5 notable moments from Biden’s interview with NBC’s Lester Holt

President Biden sat down for an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt on Monday following the shooting at a rally held by former President Trump that rocked the 2024 race for the White House.

The president has come under pressure for his own rhetoric in also asking Americans to turn down the temperature this campaign season. He was also asked about his debate performance and subsequent calls among Democrats for him to step aside.

NBC aired the entire roughly 18-minute interview with Biden, which took place at the White House on Monday afternoon during an action-packed first day of the Republican National Convention.

Here are five notable moments from the interview.

Biden and Trump had ‘cordial’ conservation

Biden described his conversation with Trump after the shooting as “cordial” and said it was largely about the president’s concern for his political rival after a bullet hit his ear while speaking at the rally in Pennsylvania.

“Very cordial. I told him how worried I was and wanted to make sure I knew how he was really doing. He seemed fine, said he was fine, and thanked me for calling,” Biden said. “I told him he was literally in Jill and I’s prayers, and I hope his entire family has weathered this.”

Biden and Trump’s phone call took place on Saturday night, just hours after the shooting. Biden told reporters that evening that she had tried to contact Trump and hoped to speak with him. Since speaking, first lady Jill Biden and former first lady Melania Trump have also spoken on the phone.

The president was attending church in Rehoboth, Del., at the time of the shooting. Holt asked him what his first reaction would be to the news of the incident and he replied: “My first reaction was, ‘Oh my God. That’s it.’ Look, there’s a lot of violence now.”

Biden rejects Holt’s questions

Biden at times sparred with Holt over his line of questioning, appearing frustrated and pressing the NBC News anchor over media coverage, especially after the debate.

At one point, Holt asked Biden if he would consider debating Trump again before the next debate scheduled for September 10.

“…if the opportunity arose to do one between now and then? Is there – is there a feeling of wanting to get back on the horse? Holt asked Biden at the end of the interview, referring to another debate before September.

“I’m on the horse. Where have you been?” Biden backed off. “I’ve done 22 big events, met thousands of people, overwhelming crowds. A lot is happening. I’m on the horse.

During another part of the conversation in which Holt referred to comments made by Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) about Biden, the president suggested that Holt was ignoring comments that Vance, a former Trump critic, had also made about his ex. -president before becoming his running mate in 2024.

“[Vance] says some things about me, but look what he said about Trump,” Biden said. “What’s the matter with you guys? Come on, man.”

It was perhaps one of Biden’s most notable resistances to the media in an interview with a media outlet, already at a delicate moment in his presidency, as he faces calls within his party to resign. He remained assertive during the interview, despite it generating some awkward moments.

“Sometimes come talk to me about what we should be talking about,” Biden challenged Holt at the end of the conversation.

Suggests ‘on target’ comment was a ‘mistake’

Biden suggested it may have been a mistake to use the word “target” when talking about Trump on a call with donors last week, when Holt asked about the renewed attention surrounding those comments after the shooting.

“It was, it was a mistake to use the word. I didn’t mean… I didn’t say aim. I meant target, I meant focus on him. Focus on what he is doing. Focus on your… policies. Focus on the number of lies he told in the debate,” Biden said.

In a conference call with donors last week, amid pressure from Democrats for him to drop out of the race, Biden said, “It’s time to put Trump on target.”

The president also reacted when Holt asked if he had taken a step back and done some soul-searching about things he said that could incite people who are not “balanced.”

“How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he does?” Biden said. “Do you just say nothing because you might incite someone? I did not engage in that rhetoric.”

Trump’s legal troubles arise

During the interview, the president said he was “not surprised” by Judge Aileen Cannon’s decision earlier in the day to dismiss Trump’s case regarding the handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

His response quickly turned to the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, in which Justice Clarence Thomas questioned the legality of the appointment of special prosecutor Jack Smith. Cannon dismissed Trump’s case by ruling that Smith had been illegally appointed.

“This comes from the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling… and [Justice] Clarence Thomas, in his dissent, said independent prosecutors appointed by the attorney general are not legitimate. That is the basis on which this judge decided to dismiss,” Biden said.

Thomas wrote as part of his concurrence: “I write separately to highlight another way in which this charge may violate our constitutional framework. In this case, the Attorney General intended to appoint a citizen as Special Counsel to prosecute a former President on behalf of the United States.”

Biden also brought to light his own investigation involving confidential documents that turned up at his home and in a former office he used after leaving the vice presidency.

“An independent prosecutor looked at me. They spent months on my approval and I was fully cooperative. It comes in and out of my house,” he explained.

“There were about 10, 12 agents in my house for nine hours unattended, checking every single thing I had. This is appropriate. And they looked at me and concluded that I did nothing wrong.”

Biden shares thoughts on Vance

Biden’s NBC interview came just hours after Trump announced that Vance would be his vice presidential pick on the first day of the Republican National Convention.

Vance has in the past been highly critical of Trump describing him as a “cynical idiot” and “America’s Hitler.” Since then, Vance has become a close ally of Trump. Biden said he was not shocked by Vance as Trump’s pick.

“Well, it’s not uncommon. He will surround himself with people who completely agree with him. Have a voting history that supports you. Even if you go back and listen to the things JD Vance said about Trump,” Biden said, laughing.

The president said Vance does not believe in exceptions to abortion, supports Trump’s plan for tax cuts and does not believe in climate change. The senator said in 2021 that “two wrongs do not make a right” when asked whether abortion laws should allow exceptions for rape and incest and downplayed the threat of climate change, saying in 2022 that the US does not need to “destroy the economy to deal with that.

“I mean, he bought into Trump’s agenda, which he should if he’s running against Trump,” Biden added.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story