In Joe Biden’s prime-time interview with ABC News, the president offered a new explanation for his widely panned debate performance last week, that of a verbally abusive opponent.
Adding to the growing list of excuses for Biden’s shaky and halting debate, the president said former President Donald Trump was loud and distracting when it was Biden’s turn to speak, despite Trump’s mic being turned off by the CNN moderators.
“I realized that, even when I was answering a question and they turned his mic off, he was still shouting, and I let it distract me. I’m not blaming it on that. But I realized that I just wasn’t in control,” Biden told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday evening.
The split-screen telecast does not support Biden’s claims of a disruptive Trump, which showed the former president engaging in expressions of mocking curiosity, but not the loud, boisterous outbursts Biden described.
The White House has spent the last week doing damage control, listing various excuses for the president’s debate performance. Over the past week, Biden has said he was jet lagged from a world tour despite being back in the United States for almost two weeks prior to the debate. A lingering cold was also cited as a reason for Biden’s often slow and often incoherent responses.
Skeptical Democrats now see a window to replace Biden with a younger, more agile candidate. According to new poll this week by CNN, more than 50% of Biden’s own party say the Democrats will have a better chance at winning in November with a different candidate.
