US presidential polls: In his maiden television interview since his dismal show in the debate with Republican rival Donald Trump, US President Joe Biden described his performance as a “bad episode” while taking full responsibility for what transpired, news agency ANI reported. In an interaction with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos in Madison, Wisconsin, Biden was asked whether he would step down if he became convinced he could not beat Trump in the November 2024 presidential polls, to which he said he would only do so “if the Lord Almighty comes down” and tells him to, CNN reported.
“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,” Biden said.
“I agree that the Lord Almighty is not going to come down. But if you are told reliably from your allies, and your friends and supporters in the Democratic Party, in the House, in the Senate that they’re concerned you’re going to lose the House and the Senate if you stay in, what will you do?” CNN quoted ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos as responding.
Biden declined to answer the question. “It’s not going to happen,” he added.
US President Joe Biden earlier asserted that he was the nominee of the Democratic Party and there was no pressure on him to drop out of the election race. His statement was contradictory to numerous reports of internal party murmurs that he should withdraw his presidential bid after his dismal debate performance.
Biden explains his poor show in debate
Stephanopoulos didn't waste time delving into the debate, acknowledging Biden's team's characterisation of it as a "bad night." Biden concurred, straightforwardly admitting, "Sure did."
The conversation soon turned to the remarks made by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who had expressed apprehension if the debate was indicative of a more serious underlying issue.
"It was a bad episode," Biden clarified. "No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn't listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and -- and a bad night."
Regarding his preparation leading up to the debate, which followed his international trip to France for the D-Day anniversary and subsequent rest at Camp David, the anchor asked why the recovery time wasn't sufficient. Biden explained, "Because I was sick. I was feeling terrible."
Biden takes responsibility for subpar performance
When asked if he realised how poorly it was going while on stage, Biden said, "Yeah, look. The whole way I prepared, nobody's fault, mine. Nobody's fault but mine."
“I prepared what I usually would do sitting down as I did come back with foreign leaders or the National Security Council for explicit detail. And I realised-- partway through that, you know, all-- I get quoted the New York Times had me down, ten points before the debate, nine now, or whatever the hell it is. The fact of the matter is that what I looked at is that he also lied 28 times. I couldn't-- I mean, the way the debate ran, not-- my fault, nobody else's fault, no one else's fault,” he added.
(With ANI inputs)
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