In his first televised interview since his widely criticized debate performance last week, President Joe Biden would not commit to taking a cognitive or neurological test and releasing the results.
Biden argued that he’s tested daily, referring to his presidential responsibilities.
“I get a full neurological test every day,” Biden told anchor George Stephanopoulos of ABC News.
When pressed if he has had a cognitive test, the president said, “No, no one said I had to.”
During the 22-minute interview, Biden took responsibility for his stumbles in last week’s debate and argued that he underperformed because he was sick.
“Nobody’s fault but mine,” he said.
The president reiterated multiple 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 preparing, 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 whether he watched a video of the debate, the president said, “I don’t think I did, no.”
Biden rejected Stephanopoulos’ assessment of his bleak polling numbers, saying “I don’t buy that” when pressed on trailing former President Donald Trump.
Biden also pointed to predictions of a red wave for the 2022 midterms that never materialized, though he misstated the year.
“Remember 2024 — 2020, the red wave was coming,” Biden said. “Before the vote, I said, ‘That’s not gonna happen. We’re gonna win.’ We did better in an off year than almost any incumbent president ever has done.”
Biden also continued to reject the possibility of stepping aside, saying that Democratic leaders in Congress had recommended that he stay in the race.
“Look, I mean, if the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’ll get out of the race,” Biden said. “The Lord Almighty’s not coming down.”
When asked how he will feel in January if he stays in the race and Trump is elected, Biden responded, "I’ll feel as long as I gave it my all and I did the good as job as I know I can do, that’s what this is about." (Biden was initially heard to have said “goodest job” but his campaign clarified that he said “good as job.” The official ABC transcript was also changed to say the same.)
The interview comes at a pivotal time in the general election cycle, as 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.
Some Democrats said they weren’t convinced that the interview achieved the campaign’s goals.
