A defiant Joe Biden denied he was behind in presidential race against Donald Trump: interview

The President fended off questions about his mental fitness and ability to get re-elected during a much-anticipated interview that aired Friday night US time.

Speaking to Good Morning America co-anchor George Stephanopoulos, Joe Biden said he performed poorly in the presidential debate because he was ‘feeling terrible’ and had ‘a really bad cold’. Picture: ABC

Joe Biden has refused to take a neurological or cognitive exam after his widely panned debate performance last week, variously dismissing and denying polls he is on track to lose the presidential election with Donald Trump in November.

In a highly anticipated 20-minute interview with ABC News that’s unlikely to dispel concern about the President’s decline, Mr Biden said his achievements and job performance meant he did not need to take any special medical tests.

Mr Biden, 81, conceded that he’s had a “bad night” last Thursday in the CNN-hosted first presidential debate, putting his shaky performance down to exhaustion and poor preparation, even after the White House revealed he had spent around a week at Camp David preparing ahead of the debate.

“I was exhausted, didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and it was a bad night … I was sick I was feeling terrible … the doctors did a Covid test to see if I had infection but it was just a really bad cold,” he told ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos.

“I realised that even when I was answering the questions, even though they turned his [Trump’s] mic off, he was still shouting, I just realised I wasn’t in control,” he added, adding that Trump had lied “28 times”.

Repeatedly asked by the interviewer whether he would submit to a formal cognitive exam and reveal the results to the public, the President said he did not need do because “I’ve had a full neurological test every day”, referring to his job as president.

“No one has said I have to have one … Look I have a cognitive test every day, everything I do, not only my campaign, but I’m running the world,” he added.

The President insisted he was not behind and would beat Donald Trump, giving no indication he had any intention of stepping aside, citing the numerous campaign events he’s held over the past week, including one earlier on Friday (Saturday AEST) in Wisconsin where he appeared more relaxed and coherent than he was during the debate.

“I’m not letting one 90-minute debate wipe out three-and-a-half years of work. I’m staying in the race,” the President said earlier in the day at a campaign even in Wisconsin.

The President’s prospect of being re-elected in November have tanked from 36 per cent before the debate to 12 per cent, according to the average of eight political betting markets tracked by RealClear Politics.

“All the pollsters I talk to tell me it’s a toss-up,” the President added, despite numerous mainstream polls including from the New York Times and CNN showing a clear widening gap between Mr Biden and Donald Trump since the debate.

Vice President Kamala Harris’s have surged from 2 per cent to 17 per cent over the same period, while the former president’s have increased from 51 to 56 per cent, according to the same source.

“I’ll feel as long as I gave it my all and did the best job I know I can do that that’s what this is about,” Mr Biden told Stephanopoulos when asked if he would feel upset if he ended up losing in November.

“George, I’m the guy that put NATO together, the future, I’m the guy that shut Putin down, I’m the guy that put together AUKUS … I’m the guy that got the Japanese to expand their budget,” he said, pointing to his record as the best evidence for his capacity to stay in the race.

The interview came as the Washington Post reported senior Democratic Party senators including Virginia’s Mark Warner were preparing to seek to convince the President to step aside.

“Like many other people in Washington and across the country, Senator Warner believes these are critical days for the President’s campaign, and he has made that clear to the White House,” the senator’s spokesman told the Post, neither confirming nor denying the report.

Numerous high-profile Democrats have begun to question the President’s capacity to win November’s election and serve another four year’s as commander in chief, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a handful of Democrat congressmen and numerous big donors to the party.

The President, who frequently trailed off and couldn’t finish his sentences during the short interview, said he didn’t expect any group of senior Democrats to come forward to directly ask him to stand aside, quipping he would only stand aside if “the lord almighty” told him to.

“I don’t think those critics know what they’re talking about. Look, Trump is a pathological liar,” he said.

Trump, who has recently predicated Kamala Harris would become the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, declined a similar interview request with ABC News.