U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday (July 5) said he did not need a cognitive test to determine whether he had a mental decline and dismissed calls from some Democrats that he should step aside to let a more vigorous candidate take on Republican Donald Trump.
A defiant Biden, scrambling to defuse the political crisis over his shaky debate performance, used a 22-minute ABC News interview to argue again that he had a bad night at the debate and that he was the right candidate to beat Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race.
Under persistent questioning from ABC interviewer George Stephanopoulos, Biden dismissed polls that showed him trailing Trump and said other polls have him in a better position. Asked if he had undergone a specific cognitive test for a neurological exam, Biden, 81, said he had not had one and “no one said I had to.”
In his last physical exam on Feb. 28 he was determined to be fit for duty but the president routinely makes verbal slipups. Some specialists on aging say he should have a cognitive test. Asked if he would undergo a cognitive a test, he was dismissive, citing the rigors of the White House as sufficient.
In his first interview since the debate, Biden said he was the best candidate to take on Trump and that only “Lord almighty” could oust him from the race. Biden cited “a really bad cold” for his stumbling performance at the debate and exhaustion after two trips to Europe. The ABC interview was a departure from Biden’s heavy use of a teleprompter for his public remarks and as a result it was being closely watched.
(REUTERS)