Times had a headline on July 2nd, “Biden’s lapses are said to be increasingly common and worrisome.” Here’s what they wrote. “People who’ve spent time with President Biden over the last few months or so said the lapses appear to have grown more frequent, more pronounced, and after Thursday d– Thursday’s debate, more worrisome. By many accounts, as evidenced by video footage, observation, and interviews, Mr. Biden is not the same today as he was even when he took office three-and-a-half years ago.” Similar reporting in The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. Are you the same man today that you were when you took office three-and-a-half years ago? PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: In terms of successes, yes. I also was the guy who put together a peace plan for the Middle East that may be comin’ to fruition. I was also the guy that expanded NATO. I was also the guy that grew the economy. All the individual things that were done were ideas I had or I fulfilled. I moved on. And so, for example,

Biden blames Trump’s alleged ‘shouting’ for debate debacle despite no evidence it occurred

Biden blames Trump’s alleged ‘shouting’ for debate debacle despite no evidence it occurred

President Biden said former President Donald Trump distracted him by “shouting” during their debate last week – behavior that Biden said only added to his troubles during a disastrous performance. “How quickly did it come to you that you were having that bad night?” ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos asked the president during an interview that aired Friday evening.  “Well, it came to me I was having a bad night, when I realized that even when I was answering the question, even though they turned his mic off, he was still shouting. And I let it distract me,” Biden said. “But I’m not blaming it on that, but I realized that I just wasn’t in control.”  The ABC News interview marked Biden’s first sit-down interview since his widely panned debate performance, which included the president losing his train of thought, stumbling over his words, and delivering responses in a raspy voice – something that the White House later blamed on a cold.  BIDEN TAKES BLAME FOR ‘BAD NIGHT’ IN DEBATE AGAINST TRUMP: ‘MY FAULT, NO ONE ELSE’S FAULT’ The debate’s agreed-upon rules included turning off the microphone of the president or former president when the other was answering a question. At times, Trump was seen and heard speaking when his mic was turned off, but he was not heard or seen shouting at Biden during the first debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle.  PRESIDENT BIDEN FACES THE MOST CONSEQUENTIAL WEEKEND OF HIS POLITICAL CAREER The president’s performance during the debate sparked concern and panic within the Democratic Party, as traditional allies and media pundits quickly noted that Biden appeared to be showing his age – 81 years old – during the showdown. The concern soon cascaded into establishment media outlets, such as the New York Times, and even elected Democratic officials calling on Biden to step out of the race.  “The president appeared on Thursday night as the shadow of a great public servant,” the New York Times editorial board wrote in its piece following the debate. “He struggled to explain what he would accomplish in a second term. He struggled to respond to Mr. Trump’s provocations. He struggled to hold Mr. Trump accountable for his lies, his failures and his chilling plans.” The Times continued: “More than once, he struggled to make it to the end of a sentence. Mr. Biden has been an admirable president. Under his leadership, the nation has prospered and begun to address a range of long-term challenges, and the wounds ripped open by Mr. Trump have begun to heal. But the greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election.“ BIDEN RAMPS UP SPENDING IN BID TO STEADY HIS FALTERING CAMPAIGN Biden and his administration and campaign have worked to quell concerns about his mental acuity and age since last week, touting his series of campaign events immediately following the debate, as well as upcoming press conferences and continued appearances. WHAT BIDEN SAID ABOUT HIS DEBATE PERFORMANCE  The president admitted he performed poorly in the debate, including during the Stephanopoulos’ interview, summing it up as a “bad night” and a “bad episode.”   “It was a bad episode,” Biden said. “No indication of a serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing. It was a bad night.” He said the blame squarely falls on him, not those who prepped him going into debate night.  “The whole way I prepared – nobody’s fault. Mine. Nobody’s fault but mine,” Biden said during the ABC News interview. “I prepared what I usually would do sitting down, as I did coming back with foreign leaders or the National Security Council, for explicit detail.”  Trump recently lambasted Biden’s debate performance in a video that appears to have been shot on a golf course earlier this week. the former president said: “We kicked that old, broken down pile of crap.” Despite calls from both Democrats and Republicans to bow out over concerns of mental acuity and age, Biden has vowed he will remain in the race. 

Combative Biden refuses to quit 2024 race, dismisses polls and mental acuity questions in pivotal interview

Combative Biden refuses to quit 2024 race, dismisses polls and mental acuity questions in pivotal interview

President Biden repeatedly refused to reconsider his bid for re-election, time and again dismissing the concerns of those trying to pressure him to quit the 2024 White House race due to lagging poll numbers and concerns about his mental acuity during a high-stakes interview Friday. Biden’s 22-minute sit-down with ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos was taped earlier in the day but aired unedited. It was the 81-year-old president’s first televised sit-down since his debate against former President Trump last week. At one point, Stephanopoulos informed Biden he was behind in the popular vote, and the president replied, “I don’t buy that.” “I don’t think anybody is more qualified to be president or win this race than me,” Biden said when pressed about a race his opponent appears favored to win. BIDEN TAKES BLAME FOR ‘BAD NIGHT’ IN DEBATE AGAINST TRUMP: ‘MY FAULT, NO ONE ELSE’S FAULT’ When asked if he had the mental acuity to be president another four years, Biden said, “I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t think I did.” Biden also brushed off concerns about his mental fitness for office. When asked if he was being “honest” with himself about his own cognitive abilities, the president replied, “Yes, I am, because, George, last thing I want to do is not be able to meet that.” But he was also evasive when asked about the possibility of taking a cognitive test and making those results public, something Biden’s Republican critics have long demanded. “Look, I have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I have a test. Everything I do,” Biden said. “You know, not only am I campaigning, I’m running the world. And that’s not — it sounds like hyperbole. But we are the essential nation in the world.” When pressed again, Biden said, “I’ve already done it,” though he did not elaborate. ABC’S GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS LANDS CRUCIAL INTERVIEW, PUTTING SPOTLIGHT ON HIS PARTISAN PAST  Biden’s allies and critics were expected to be closely watching the interview after last month’s CNN debate raised lingering concerns about his viability as a candidate. The president delivered a poor performance against his Republican rival, speaking with a hoarse voice he attributed to a cold and also frequently trailing off while speaking, appearing to lose his train of thought.  On Friday, Biden insisted he had a “bad night” during the debate. “I think the most charitable thing you can say about it is it’s way too little, too late,” Democratic strategist Julian Epstein, former chief counsel for Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital after the interview aired.  “The president looks frail. He looks foggy. He looks weak. He looks like he is using every last ounce of energy that he may have to sort of barely get through. “Most Democrats now, whether they’re saying it or not, realize that, you know, the Biden campaign is on death watch. And it’s a question of whether I think it will be, you know, early next week or after that.” Biden said he blamed himself for how the debate went, but he also suggested some fault lies with Trump. BIDEN DONORS ‘FREAKED OUT’ BY HIS RELIANCE ON TELEPROMPTERS AT PRIVATE FUNDRAISERS “I was having a bad night when I realized that even when I was answering a question, even when they turned his mic off, he was still shouting, and I … I let it distract me. I’m not blaming it on that. But I realized that I just wasn’t in control,” the president said. He also responded to questions about recent polls that show him behind Trump. “All pollsters I talk to tell me it’s a toss-up. And when I’m behind … there’s only one poll I’m really far behind, CBS poll and NBC, I mean, excuse me,” Biden said, his last few words barely intelligible.  Stephanopoulos then said The “New York Times and NBC, both have you about six points behind in the popular vote.” “That’s exactly right. New York Times had me behind before anything having to do with this race, had me behind ten points. Ten points they had me behind. Nothing’s changed substantially in The New York Times poll,” Biden answered. Toward the end of the interview, Stephanopoulos asked Biden about the growing number of Democratic lawmakers suggesting he should step aside, and Biden pushed back. “Look, I mean, if the Lord Almighty came out and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’ll get out of the race. The Lord Almighty’s not coming down,” the president said. Former Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod wrote on X after the debate, “The president is rightfully proud of his record. But he is dangerously out-of-touch with the concerns people have about his capacities moving forward and his standing in this race.”

Biden repeatedly dodges questions about whether he’d take neurological test: ‘No one said I had to’

Biden repeatedly dodges questions about whether he’d take neurological test: ‘No one said I had to’

President Biden three times dodged questions about whether he’d take a neurological test in one of the more contentious moments of his first sit-down interview since a widely panned presidential debate performance last week. “Have you had a full neurological and cognitive evaluation?” ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos asked Biden in an interview conducted Friday afternoon and aired in the evening. “I get a full neurological test every day with me,” Biden replied. “I’ve had a full physical. … I’ve been to Walter Reed for my physicals.” Stephanopoulos again pressed the president about taking a neurological test, and Biden again ducked.  DEMS ‘COMING TO TERMS’ THAT BIDEN ‘NOT IN CONTROL’ FOLLOWING DISASTROUS DEBATE: FORMER WH DOC “Have you had the specific cognitive tests, and have you had a neurologist, a specialist, do an examination?” Stephanopoulos asked. “No, no one said I had to. … They said, I’m good,” Biden responded. Stephanopoulos pressed Biden a third time on taking a cognitive or neurological test, and, if he would agree to take one, asking if Biden then would release the results of such a test to the public. The president, however, brushed off the question by saying that he is tested every day in his role as president.  BIDEN TAKES BLAME FOR ‘BAD NIGHT’ IN DEBATE AGAINST TRUMP: ‘MY FAULT, NO ONE ELSE’S FAULT’ “Look, I have a cognitive test every single day,” Biden said. “Every day I have that test. Everything I do. You know, not only am I campaigning, but I’m running the world. Sounds like hyperbole  – but we are the central nation in the world.” He added: “And every single day, for example, today, before I come out here, I’m on the phone with the Prime Minister of … Well anyway, I shouldn’t get into detail, but with Netanyahu. I’m on the phone with the new Prime Minister of England. I’m working on what we’re doing with regard to in Europe, with regard to expansion to NATO and whether it’s going to stick. I’m taking on Putin. I mean, every day, there’s no day I go through there’s not those decisions I have to make every single day.”  Biden’s ABC interview is his first extensive one-on-one since a disastrous debate against former President Donald Trump last Thursday, which escalated concern about the president’s mental acuity and age, and sparked a wave of traditional Democrat allies and establishment media outlets, such as the New York Times, to call on the president to exit the race. PRESIDENT BIDEN FACES THE MOST CONSEQUENTIAL WEEKEND OF HIS POLITICAL CAREER The disastrous debate performance included the president tripping over his words, losing his train of thought at times and delivering responses with a raspy voice. His slow and deliberate demeanor fared poorly when compared to the man he was squaring up against: Trump.  Biden and his administration and campaign have remained resolute that Biden will remain in the race despite the mounting calls for someone else – such as Vice President Kamala Harris – to step in and become the party’s nominee for November.  BIDEN RAMPS UP SPENDING IN BID TO STEADY HIS FALTERING CAMPAIGN Biden said during the interview that he’s aware he performed poorly during the debate, telling Stephanopoulos that it merely was a “bad episode.”  “No indication of a serious condition. I was exhausted,” Biden said. “I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing. It was a bad night.” He added: “The whole way I prepared – nobody’s fault. Mine. Nobody’s fault but mine,” Biden said. “I prepared what I usually would do sitting down, as I did coming back with foreign leaders or the National Security Council, for explicit detail.

Biden takes blame for ‘bad night’ in debate against Trump: ‘My fault, no one else’s fault’

Biden takes blame for ‘bad night’ in debate against Trump: ‘My fault, no one else’s fault’

President Biden maintained that his disastrous debate performance last month against former President Trump was nothing more than a “bad episode” or a “bad night” rather than a sign of something more serious and suggested he alone was to blame for it, making the remarks on Friday during his first major television interview since the debate debacle. Amid mounting speculation about whether Biden is fit to be president – both for the remainder of his term and for the four-year term he’s seeking – ABC News host George Stephanopoulos asked Biden if his performance was “a bad episode or the sign of a more serious condition?” “It was a bad episode,” Biden said. “No indication of a serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing. It was a bad night.” The president’s answer was not quite clear when he was asked what was going through his head during the debate, but he maintained that his performance was his fault alone. He also accused Trump of lying “28 times” during the debate. “The whole way I prepared – nobody’s fault. Mine. Nobody’s fault but mine,” Biden said. “I prepared what I usually would do sitting down, as I did coming back with foreign leaders or the National Security Council, for explicit detail.  “And I realized partway through that, you know, that –  I could quote it, the New York Times had me down at ten points before the debate. Nine now, or whatever the hell it is. The fact of the matter is, that when I looked at, is that, he also lied 28 times. I couldn’t, I mean, the way the debate ran, not – my fault. No one else’s fault. No one else’s fault.” PRESIDENT BIDEN FACES THE MOST CONSEQUENTIAL WEEKEND OF HIS POLITICAL CAREER When asked if he had watched the debate since it occurred, Biden said, “I don’t think I did, no.” The president also said again that he had been sick during the debate, and suggested he was so ill that his doctors thought he might have COVID-19. “I was feeling terrible,” Biden said. “Matter of fact, the docs with me, I asked if they did a COVID test because they were trying to figure out what’s wrong. They did a test to see whether or not I had some infection, you know, a virus. I didn’t. Just had a really bad cold.” Biden taking the blame for the debate performance comes after multiple reports that suggested the president’s inner circle was pointing fingers at the aides and staff members who prepared him for the showdown with Trump. The clip that aired on World News Tonight is a preview of Biden’s primetime interview with Stephanopoulos, which is set to air in full on ABC at 8 p.m. ET. BIDEN RAMPS UP SPENDING IN BID TO STEADY HIS FALTERING CAMPAIGN The stakes for the sitdown are high; the 81-year-old Biden is facing mounting pressure to step aside as the Democrats’ 2024 presidential nominee.  His performance during last month’s CNN Presidential Debate has led to even staunch Biden allies questioning whether he’s in a worsening mental state. A growing chorus of elected Democrats are publicly airing fears that he will lose to Trump and could possibly drag down Democrats in critical House and Senate races across the country.  Biden, for his part, has declared several times that he will not bow out. “Let me say this as clearly as I can: I’m staying in the race. I will beat Donald Trump,” Biden told a supportive crowd in Madison, Wisconsin just before he sat down for his pre-taped interview.  WHAT BIDEN SAID ABOUT HIS DEBATE PERFORMANCE  He also addressed the CNN face-off, telling voters: “I’m not letting one 90-minute debate wipe out three-and-a-half years of work.” Meanwhile, three House Democrats have now publicly called for Biden to make way for a new nominee: Reps. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas. There were also multiple letters circulating this week among House Democrats that would call on Biden to step aside, two sources familiar with those discussions told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.