The President of the United States, Joe Biden, downplayed this Friday (5) his performance in the debate on CNN from last week, offering additional excuses for the display and adding that it was solely his fault.
Biden said in an interview with ABC that he was “sick” and “feeling terrible” before the debate. Asked whether it was a bad episode or a sign of a more serious condition, the president dismissed those concerns.
“It was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparation and I had a bad night,” he said in an interview recorded Friday afternoon with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos.
Biden added: “Because I was sick — I was feeling terrible. In fact, the doctors who were with me asked if they had a Covid test, they were trying to find out what was wrong. They did an exam to see whether or not I had an infection, you know, a virus. I was not. I just had a really bad cold.
The conversation marked Biden’s first television interview since his performance in the US debate. CNNa high-stakes moment for his political future, as a growing list of Democrats – lawmakers, donors and voters – express concerns about the viability of his candidacy.
Biden didn’t watch the CNN Debate
The American president said in the ABC interview that he did not watch the replay of his performance. When asked if he knew how bad things were going, he said “it wasn’t anyone’s fault but mine.”
In answering the question, Biden offered a confusing tangent about the New York Times polls.
“I prepared what I would normally do sitting down when I came back as a foreign leader or on the National Security Council – to get explicit details. And I realized, about halfway through this – you know, all I get quoted is that The New York Times had me down 10 points before the debate, nine now, or whatever. The fact is – what I observed is that he also lied 28 times,” he said.
Pressed about his performance, he said, “Well, I was just having a bad night.”
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