We got the first clue that something was very wrong when ABC News aired a clip of Joe Biden's interview with George Stephanopoulos at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
The partisan Democrat interviewer asked Biden why his debate performance was so bad after six days of rest at Camp David. Biden threw out some prepared talking points: He'd been very sick. He was tested for COVID and "for infections." He clutched his heart when he said the last part. (None of this explained why a very sick Biden was sent to a diner after the debate to gladhand supporters.)
Stephanopoulos asked Biden whether he had watched any of the debate. Biden couldn't remember: "I don't think I did."
I tweeted after watching that initial clip:
This gives weight to the theory that Stephanopoulos's job was to finish him off tonight.
— Paula Bolyard (@pbolyard) July 5, 2024
On Thursday, my esteemed colleague Stephen Green wrote:
Some argue that Stephanopoulos has been brought on not to help Biden but to commit the System's coup de grâce and "rhetorically assassinate" their flailing POTUS. Let George trip him up a couple of times in front of the TV cameras, the thinking goes, and even DOCTOR Jill Biden will have no choice but to relent and tell Joe to go Full LBJ.
They were clearly on the right track.
Stephanopoulos introduced the interview by claiming there had been "no cuts, no edits" to the video. "We have not touched it."
There was really no need. There was no way to pretty up the pig tonight. (You can watch the interview in its entirety below.)
"Did you know how badly it was going," he asked about the debate.
"The whole way I prepared, it was no one's fault but mine. Nobody's fault but mine."
Biden rambled something about national security and said, "Not my fault. No one else's fault. I just had a bad night."
He said he's participated in ten live events since the debate and bragged about his large crowds.
Stephanopoulos suggested that maybe Biden shouldn't be playing the numbers game and comparing his rallies to Trump's.
Joe does, in fact, not want to play the crowd game. https://t.co/JA9lpNzyHn pic.twitter.com/YdPu1dKlDY
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) July 6, 2024
"I just had a bad night. I don't know why," he said again. Then he claimed that Trump was shouting when his microphone was turned off in the debate. "It distracted me."
Stephanopoulos cited a pattern of decline and repeated lapses and read a lengthy passage from the New York Times documenting the problems. He pointed out that the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal have shared similar concerns.
"Are you the same man today as when you took office three years ago?" he asked.
"I am [the same] in terms of success," Biden claimed in that creepy whisper he trots out when he—well, I don't know why he does that. He ticked off his "peace plan for the Middle East" and the expansion of NATO. "I took on Big Pharma. I beat them." He took credit for the U.S. inventing "that little chip, the fingerchip" (not a typo... listen closely) as he pointed to his pinky finger.
“For example, when I decided…we used to have forty percent the computer chip. That little chip.” [points to his finger] “The computer chip.”pic.twitter.com/ZxslGKOGU3
— David Pinsen (@dpinsen) July 6, 2024
He claimed he had restored "some decency to the office."
"What has all that cost you?" Stephanopoulos persisted.
"Well, I think it cost me a really bad night. A bad night." After a long pause, Biden added, "I'm optimistic about this country. I don't think we're a country of losers."
Asked if he's had a full neurological exam since the debate, Biden retorted, "I get a full neurological test every day with me." It was clearly a scripted line and he repeated it twice more in the interview.
"Have you had the specific cognitive tests?"
"No. No one said I had to," Biden said.
He tried to offer proof of his wellness by ticking off world leaders he's spoken to recently but stumbled over names and events.
Shockingly, Stephanopoulos continued to demand answers about Biden's cognitive condition.
"Would you be willing to have the independent medical evaluation?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 6, 2024
BIDEN: "Watch me!"
"So the answer is no?"
BIDEN: "I've already done it!" pic.twitter.com/8SB7o2MYx1
"Watch me. There's a lot of time left in this campaign," said the president.
"George, I'm the guy who put NATO together," he lied. "I'm the guy that shut Putin down," he lied again.
"I've already done it," he added. "I mean… I just… anyway… I don't want to take too much credit. I wouldn't be running if I didn't think I [unintelligible]." After a long pause, he began again, "Look… " then trailed off.
"Are you sure you're being honest with yourself?" Biden was asked.
"Yes, I have the [unintelligible], George, to be able to meet that."
"Are you being honest about your ability to defeat Trump?" Stephanopoulos continued.
"Yes. Yes. Yes, yes,"
Asked about his poor polling, Biden said, "You guys keep saying that. You know polling better than anybody. Do you think polling is as good as it used to be?"
"I'm at 2024… 2020… red wave is coming," he went on.
Stephanopoulos again tried to address Biden's polling problem and asked if he was concerned.
"Not when you're running against a pathological liar," he said. "Not in the way he's about to be challenged."
"I've been doing a helluva lot of other things like worlds, around the world," said Biden (not a misquote).
He said his pollsters keep telling him it's a tossup, reinforcing the notion that he is isolated in a bubble of sycophants who refuse to tell him the truth.
Asked if it was worth the risk of not beating Trump, Biden intoned, "I don't think anyone's more qualified."
Was this about his own self-interest?
"Oh, come on. I don't think those critics know what they're talking about. They're wrong. Trump is a pathological liar. Trump is… did you ever see Trump do anything that didn't benefit him?"
"Look, I mean, the man is a congenital liar, as I said, I pointed out in that debate. He lied 27, 28, over 20 times," Biden claimed. "This is the guy that told us to put bleach in our arms to prevent COVID," he falsely claimed.
"Have you convinced yourself that only you can defeat him?" Stephanopoulos asked.
"I'm the most qualified person to beat him, and I know how to get things done."
Stephanopoulos didn't let up and asked if he would drop out if he's "convinced" he can't win.
"It depends," said Biden. "If the Lord Almighty comes down, I might do that," he repeated. It was clearly another staged line.
He claimed he's talked to Democrat leaders, but none have indicated that he should drop out.
Stephanopoulos tried again, practically begging him to drop out: "If you are told reliably by your allies, your friends, and supporters [that you will lose], what will you do?"
"I'm not going to answer that question. It's not going to happen," Biden shot back. "How many people can draw crowds like I am?" Then he mumbled something incoherent about his accomplishments.
"You haven't seen the reports of discontent?"
"I've seen it from the press."
Stephanopoulos said that dozens of supporters "love you and will be forever grateful to you for defeating Donald Trump in 2020… but they don't think you can win. They want you to go with grace."
Biden said he's not worried.
Asked how he would feel if Trump is re-elected in January, Biden said he'd be okay with it "as long as I gave it my all and I did the goodest" [not a typo].
ABC's official transcript has Biden saying "goodest." pic.twitter.com/cqc2GoDxK3
— Alex Pfeiffer (@__Pfeiffer) July 6, 2024
A few general observations: Biden had a fixed expression on his face for most of the interview, with the exception of a few inappropriately timed smiles. He held a pen in his left hand, clearly there to cue him to something. He repeated the same talking points several times. It looked as though the debate took place in front of a green screen, and they appeared to be conversing in a classroom, sitting in tiny chairs (perhaps to help the diminutive interviewer appear larger). For all we know, the interview was taped at a mental hospital.
I don’t think this interview is working for Biden.
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) July 6, 2024
It makes a good case for the last four years… But nothing about the next four.pic.twitter.com/nuOmpWUS2c
After watching the 23-minute interview, it was obvious that Stephanopoulos was sent out to stab Caesar to death on [pre-recorded] television. There's no other way to spin it. After the interview, ABC political hacks piled on. Rather than reassuring skittish Democrat operatives (let alone the public) that Biden is fine, it reinforced the narrative that he is too old and feeble to remain as the nominee.
Still, Biden invited viewers to judge his performance "by the NATO conference next week." That portends to be a train wreck as well.
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