\n<\/p>\n
In a 22-minute interview on Friday night, ABC\u2019s George Stephanopoulos<\/strong> sat down with President Joe Biden<\/strong>, giving him the opportunity<\/a> to answer some of voters\u2019 most pressing questions<\/a>: What happened at the debate<\/a> and, at the age of 81, is Biden cognitively sound enough to lead this country?<\/p>\n Their conversation, which was filmed in Madison, Wisconsin, comes just over a week after Biden and former president Donald Trump<\/strong> faced off in Atlanta at the first presidential debate of the election season. In the immediate aftermath<\/a> of the event\u2014which included a hoarse and meandering Biden, a slew of lies from Trump, and a lack of fact-checking<\/a> from the CNN moderators Jake Tapper<\/strong> and Dana Bash<\/strong>\u2014Democrats across the country have been agonizing on television<\/a>, in opinion pages<\/a>, and in closed-door meetings<\/a> about whether or not Biden should be on the ticket come November.<\/p>\n Stephanopoulos didn\u2019t waste any time before asking about Biden\u2019s performance in Atlanta. After a brief thanks shared between the two men, a reunion of their 2020 town hall conversation<\/a>, he began, \u201cLet\u2019s start with the debate. You and your team said, have said you had a bad night.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure did,\u201d Biden said with a smile, noting that he doesn\u2019t think he\u2019s watched it back fully.<\/p>\n Biden said his bad night was because \u201cI was exhausted. I didn\u2019t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing.\u201d Throughout the interview, Biden repeatedly said that the debate was \u201cNobody\u2019s fault but mine,\u201d \u201cnobody\u2019s fault, mine,\u201d \u201cmy fault, no one else\u2019s fault, no one else\u2019s fault.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHave you convinced yourself that only you can defeat him?\u201d Stephanopoulos asked, after Biden detailed the Trump campaign\u2019s ambitions for the future\u2014many of which are outlined<\/a> in the GOP\u2019s playbook Project 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI convinced myself of two things. I\u2019m the most qualified person to beat him, and I know how to get things done,\u201d Biden responded.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you can be convinced that you cannot defeat Donald Trump, will you stand down?\u201d Stephanopoulos pressed.<\/p>\n Biden laughed, smiled wide, and said: \u201cIf the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, I might do that,\u201d later adding, \u201cThe Lord Almighty\u2019s not comin\u2019 down. I mean, these hypotheticals, George.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that hypothetical anymore,\u201d Stephanopoulos responded.<\/p>\n On Saturday morning, Minnesota Representative Angie Craig<\/strong> became<\/a> the fifth House Democrat (and the first battleground House Democrat) to call for Biden to withdraw. Craig joins Representatives Mike Quigley<\/strong> from Illinois, Lloyd Doggett<\/strong> from Texas, Ra\u00fal Grijalva<\/strong> from Arizona, and Seth Moulton<\/strong> of Massachusetts.<\/p>\n \u201cI have great respect for President Biden\u2019s decades of service to our nation and his steadfast commitment to making our country a better place,\u201d Craig\u2019s statement<\/a> reads. \u201cHowever, given what I saw and heard from the President during last week\u2019s debate in Atlanta, coupled with the lack of a forceful response from the President himself following that debate, I do not believe that the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf we truly believe that Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans must be stopped,\u201d she continued, \u201cthere is only a small window left to make sure we have a candidate best equipped to make the case and win. This future of our country is bigger than any one of us. It\u2019s up to the President from here.\u201d<\/p>\n Virginia Senator Mark Warner,<\/strong> who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, has also approached<\/a> Senate Democrats to plan a meeting on Biden\u2019s future as the party\u2019s presidential nominee.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, Mark is a good man,\u201d Biden said when Stephanopoulos brought up the senator\u2019s plan. \u201cMark and I have a different perspective. I respect him.\u201d<\/p>\n When repeatedly asked if Biden would be willing to undergo an independent medical evaluation, that includes neurological and cognitive tests, and release the results to the American people, Biden dodged the question, saying, \u201cI have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I have that test. Everything I do.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m running the world,\u201d he continued, \u201csounds like hyperbole, but we are the essential nation of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n