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Backed into a corner by the once-pliable media (and by once-loyal members of his own party), U.S. president Joe Biden – seemingly on the verge of losing the support of the Democratic establishment following a calamitous debate performance last week – came out swinging in a primetime interview Friday evening with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos.
Grilled repeatedly by Stephanopoulos on his ability to compete against former president Donald Trump this fall, Biden defiantly asserted himself and his record as president – and flatly disputed polls showing his approval rating in the toilet.
“All the pollsters I talk to tell me it’s a tossup,” the embattled incumbent told Stephanopoulos. “It’s a tossup.”
That may be technically true, but Trump – who was already leading in the race – has gained additional ground following Biden’s debacle in Atlanta last Thursday. According to the latest data from RealClearPolling, the 2024 GOP nominee has stretched his lead over Biden in multiple key battleground states – including Arizona (+6), Michigan (+2) Nevada (+4.5), Pennsylvania (+3.2) and Wisconsin (+2).
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Biden cannot afford to lose those states in November and expect to win a second term.
“If you can be convinced that you cannot defeat Donald Trump, will you stand down?” Stephanopoulos asked the 81-year-old incumbent.
“It depends on – on if the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, I might do that,” Biden said. “If the Lord Almighty came down and said ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race. The Lord Almighty’s not coming down.”
Pressing Biden, Stephanopoulos agreed “the Lord Almighty’s not gonna come down.”
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.@GStephanopoulos “If you are told reliably from your allies, from your friends and supporters … that they’re concerned you’re gonna lose the House and the Senate if you stay in, what will you do?”
— ABC News (@ABC) July 6, 2024
Pres. Biden: “I’m not gonna answer that question. It’s not gonna happen.” pic.twitter.com/1k9UvU4Iyh
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“But if you are told reliably from your allies, from your friends and supporters … that they’re concerned you’re gonna lose the House and the Senate if you stay in, what will you do?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“I’m not gonna answer that question,” Biden responded. “It’s not gonna happen.”
Stephanopoulos also grilled Biden over whether ranking Democrats in the U.S. Congress were about to call on him to stand aside for a younger standard-bearer.
“They’re not gonna do that,” Biden responded, chuckling.
“You’re sure?” Stephanopoulos shot back.
While Biden seemed detached from the reality of his current political predicament during his interview with Stephanopoulos, he at least came across as cogent enough to complete sentences … for the most part.
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RELATED | THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PRESIDENT
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As for his terrible debate performance, Biden said “it was a bad episode … no indication of any serious condition.”
“I was exhausted,” he said. “I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and – (had) a bad night.”
Seizing on the president’s contention that he was tired, Stephanopoulos asked why the week he spent preparing for the encounter wasn’t sufficient.
“Because I was sick,” he said. “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.”
Will Biden’s media offensive be enough to save his nomination – and salvage his foundering candidacy? Keep it tuned to FITSNews for the latest … including an extensive discussion of the Democrats’ dilemma in our upcoming Week in Review.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina and before that he was a bass guitarist and dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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3 comments
He does not know the Lord.
So now the word is out that the interviewers are given a list of approved questions. Scarily, Slow Joe was just barely able to handle most of the questions he was prepared for. Even with preparation, he still mutters, mumbles and “…looks…” his way through almost coherently, some of the time.
I don’t care if you’re a D or a R, it’s scary to have this guy in office for the next seven months, let alone four more years. The US looked weak after the debate and we will continue to be if we have Grandpa in office. He sounds exactly like your older relative when you know it’s time they give up their car keys.