In a rare primetime interview aimed at quelling Democratic anxieties over his candidacy, United States President Joe Biden declared that only the “Lord Almighty” could persuade him to end his re-election campaign.
The 81-year-old president addressed these concerns in a Friday evening interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos.
During the interview, Biden firmly rejected the notion of taking a cognitive test and making the results public, a suggestion made by some Democratic officials and donors following his underwhelming debate performance against Donald Trump last week.
“I have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I have that test – everything I do [is a test],” he told Stephanopoulos, standing by his mental fitness despite increasing scrutiny.
Biden also responded to questions about his ability to serve another term and whether he was in denial about his health and campaign viability. “I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me,” he asserted, attributing his poor debate performance to exhaustion and a “bad cold.”
“If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race,” Biden declared, adding, “The Lord Almighty’s not coming down.”
The interview highlighted a stark contrast to Biden’s rally in Madison, Wisconsin, earlier that day. At the rally, an energetic Biden addressed the debate criticism directly, telling the crowd, “Ever since then, there’s been a lot of speculation. What’s Joe going to do?” He responded affirmatively to his supporters, saying, “Here’s my answer. I am running and going to win again,” eliciting cheers from the crowd in this key battleground state.
Despite the more robust performance at the rally, Biden’s voice during the interview was occasionally weak and hoarse, a detail noted by BBC.
