President Joe Biden admitted to making a “mistake” in his debate against former President Donald Trump in a new interview.
Biden has faced calls to withdraw from the presidential election from some Democrats following the debate, in which he sounded hoarse and appeared to mumble several answers, doing little to ease some voters’ concerns about his age.
In a new interview with Milwaukee radio host Earl Ingram, Biden said he “didn’t have a good debate” but that he “is going to win this election,” according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“I had a bad night. And the fact is that I screwed up. I made a mistake,” he said.
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The context
Before the debate, polls showed age was a key concern among voters for Biden, who is 81. Since the debate, some Democrats, including two members of Congress, have said he should drop out of the race and allow another Democrat to become the nominee. Biden has resisted calls for him to step down.
The Biden campaign has said Biden had a cold during the debate, and some medical experts have cautioned that his debate performance is not necessarily indicative of cognitive decline.
Week of news has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment.
What we know
Biden addressed those concerns during Thursday’s interview. His comments are among some of his first public remarks since the debate and come a week after Biden’s remarks were made despite calls from some Democrats for him to make more unscheduled public appearances to allay concerns about his age.
“It’s 90 minutes on stage. Look what I’ve done in 3.5 years,” he said, according to the Sentinel Magazine.
He said he is “proud to run for reelection as a president who has made his promises, and I have kept them,” touting his administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug prices and its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wisconsin is a key swing state in the November election, and polls have shown Biden and Trump nearly tied in the state, which is crucial to a Biden or Trump victory.
Points of view
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, is among those urging Biden to withdraw.
“President Biden has continued to trail Democratic senators in key battleground states and has trailed Donald Trump in most polls. I had hoped the debate would provide some momentum to change that. It has not. Instead of reassuring voters, the president failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments or expose Trump’s many lies,” she wrote in a statement.
Other Democrats, however, have rejected calls for him to resign.
“I heard three words from the President tonight: He’s fully committed. And so am I. @JoeBiden has us. Now it’s time to support him,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has often been mentioned as a possible replacement, posted on X.
Whats Next
It remains unclear how much damage Biden’s debate performance has done. While Democrats have been panicking over Biden’s performance, polls have been mixed. Some show Trump gaining ground on Biden, but others show minimal change.
As Biden seeks to allay concerns about his age from within his own party, the White House said Tuesday that Biden will speak with congressional leaders later this week, give an interview to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and hold a news conference in the coming days.
Update 4/7/2024 11:31 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Uncommon knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
