President Joe Biden said in an interview with BET News that he would reevaluate his decision to continue his campaign if doctors told him he had a medical condition.
“If I have some medical condition,” Biden said in an interview aired Tuesday when asked if there was anything that would cause him to reevaluate his campaign. “If someone, the doctors, came to me and said there was a problem, that problem.”
Biden has since faced persistent calls from other Democrats to drop out of the race poor discussion performance last month. But the president told ABC News that Democratic leaders in Congress urged him to continue his campaign. The president insisted in that interview that he would only withdraw from the race “if the Lord Almighty descends.”
Biden also forgot the names of former President Herbert Hoover and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during the interview and apparently slipped up several times, mistaking the name of former President Donald Trump. Trump’s running mate, Senator JD VanceR-Ohio.
“You know, there are only two presidents in American history who came into office and did less than they came into office. The other one was a guy we all know very well,” Biden said, referring to Hoover. “So I’m calling … anyway, Trump is one of them.”
Biden, Austin and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown argued that Jackson had backed down on his appointment.
Look at the heat I got for calling Austin “the secretary of defense, black.” “I named Ketanji Brown, after the people I named. It’s about making it clear that American history is Black History. Black history is and is made by American history. That’s why we are strong.”
When discussing abortion rights, Biden mocked the name Vance by referring to “Mance.” Vance became a target of Biden’s campaign opposition In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. to Democrat-led legislation to codify abortion rights after overturning the Wade decision.
“Look, one of the things that’s happened is, you know, most states, even conservative states, they want to make a tough call, it’s up to the public to determine whether there are exceptions. , like, Mance doesn’t want any abortions or conditions — there — states say that no, no, that’s not what we want to do, we want exceptions,” Biden said, referring to Vance.
The White House did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment on the president’s apparent stumble during the BET interview.
Biden opposed it urging other Democrats to end their bid for re-election after a poor June debate performance raised growing concerns about his mental capacity and age.
President this month refused cognitive or neurological testing in his first interview after his widely scrutinized debate performance.
In an interview with ABC News, Biden maintained that he receives a “full neurological exam every day,” referring to his duties as president. Asked if he had passed a cognitive test, the president said, “No, I shouldn’t have said anyone.”
In a letter this month, White House physician Kevin O’Connor said of Biden did not consult a neuropathologist outside of his annual physical. Before the letter was published, NBC News confirmed the New York Post report A Parkinson’s specialist from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center visited the White House at least eight times in eight months.
In an interview with BET last month, Biden admitted he “made a serious mistake in the whole debate.”
Biden recalled that he originally started his run for president with the intention of being a “transitional candidate” who could “move on from this to someone else,” but switched gears after seeing the nation “like this.” so, so divided.”
“And frankly, I think the only thing you have to bring is a little bit of wisdom,” Biden said. “And I think I’ve demonstrated that I know how to get things done for the country. Even if they don’t tell us, we won’t be able to do it. But there is more work to be done and I don’t want to get away from it.”