“No one is more qualified than I am,” ABC’s Joe Biden said

America president Joe Biden Stubbornly, sometimes laboriously Defend his BroadCast Unitedlectual acumen and ability to govern On Friday, ABC announced his second term in one of the most consequential interviews of his political career.

The 81-year-old leader said in the 20-minute interview that “no one is more qualified than me” to “win” the election. Denying the authenticity of polls This made him face Donald Trump.

“Take cognitive tests every day”

In his exchanges with journalist George Stephanopoulos, the president repeatedly dodged questions about whether his physical and mental state had deteriorated during his time in office, which is crucial to maintaining his candidacy.

He also did not commit to an independent medical evaluation, saying being president is like “taking cognitive tests every day.” “It’s not just about leading a campaign, it’s about leading the world,” he continued. “It’s no exaggeration to say that we are the most important country in the world. »

However, his cognitive abilities have become a hotly debated topic. Since his disastrous debate Thursday, June 27, to confront Donald Trump.

Biden defends debate loss with cold

“I’m sick. I really don’t feel well,” the Democratic leader said, justifying himself by citing a bad cold. He has underperformed compared to his predecessor Republican. When asked if he ever looks back on his poor performance, Joe Biden responded with these strange words: “I don’t think so. »

The sequence was immediately recognized by the Republican base, which has claimed for years that the octogenarian president is senile. Carolyn Levitt, a spokeswoman for Donald Trump, said: “Biden is in denial and in decline.” exist.

Although Joe Biden spoke more fluently than during his failed televised duel with Donald Trump on June 27, his voice was still muffled and his sentences were sometimes incomplete or somewhat disjointed.

The candidate is in poor form, even within his own camp

Will that be enough to reassure the growing number of Democrats calling on him to concede?

“The president is rightly proud of his record. But he seems dangerously out of touch with concerns about his ability to move forward and his standing in the race. Judgments based The very influential David Axelrod, former strategist Barack Obama.

The Democratic candidate therefore has a lot of work to do to undo the disastrous impression left by his debate with Donald Trump, and his utter inability to deal with its immediate consequences: a wave of calls in the media for him to withdraw and a surge in concerns about his mental health within the party.

A lot less energy

Four Democratic lawmakers have called on Joe Biden to abandon his campaign, and Democratic Gov. Maura Healey called on him to “carefully” evaluate his candidacy.

The president has ignored the calls. “If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I would get out of the race, but he’s not going to come down,” he told ABC.

The Democrat appeared less energetic during a campaign speech delivered using a teleprompter shortly before recording the interview in Madison, Wisconsin.

“Do you think I’m too old to beat Donald Trump?”, he said at this meeting, to which the public responded with a strong “No!”.

July is a very busy month

Joe Biden’s campaign doesn’t want to give up either.

She unveiled on Friday an intense battle plan for July, which includes a large number of television ads, travel to all the key states and especially to the southwest of the country during the Republican convention (July 15-18).

Joe Biden is also set to host a summit of NATO leaders next week and will hold a press conference on Thursday, another highly anticipated exercise.