Following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on Saturday, President Joe Biden moderated his criticism of the candidate. However, on Monday, he returned to campaign mode, justifying his choice to stay in the race despite calls for him to withdraw.
While some Democratic officials have expressed concerns that Biden won’t be able to win, Biden occasionally became aggressive in an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt and declared he isn’t withdrawing from the race.
Biden declared, “I’m old.” First of all, I am just three years older than Trump. Second, I’ve had quite decent mental sharpness. In my three and a half years as president, I’ve accomplished more than any previous president. I’m prepared to be evaluated based on that.
“I comprehend. I can see why some may think, “God, he’s 81 years old.” Whoa. What will he be when he is eighty-three or eighty-four years old? Asking such a query is reasonable.”
The interview is the most recent in a string of activities that Biden has participated in since his miserable showing at his June 27 debate with Trump, including rallies and Q&As. Some Democratic members have expressed concern about his sluggish delivery and whether he lacks the energy to effectively oppose Trump.
Biden made it clear that he will not back down.
He added that throughout the primary season, Democratic voters chose him to lead the ticket.
He stated, “I hear them.”
Holt questioned Biden about who he talks to about decisions like staying in the race or withdrawing.
“Me,” declared Biden. “I’ve spent a lot of time doing this.”
Moreover, Biden asserted, he is winning.
“See, we were aware that this would be a close race from the moment he made the announcement,” Biden stated.
“The polling data reveals a great deal of variation, but our differences are not great. It’s really a dead heat,” he remarked.
Trump leads Biden by two percentage points, within the poll’s margin of error, according to a recent nationwide NBC News survey.
However, the survey also showed that 80% of respondents expressed concern about Biden’s mental and physical abilities, and over 60% of Democrats stated they would like someone else to be the front-runner.
Biden has occasionally fueled doubts about both in his post-debate attempt to demonstrate his persuasiveness and competence.
Within the span of several hours on Thursday, he addressed Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, as “President Putin” and Kamala Harris, his vice president, as “Vice President Trump.”
In the NBC News interview, Biden occasionally stammered and faltered in his speech.
“I’m going out there and proving to the people of America that I am in complete control of all of my senses and that I do not require notes.” I can go out and answer any inquiries at all; I don’t need telepro.”
He urged the press to examine Trump with a comparable level of rigor.
“Why is that never covered by the media?” Trump said, referring to fact checks that revealed he had made several false claims throughout the debate.
“I had a really awful night. I was feeling really sick. And without realizing it, I made a mistake,” Biden admitted.
Biden’s campaign momentarily halted its advertising in observance of the incident, and he called Trump to inquire on his health and offer his best wishes.
Then, on Sunday, Biden made a statement from the Oval Office pleading with Americans to refrain from heated political discourse that could incite violent acts against democracy.
However, his aggressive demeanor throughout the interview gave the impression that the hard-edge campaigning pause was over. Over the weekend, Biden called his opponent “Donald.” Now he is back with “Trump.”
Referring to Trump, Biden remarked, “I’m not the guy who said, ‘I want to be a dictator on Day 1.'” “I am not the person who objected to the results of the [2020] election.” It wasn’t me that declared he wouldn’t recognize the results of this election.
He went on, “It is not enough to love your country just after victory.”