In Post-Debate Interview, Biden Downplays Democratic Crisis Of Faith

MADISON, Wis. ― President Joe Biden said Friday that he didn’t think his candidacy was faltering as badly as perceived after his first 2024 presidential debate against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

In his first sit-down interview since the June 27 debate, Biden told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that he didn’t believe the polling on his standing in the campaign tells the whole story, and he denied that his allies in the Democratic Party have called for him to step down.

“Do you really believe you’re not behind right now?” Stephanopoulos asked Biden.

Biden suggested that polls, which show Trump with a substantial post-debate lead, aren’t fully accurate. “All the pollsters I talk to tell me it’s a toss-up,” Biden said.

Similarly, he denied that allies would view his campaign as a liability for the Democratic Party. “If you are told reliably from your allies, from your friends and supporters in the Democratic Party, in the House, in the Senate that they’re concerned you’re going to lose the House and in the Senate if you stay in, what will you do?” Stephanopoulos asked.

“I’m not going to answer that question,” Biden replied. “It’s not going to happen.”

The president’s interview with ABC came at an incredibly high-stakes moment for his reelection campaign. The reason Biden did it at all is because he’s on clean-up duty after a disastrous debatelast week with Trump. He has weeks, if not days, to prove to shaky Democratic Party operatives and supporters that he can do better ― that he is better ― than he was during Friday’s debate.

Biden stumbled through the 90-minute debate but particularly struggledin the beginning, when he appeared to lose his train of thought in response to a relatively easy question