U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday said he did not need a cognitive test to determine whether he had a mental decline and dismissed calls from some Democrats that he should step aside to let a more vigorous candidate take on Republican Donald Trump.
A defiant Biden, scrambling to defuse the political crisis over his shaky debate performance, used a 22-minute ABC News interview to argue again that he had a bad night at the debate and that he was the right candidate to beat Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race.
Under persistent questioning from ABC interviewer George Stephanopoulos, Biden dismissed polls that showed him trailing Trump and said other polls have him in a better position.
Asked if he had undergone a specific cognitive test for a neurological exam, Biden, 81, said he had not had one and “no one said I had to.”
In an exclusive interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, U.S. President Joe Biden says he was feeling ill and exhausted from ‘a really bad cold’ which led to his publicly criticized performance in the televised debate against former president Donald Trump.
In his last physical exam on Feb. 28 he was determined to be fit for duty but the president routinely makes verbal slipups. Some specialists on aging say he should have a cognitive test.
Asked if he would undergo a cognitive a test, he was dismissive, citing the rigours of the White House as sufficient.
“Look, I have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I have that test — everything I do (is a test),” Biden said.
In an exclusive interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, U.S. President Joe Biden maintained he is ‘still in good shape,’ when asked about the number of recent mental lapses or whether he’s become more frail.
In his first interview since the debate, Biden said he was the best candidate to take on Trump and that only “Lord almighty” could oust him from the race.
Biden cited “a really bad cold” for his stumbling performance at the debate and exhaustion after two trips to Europe.
“I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of my preparing. It was a bad night,” he told George Stephanopoulos in the ABC interview.
A closely watched interview
The ABC interview was a departure from Biden’s heavy use of a…
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