In his first televised interview since his widely criticized debate performance last week, President Joe Biden took responsibility for the stumbles and argued that he underperformed because he was ill.
“It’s nobody’s fault but mine,” he told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos in a clip from the interview that is scheduled to air in full at 8 p.m. ET Friday. .
The president reiterated several times that the debate was nothing more than “a bad night”.
“It’s a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted,” Biden said. “I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparation and it was a bad night.”
When asked why several days of preparation at Camp David were not enough, Biden responded, “Because I was sick, I was feeling terrible.”
Asked if he watched a video of the debate, the president said: “I don’t think so.”
The interview comes at a crucial time in the general election cycle, when some Democrats have called on Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race and as speculation continues about who could replace him as the party’s nominee.
The next week of events for Biden is considered “absolutely critical,” two Biden aides and a former official with knowledge of the discussions told NBC News ahead of Friday’s interview.
There are no plans for a “major change” in strategy, the sources said, beyond what the White House has already telegraphed in the coming days. However, there may be additional interviews and appearances on the president’s schedule, they said.
The president is aware that he needs to perform well in public appearances in the coming days and that anything less could consolidate public opinion that he should drop out of the race, according to the sources. Still, Biden appears intent on proving he can be the nominee.
On Friday morning, a senior adviser involved in the lawsuit said an ABC News team would be with Biden throughout the day, observing the president’s participation in his scheduled trip to Wisconsin for a campaign rally.
During the rally in Madison, Biden continued to dismiss speculation about dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.
“Let me say this as clearly as I can: I will stay in the race,” Biden said. “I will beat Donald Trump.”
A growing number of Democrats are calling for Biden to step down.
Just before the interview aired, Representative Mike Quigley became the third House Democrat to call for Biden’s resignation. Reps. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, previously called for Biden not to serve another term.
Quigley said on MSNBC that he would tell Biden that “the only thing you can do now to cement this for good and avoid total catastrophe is to resign and let someone else do it.”
Some of Biden’s closest allies, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have called on the 81-year-old president to prove he is ready to take on a second term in the White House by holding more events and showing off. I improvised it rather than reading it from a teleprompter most of the time.
This week, Biden also gave two separate radio interviews in which he said he had a “bad night” and “messed up” but that “doesn’t erase what I did for three and a half years.”
Concern about Biden’s capabilities has spread to his backers. CNBC reported this week that Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Roy Disney, co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, said she would hold off on donating to Democrats unless Biden withdraws from the race.
The White House had said that Biden, whose voice sounded hoarse during the debate, had a cold at the time. The president told people at a campaign fundraiser that the debate came after a long trip abroad, even though he had returned from it nearly two weeks earlier.
During his meeting with Democratic governors Wednesday night, Biden said he might limit evening events after 8 p.m. so he can get more sleep, two sources familiar with the exchange said.
Biden’s campaign defended his remarks, saying presidents need a balanced calendar.
“President Bush went to bed at 9:00 and President Obama cooked dinner at 6:30. Normal presidents find a balance, and so does Joe Biden,” campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said in a statement. “Hardly the same rigor as Donald Trump, who spends half his day complaining on Truth Social about plans that would cause a recession and the other half playing golf.”
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
