Biden takes blame for 'bad night' in debate against Trump: 'My fault, no one else's fault'

President Biden maintained his disastrous debate performance last month against former President Trump was nothing more than a "bad episode" or a "bad night" rather than a sign of something more serious and suggested he alone was to blame for it.

He made the remarks Friday during his first major television interview since the debate debacle.

Amid mounting speculation about whether Biden is fit to be president — both for the remainder of his term and for the four-year term he's seeking — ABC News host George Stephanopoulos asked Biden if his performance was "a bad episode or the sign of a more serious condition?"

"It was a bad episode," Biden said. "No indication of a serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn't listen to my instincts in terms of preparing. It was a bad night."

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The president's answer was not quite clear when he was asked what was going through his head during the debate, but he maintained his performance was his fault alone. He also accused Trump of lying "28 times" during the debate.

"The whole way I prepared – nobody's fault. Mine. Nobody's fault but mine," Biden said. "I prepared what I usually would do sitting down, as I did coming back with foreign leaders or the National Security Council, for explicit detail.

"And I realized partway through that, you know, that — I could quote it. The New York Times had me down at ten points before the debate. Nine now, or whatever the hell it is. The fact of the matter is, that when I looked at, is that, he also lied 28 times. I couldn't, I mean, the way the debate ran, not – my fault. No one else's fault. No one else's fault."

When asked if he had watched the debate since it occurred, Biden