In it first television interview since then widely criticized the debate performance president last week Joe Biden took responsibility for the stumbles and claimed he underperformed because he was sick.
“It’s nobody’s fault but mine,” he told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos in a clip from the interview, which is scheduled to air in full on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
The president repeated many times that the debate was nothing more than a “bad night”.
“It’s a bad episode. There’s no sign of anything serious. I’m tired,” Biden said. “I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparation and it was a bad night.”
Asked why a few days of preparation at Camp David weren’t enough, Biden replied, “I felt terrible because I was sick.”
When asked if he had watched the video of the debate, the president said, “I don’t think I have, no.”
The interview comes at an important time of the general election period some Democrats He appealed to Biden Dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and speculation continues as to who could replace him as the party’s candidate.
The next week of events for Biden is considered “absolutely critical,” two Biden aides and a former official familiar with the discussions told NBC News ahead of an interview Friday.
There are no plans for a “major shift” in strategy beyond what the White House is telegraphing over the next few days, the sources said. Additional interviews and speeches may be added to the president’s schedule, they said.
The president knows he must perform well in public appearances over the next few days, and anything short of that could fuel public opinion that he should drop out, sources said. Still, Biden seems committed to proving he can run.
On Friday morning, a senior adviser involved in the process said an ABC News team would be with Biden throughout the day, monitoring the president’s planned trip to Wisconsin for a campaign rally.
during rally In Madison, Biden continued to dismiss speculation that he would drop out of the 2024 presidential race.
“Let me make this as clear as I can: I’m staying in the race,” Biden said. “I will defeat Donald Trump”
A growing number of Democrats are calling for Biden to drop out.
Shortly before the interview aired, Rap Mike Quigley He became the third Democrat in the House to call on Biden to step aside. Reps. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz. and Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, previously called on Biden not to seek another term.
Quigley said he would tell Biden on MSNBC: “The only thing you can do right now to cement this all the time and prevent total disaster is to step down and let somebody else do it.”
Some of Biden’s closest allies, Including former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, The 81-year-old president, D-Calif., has been called on to prove he’s up for a second term in the White House, often by holding events rather than reading from a teleprompter and showing him without a script.
This week, Biden also gave two separate interviews on his radio shows, in which he said he had a “bad night” and was “beaten up,” but this year “didn’t erase what I’ve done in three and a half terms.”
Concerns about Biden’s abilities have spread to his financial backers. CNBC informed This week, Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Roy Disney, co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, said she would stop donating to Democrats unless Biden withdraws from the race.
The White House said that Biden, whose voice was hoarse during the debate, had a cold at the time. The president told people on the campaign trail that the discussion came after a long trip abroad, though he had just returned from the trip about two weeks earlier.
During his time Meeting with Democratic governors Two sources familiar with the exchange said Wednesday night that Biden may limit evening events to after 8 p.m. so he can get more sleep.
The Biden campaign defended its views, saying presidents need a balanced schedule.
“President Bush went to bed at 9, and President Obama had dinner at 6:30. Normal presidents and Joe Biden also keep the balance,” campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said. “It’s not nearly the same toughness as Donald Trump, who spends half the day on Truth Social talking about plans to cause a recession and other half-golf games.”