Only the ‘Lord Almighty’ Could Stop His Campaign: 4 Takeaways From Biden’s Interview

After a disastrous performance in last week’s debate, the president Joe Biden agreed to a pivotal interview with ABC News Georges Stephanopoulos Biden was hoping to quell calls for his withdrawal from the US presidential race, and while he appeared stronger than he did on the debate stage, he seemed woefully out of touch when it came to the biggest question for donors and voters: Is he too old to serve another four years?

Here are the key takeaways and remaining questions.

1. Biden has no intention of resigning. When asked if he would resign if trusted members of the president’s party, such as Nancy Pelosi Or Chuck Schumer Biden responded that “that’s not going to happen” and that if “the Lord Almighty” came down and told him he couldn’t win, he would step down. But other than that, he said he believes he’s the only Democrat who can win. Donald Trump.

The interview came hours after Biden held a campaign rally in Wisconsin, where he insisted: “I’m running and I’m going to win again.”

2. Biden is in denial. Since the debate, Biden has lost further ground to Trump in the polls, lost donors and faces growing calls from members of his own party to step down.

Yet when asked about national polls that show him trailing Trump – Monday Times/Siena Poll showed Biden trailing Trump by five points, 37% to 42% respectively – Biden countered that polls can be misleading while stressing that his own campaign polls showed the race was “undecided.”

Four Democratic members of Congress have publicly called on Biden to step down, and Democratic senators are scheduled to meet next week to discuss concerns about his eligibility. But when Stephanopoulos asked Biden if he was aware of his party’s calls to remove him, Biden said he had only heard it “through the press.”

3. He does not want to have a neurological exam. Biden has dodged questions about his willingness to undergo a neurological exam, cognitive testing or independent medical evaluation, saying that as president, “I take a cognitive test every day.”

He blamed his poor debate performance on a bad cold, a bad day and Trump distracting him. But he declined to acknowledge any decline in his health that might affect his ability to serve as president. However, in a meeting with Democratic governors on Wednesday, Biden said he needed to get more sleep and work fewer hours, including limiting events scheduled after 8 p.m.

4. He focused on his record, saying he was a better choice than Trump. Stephanopoulos asked Biden gentle but persistent questions about his alleged cognitive decline and was met with a familiar inflection by the president: Biden highlighted the policy accomplishments of the past four years. While he did a better job of laying out his accomplishments, such as expanding NATO, lowering drug costs and creating jobs, than he did during the debate, the interview was meant to calm voters’ concerns about his age, not whether he had succeeded in his first term.

He also claimed he was a better alternative to Trump, whom he has repeatedly called a liar. But when asked how he would feel if staying in the race led to a Trump victory, he said: “As long as I give it my all, that’s what it’s about.”

Will this change anyone’s mind? Probably not. While the president performed better than he did in the debate, “a pre-recorded interview with a neutral or friendly interviewer will do little to quell growing concerns about Biden’s age,” says Eurasia Group’s US expert Clayton Allen. “His best case scenario for tonight was to avoid further damage and survive to campaign another day.”

Following the interview, the Representative Lloyd DoggettA Texas Democrat who was the first House Democrat to call on Biden to withdraw from the race, said: “The need for him to withdraw is more urgent tonight than when I first called for it on Tuesday.”

Will this stop the bleeding of donors? Biden may intend to stay on the ballot, but some donors have jumped ship. Several major Democratic donors, including Abigail E. DisneyDemocrats have publicly said they will withhold or redirect donations unless Biden steps down. One group is even working to raise up to $100 million for a fund called Next Generation PAC, which would be used to support a replacement candidate.

Mark Buella major Democratic donor, said After the interview, Biden said: “Biden is on a downward slide that he’s trying to stop. If he can’t, he could soon become a verb.”

But how would a new campaign be financed if he stepped down? Biden and the Vice President Kamala Harris have already raised $212 million since early last month, raising questions about whether the money could be used to support another candidate.

People close to Harris confirmed that she has reached out to business leaders to assess how she can grow her donor base.

“Kamala is the only candidate who can access Biden’s campaign coffers, and even then, only if she’s at the top of the ticket,” Allen says. “That’s one of the main reasons — among many others — why she’s the most likely candidate to replace Biden if he decides to step down.”