President Biden's interview today is taking on outsized significance for his race
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
President Biden was in Wisconsin today as he continued the fight for his political life, pushing back against calls from some in his own party to step down from his reelection race. The main event and interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos that's being treated a bit like a televized cognitive test for the 81-year-old president. NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith joins us now with more. Hey, Tam.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Hi.
CHANG: Hi. OK, so ever since last week's debate, Biden has been under growing pressure from Democrats to either prove he has what it takes or to just step aside. So that makes today hugely high stakes. How did this ABC interview go?
KEITH: This interview took place right after a lively rally in Madison, Wis. And at times, Biden was quite clear, bringing Biden-isms and his big toothy smile while being asked uncomfortable questions, like this when Stephanopoulos asked him about his fitness for office.
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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Can I run the 100 in 10 flat? No, but I'm still in good shape.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Are you more frail?
BIDEN: No.
KEITH: But Biden also really struggled to get his point across in some answers. For example, he was asked, did he know how badly the debate was going while it was happening? And his answer included a lot of thoughts all scrambled together. Here is part of it.
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BIDEN: I prepared what I usually would do, sitting down, as I did come back with foreign leaders or the National Security Council for explicit detail. And I realized about partway through that, you know, I quoted The New York Times had me down at 10 points before the debate, nine now or whatever the hell it is.
KEITH: And there was a lot more. But he seemed to be making the point that he did not blame his advisers, the people who helped him prepare, just himself. Later, he said Trump was still talking even when his mic was off during the debate, and Biden allowed himself to be distracted by that and lost control of the situation.
CHANG: This all does seem a little bit confusing, but how did he explain what went so wrong during the debate?
KEITH: Well, right at the start of the interview, he was asked about whether this bad debate was an episode or a condition. And Biden was clear in that answer.
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BIDEN: It's a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn't listen to my instincts in terms of preparing. And a bad night.
KEITH: Now, that question was absolutely something he and his team would have anticipated and prepared for. The question this interview begins to answer is, how does he do when he's thrown a curveball? And I'd say the answer is he hit some singles and some doubles, and there were also some strikes where he failed to connect at all. After the halting debate performance, even Biden allies have been openly questioning whether he has the cognitive function to keep doing the job of president for another four years. They want him to show that he can perform well without a teleprompter. And I'll say he leans on them heavily, sometimes even reading from a teleprompter at fundraisers in people's living rooms.
In this interview, Stephanopoulos pressed Biden on whether he would get and release a cognitive exam. Biden said just doing the job is a cognitive test in itself. And pressed further, he said no one told him he needed one when he was getting his annual physical exam.
CHANG: Well, Tam, I mean, coming in, Democrats were worried about Biden's ability to beat former President Trump. Do you think this interview will do anything to quiet those concerns?
KEITH: It's too soon to know for sure. Reaction will be rolling in throughout the weekend, including on the Sunday political talk shows. But this interview had something in it for everyone. Within moments of the first clips airing, Republicans were circulating a video of Biden's response when he was asked if he had gone back and watched the debate to see how it went. And the answer was odd. Biden seemed puzzled and said, I don't think so, no. For people looking for Biden to do basically a fine job, this was pretty standard Biden circa 2024 - some garbled words, some thoughts tumbling out and a lot of pushback on the growing feeling of dread among Democrats that he has no chance to beat Trump. Biden remains confident he can win. He doesn't believe the polls, and he continues to believe that he will prove all the doubters wrong once again.
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STEPHANOPOULOS: If you can be convinced that you cannot defeat Donald Trump, will you stand out?
BIDEN: Well, it depends. If the Lord Almighty comes out and tells me that, I might do that.
KEITH: Will this interview move the needle? It's not clear how many voters set their DVRs to watch a Friday night interview. But it was appointment viewing for Democratic campaign donors and members of Congress who have gone through several stages of grief since the debate and are not convinced that Biden can beat Trump.
CHANG: OK, so, ultimately, it sounds like Biden is determined to stick it out.
KEITH: That is where he is today. And I will just say in politics, if you let on any hint of doubt in a firestorm like this one, you are done. So Biden is powering through. He'll be campaigning in Pennsylvania on Sunday, and I will be along for that trip.
CHANG: That is NPR's Tamara Keith. Thank you so much, Tam.
KEITH: You're welcome.
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