Joe Biden's big interview with George Stephanopoulos is out, and the big question circulating is whether it will be enough to quell the uprising within the Democratic Party.
Since his disastrous debate performance over a week ago, the president has been battling a deluge of leaks about his senility and a growing public campaign to have him leave the 2024 race. Since being helped off the stage in Georgia by his wife, Biden has done a few events, none of which should comfort any of his allies. In short, this interview is supposed to be a big turning point.
SEE: Biden Will Try to Prove He's Not Catatonic In Extended Interview With George Stephanopoulos
Was it? What we saw in the pre-released clips didn't exactly scream game-changer.
ABC: Was your humiliating debate a "bad episode or the sign of a more serious condition"?
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 5, 2024
BIDEN: "I was exhausted!"
ABC: Why wasn't your week holed away at Camp David enough rest time?
BIDEN: "I just had a really bad cold!" pic.twitter.com/AHMBLqNcIK
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's start with the debate. You and your team have said that you had a bad night.
BIDEN: I did
STEPHANOPOULOS: But your friend Nancy Pelosi framed the question that is actually on the minds of millions of Americans. Was this a bad episode or the sign of a more serious condition?
BIDEN: It was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn't listen to my instincts in terms of preparing, and I had a bad night.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You know, you say you were exhausted, and I know you've said that before as well, and you did have a tough month, but you came home from Europe about 11 or 12 days before the debate, spent six days in Camp David. Why wasn't that enough rest time, enough recovery time?
BIDEN: Because I was sick. I was feeling terrible. Matter of fact, the docs with me, I asked, they did a COVID test to try to figure out what was wrong. They did a test to see whether or not I had some kind of infection, a virus. I didn't. I just had a really bad cold.
Credit to Stephanopoulos for pressing the issue about Biden being "exhausted." As pointed out, he came back from Europe 12 days before the debate. After a very light schedule, he then retreated to Camp David for nearly a week, not appearing in public again until the night of the debate. That idea that jet lag, something that the president previously blamed for his faceplant, was a factor simply doesn't add up.
As to the idea that he "had a cold" that was so severe it only affected him the night of the debate (he showed no symptoms of one at a rally the next day) and somehow caused him to have numerous mental collapses — that likewise doesn't add up. The White House can't get its story straight, and you can tell they are now trying to massage things into a coherent message. It's not working.
Regardless, as somewhat coherent as that first clip sounded, it didn't take long for the trainwreck to commence.
"Did you ever watch the debate afterwards?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 5, 2024
BIDEN: "I don't think I did."
"Did you know how badly it was going?"
BIDEN: *incoherent rambling*
"It seemed like you were having trouble from the first question in..."
BIDEN: "Well I just had a bad night." pic.twitter.com/jDE8bA7eD3
STEPHANOPOULOS: Did you ever watch the debate afterwards?
BIDEN: I don't think I did, no.
STEPHANOPOULOS: What I want to get at is what were you experiencing as you were going through the debate. Did you know how badly it was going?
BIDEN: Yeah, look...(five-second pause)...the whole way I prepared, nobody's fault mine, nobody's fault but mine, I prepared, what I usually would sitting down as I did come back with foreign leaders or national security leaders for explicit detail, and I realized about part way through that, you know, I get quoted, The New York Times had me down 10 points before the debate, nine now, whatever the hell it is. The fact of the matter is, what I looked at, is that, he also lied 28 times. I couldn't, I mean, the way the debate ran, my fault, no one else's fault.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But it seemed like you were having trouble from the first question in, even before he spoke.
BIDEN: Well, I just had a bad night.
There's so much there that it's hard to know where to begin. To start, how does he not know whether he watched the debate or not? That's an easy lay-up of a question that requires a simple, straightforward answer. Instead, Biden hedges on the one point he can't afford to hedge on. The right answer there is to say that he did go back and watch it. To have not done so is to admit he's so out of it that he can't do basic retrospection while fighting for his political life.
Past that, there's the complete incoherence of his answer and the general frailty of his appearance. Biden's statement is a jumbled mess that makes no sense whatsoever at multiple points. He's skipped over what seemed to be entire sentences at times, clearly having trouble keeping his talking points straight.
Then there's the weird, random mention of a New York Times poll in which he claims they had him down by "10 points before the debate, nine now, or whatever the hell it is." What did that have to do with anything being discussed? Never mind that it's completely false.
This is a pretty incoherent answer including a non-sequitur complaing about a New York Times poll, which he incorrectly claims had him down 10 points before the debate (it was actually 3 or 4 points, depending on which version you look at). https://t.co/uV6acR43M6
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) July 5, 2024
The rest of the interview was no better. At times, Biden got angry and made nonsensical statements, such as this claim that he "shut Putin down."
STEPHANOPOULOS: Elections are about the future, not the past. They are about tomorrow, not yesterday, and the question on so many people's minds right now is, "Can you serve effectively for the next four years?"
BIDEN: George, I'm the guy that put NATO together, the future, no one thought I could expand it. I'm the guy who shut Putin down. No one thought it could happen. I'm the guy who put together a South Pacific initiative with (inaudible). I'm the guy that got 50 nations, not only in Europe, outside of Europe as well, to help Ukraine. I'm the guy that got Japanese to expand their budget, so I mean, me, for example, when I'm decided, we used to have 40 percent computer chipping, we invented the chip, that little chip, the computer chip.
I can't explain why he started talking like Batman there, but it is what it is. Almost nothing he says is true there. Putin is currently still invading Europe, and Russia is more emboldened than it has been in decades. To say he "shut Putin down" is a flat-out lie. Biden also did not "put NATO together," nor did anyone say expanding NATO couldn't be done. As to the mention of computer chips, your guess is as good as mine as to why he suddenly shifted to that. It doesn't seem to fit anything he was talking about.
Moving to Biden's mental and physical health, Biden likely made that situation worse with his answers.
Biden admits he's not had a "full neurological and cognitive evaluation" pic.twitter.com/Bv8lHEghwx
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 6, 2024
Biden REFUSES to commit to an "independent medical evaluation" and releasing the results to the American people pic.twitter.com/aOAfUqFLq5
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 6, 2024
The most important factor for Biden's political survival is to reassure not just all Americans but Democrats specifically that he is well enough to serve another four years. By continuing to refuse to get a real medical evaluation and release the results, he's only reinforcing suspicions that he's as senile as he appears. I understand why he won't do so, though. If he were to submit to an independent medical review, it would simply confirm what we all know, and that would be the end of the road.
Later in the interview, the topic of Biden trailing Donald Trump in the race came up. That led to several moments of confusion.
Biden claims he's not behind in the race, then forgets which polls he's citing until George Stephanopoulos rescues him — and insists his humiliating debate performance didn't negatively impact him pic.twitter.com/2jXu8R4rx8
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 6, 2024
HOST: Why are you so behind President Trump?
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 6, 2024
BIDEN: "Do you think polling data is accurate?"
HOST: Well, President Trump is certainly ahead...
BIDEN: *confused* pic.twitter.com/YEk19JLlPs
The first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one. Biden is delusional if he thinks every single poll is fake and that he's not down in this race. By the numbers, the debate has further knee-capped his campaign. To suggest otherwise is, again, a lie.
There's more that transpired, but I'll end with this mind-blowing clip.
ABC: "What's your plan to turn the campaign around?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 6, 2024
BIDEN: "You saw it today ... how many (incoherent) drew crowds like I did today?"
ABC: "I don't think you want to play the crowd game. Donald Trump can draw BIG CROWDS!"
BIDEN: "Who's he have!?" pic.twitter.com/GstMXRWHrJ
STEPHANOPOULOS: What's your plan to turn the campaign around?
BIDEN: You saw it today. How many (inaudible) draw a crowd like I drew today? You find me more enthusiastic in the day? Huh?
STEPHANOPOULOS: I don't think you want to play the crowd game. Donald Trump can draw big crowds. There's no question about that.
BIDEN: He can draw big crowds, what's he say, who's he have? I'm the guy supposedly in trouble.
Of note is that Biden drew a few hundred people at his rally in Wisconsin on Friday (which he is referring to). It was a very small crowd for a presidential nominee. As to the rest, I don't know what he was trying to say. "You find me enthusiastic in the day?" What did that have to do with Stephanopoulos' question? Then, at the end of the clip, Biden just tails off, defensive as always.
The interview is a disaster. There's no other way to put it. This won't change the narrative for Biden; it will only exacerbate it. If the White House was hoping for a turnaround, it's not coming, and Democrats would be looking at alternatives if they were smart. It's 25th Amendment time.
Editor's Note: This article was edited post-publication for clarity.
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