President Joe Biden told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Friday that last week’s debate was simply a “bad episode,” blaming his poor performance on exhaustion and not any underlying condition.
Admitting he had a bad debate, Biden said, “I was exhausted,” in a clip previewing the full interview, which will air at 8 p.m. on Friday. “I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing, and it was a bad night.”
When asked if he watched the debate back, he replied, “I don’t think I did, no.”
Biden maintained that he was sick in the run-up to last week’s debate, telling Stephanopoulos that he was checked out by a doctor to see what the illness was before a debate performance that has thrown his viability as a candidate in question. He said on Friday it was just “a really bad cold.”
He contradicted White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s press briefing on Wednesday, where she told reporters that Biden was not examined by a doctor. Biden affirmed that he was tested for COVID-19.
Still, Biden maintained, he remains the candidate best suited to beat perpetual liar Donald Trump.
“The New York Times had me down at 10 points before the debate—nine now or whatever the hell it is,” Biden said. “The fact of the matter is that when I looked at is that he also lied 28 times.”
Stephanopoulos pushed back, saying Biden’s struggles began before Trump even uttered a word.
“Well, I just had a bad night,” Biden said.
The post Biden Interview: ‘I Don’t Think’ I Re-Watched Debate Against Trump appeared first on The Daily Beast.
