President Biden tried to explain away his shocking performance during last week’s first presidential debate against Donald Trump, telling ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos Friday evening that he was “exhausted” and “sick” with a “bad cold.”
Biden, 81, stressed that his frequent errors on the CNN debate stage in Atlanta June 27 were a “bad episode” rather than a sign of permanent deterioration and added that his brutal showing was “my fault, no one else’s fault.”
The interview with Stephanopoulos, set to be broadcast in full later Friday, had been seen as a make-or-break moment for the president’s re-election campaign — as speculation swirled about his political future and polls showed strong movement against the Democratic incumbent.
Prior to the interview, Biden had told a rally at a Wisconsin middle school that he would remain in the race.