Joe Biden Interview with George Stephanopoulos “I’m still in good shape”
Watch the ABC News interview of President Joe Biden for yourself, and discuss in the comments.
Stephanopoulos, over the course of 22 minutes, pressed Biden repeatedly not only on his debate performance against Donald Trump but also on reports that his lapses have become increasingly common these past few months — and on what he would be willing to do to reassure the American people.
“Are you the same man today that you were when you took office three-and-a-half years ago?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“In terms of successes, yes,” Biden responded. “I also was the guy who put together a peace plan for the Middle East that may be comin’ to fruition. I was also the guy that expanded NATO. I was also the guy that grew the economy. All the individual things that were done were ideas I had or I fulfilled. I moved on.”
MORE: ‘Exhausted,’ ‘bad epsiode’: Biden doubles down on debate explanations in ABC News exclusive
“Do you dispute that there have been more lapses, especially in the last several months?” Stephanopoulos asked.“Can I run the 100 in 10 flat? No. But I’m still in good shape,” Biden said.
Stephanopoulos followed up, asking, “Are you more frail?”
“No,” Biden said, flatly.
Biden’s sit-down with ABC News is his first television interview since the June 27 debate. ABC News reached out to Trump to offer him an equivalent interview opportunity, but his team declined.
The interview is part of a push from the White House and the campaign to recalibrate after Biden’s halting debate performance left some Democrats panicked about his ability to carry out a grueling reelection campaign and a second term.
Before the interview, I saw two people from two different sides of the political spectrum arguing about the interview and both were appropriately skeptical given their POVs.
“This is going to be a softball interview that will be edited to high heaven designed to make Biden look good”, the conservativish guy said.
“No, they’re having Stephanopoulos slide the knife in”, the liberalish guy said.Report
At this point, Biden is a sure loser if he’s still on the ballot come Election Day. For Trump winning back the White House, Biden staying in the race is the best option. The American people are not going to vote for a candidate who cannot be trusted to safely operate a motor vehicle.
For Demos to win the White House, it’s best if Biden quits and Kamala is the nominee. She’s horrible, and will probably lose as well, but you gotta figure at least she’s got a puncher’s chance. In a vacuum, Demos would be better with an open primary and find a nominee outside the top tier of contenders. But you really can’t organize that in a week or so and hope all the players will play nice.
For the America, it’s probably best if it’s Kamala as well. If Demos keep on keepin on with Biden, post-Election is going to be hatefest on Biden. Like RBG x10. If it’s Kamala (or anybody else) and she gets thumped just as bad as Biden would have we might just create a world where Demos are capable of blaming themselves.Report
The interview was fine. The Wisconsin rally was better. People who want to be down on Biden will be. People who think the media will suddenly be nice to Harris if Biden were to resign and drop out of the race are delusional
https://balloon-juice.com/2024/07/05/you-better-think/
The media proves it is “serious” by telling Democrats how much they suckReport
Well, this is the moment. Or, rather, this is the long weekend. The expediency argument has been made. If it’s going to carry Biden off the ticket, it’s got to have its own momentum now. If it doesn’t, he’s staying on the ticket, unless/until something happens that makes the emergency argument.Report