- The US president says he was sick and felt terrible during the debate.
- 'I'm still in the race. I will beat Trump,' says President Biden.
- Biden says only the 'Lord Almighty' could kick him out of the race.
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Friday answered questions about his mental fitness and electability in a television interview aimed at capping a disastrous debate performance that sparked calls for him to drop his re-election bid.
As rebellion brews among some nervous Democratic voters, lawmakers and donors, the one-on-one confrontation with the ABC Channel It was touted as the most important of the 81-year-old president's long career.
But the 22-minute interview appeared to offer little reassurance, with Biden blaming illness for his lackluster performance and repeatedly dismissing polls and fears within his party that the debate had severely damaged his prospects.
“I was sick, I felt terrible … I just had a really bad cold,” the president said, in his first off-the-cuff and lengthy remarks since last week's showdown with Republican rival Donald Trump.
The interview was meant to help Biden weather the storm, but his raspy voice and rambling answers drew immediate criticism from Democrats for appearing “out of touch.”
Asked whether staying in the race could jeopardize Democrats' control of the White House, Biden said: “I don't think anyone is more qualified to be president or win this race than me.”
He sidestepped calls for doctors to assess his mental acuity, saying the duties of the presidency mean “I have to take a cognitive test every day. I have that test every day, in everything I do.”
Trump's campaign mockingly posted on social media that “Biden sounds great” at the end of the broadcast, before concluding that the president “is in denial and in decline.”
The interview came after Biden appeared indecisive and often incoherent during the debate against Trump in Atlanta, sparking panic within his party and calls for him to drop out of the race.
“I will beat Trump”
Biden's campaign has firmly rejected any suggestion that he might withdraw and, just hours before the ABC Interview, released an aggressive campaign travel schedule for the remainder of July.
At a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, the president delivered a forceful speech in which he declared unequivocally: “I will remain in the race. I will defeat Donald Trump.”
Post-debate polls have shown a widening deficit in Trump's favor, and at least four Democrats in Congress have called on Biden to step aside, as have major newspapers, donors and a host of pro-Democratic political commentators.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries were planning crisis talks with lawmakers in the coming days, US media reported.
In Friday's interview, ABC Host George Stephanopoulos repeatedly referenced the growing Democratic clamor for a conversation about choosing a new candidate and asked Biden if he would resign if he was convinced he could not beat Trump.
“Well, it depends. If the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, maybe I'll do it,” he said.
Biden added that he had not watched the debate afterwards, saying: “I don't think I have, no.”
And he dismissed the idea that his poor performance was a sign of a more serious health problem.
“It was a serious episode, there was no indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn't listen to my instincts in terms of preparation and… I had a bad night,” Biden said.
David Axelrod, a top White House adviser to Barack Obama and an occasional thorn in the side of the Biden administration, said the interview showed a president “dangerously out of touch” with concerns about his fitness for office.
“Four years ago, at this time, he was 10 points ahead of Trump (in the polls). Today, he is six points behind,” Axelrod wrote on X.
The White House has announced that Biden will visit Pennsylvania this weekend before holding a press conference during the NATO summit in Washington next week.
