WASHINGTON — After having tempered attacks on Donald Trump following Saturday’s assassination attempt, President Joe Biden plunged back into campaign mode Monday, defending his decision to remain in the presidential race despite calls for him to exit.
In an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt, Biden at times grew combative and said he isn't leaving the race even though some Democratic leaders have expressed fears that he can't win.
“I’m old,” Biden said. “But I’m only three years older than Trump, No. 1. And No. 2, my mental acuity’s been pretty damn good. I’ve gotten more done than any president has in a long, long time in 3½ years. So I’m willing to be judged on that.”
“I understand. I understand why people say, 'God, he’s 81 years old. Whoa. What’s he gonna be when he’s 83 years old, or 84 years?' It’s a legitimate question to ask."
The interview is the latest in a series of events, rallies and Q&As Biden has done since his dismal performance during his debate with Trump on June 27. Alarmed by his halting delivery, some Democratic lawmakers have questioned whether he has the vigor to carry the fight against Trump.
Biden made it plain that he won't yield.
Democratic voters picked him to head the ticket during the primary season, he said.
“I listen to them,” he said.
Holt asked Biden whom he consults when it comes to issues like remaining in the race or dropping out.
“Me,” Biden said. “I’ve been doing this a long time.”
What's more, Biden said, he's not losing.
"Look — we knew this — this was going to be a close race from the moment he announced," Biden said.
"The polling data shows a lot of different things, but there’s no wide gap between us. It’s essentially a toss-up race," he said.
A new national NBC News poll found that Trump leads Biden by 2 percentage points — within its margin of error.
The poll also revealed, however, that more than 60% of Democrats say they'd prefer someone else at the top of the ticket, while 80% of all voters said they were concerned about Biden's mental and physical capacities.
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In his postdebate push to prove he's cogent and competent, Biden has at times stoked concerns about both.
In a few hours Thursday, he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin" and his vice president, Kamala Harris, as "Vice President Trump."
During the interview with NBC News, Biden mumbled at some points, and his voice trailed off at others.
"What I’m doing is going out and demonstrating to the American people that I have command of all my faculties, that I don’t need notes. I don’t need telepro— I can go out and answer any questions at all."
He called on the news media to hold Trump to a similar degree of scrutiny.
Referring to fact checks showing that Trump made multiple erroneous claims during the debate, he said: "Why doesn't the press ever talk about that?"
"I had a bad, bad night. I wasn’t feeling well at all. And — and I had been — without making — I screwed up," Biden said.
In deference to the shooting, Biden’s campaign temporarily pulled down its advertising while he phoned Trump to ask about his condition and wish him well.
Biden then delivered a speech from the Oval Office on Sunday urging Americans to avoid overheated political rhetoric that may give rise to anti-democratic violent acts.
But his combative tone during the interview suggested that any pause in hard-edge campaigning is over. Biden referred to his opponent as “Donald” over the weekend. He’s now back to “Trump.”
“I’m not the guy who said, “I want to be a dictator on Day 1,’” Biden said, referring to Trump. “I’m not the guy who refused to accept the outcome of the [2020] election. I’m not the guy who said he wouldn’t accept the outcome of this election.”
“You can’t only love your country when you win,” he added.
