The president Joe Biden stated in an interview that aired on Wednesday that may reconsider his decision to remain in the race with Donald Trump if a medical emergency arises.
“Is there anything that you personally would look at…say ‘if I see this, I’m going to reevaluate?’” BET host Ed Gordon asked Biden in an interview Tuesday. “If I had a medical need, I would…”
Biden, 81, is under increasing pressure from members of his own party to withdraw from the race after a disastrous debate with Trump, 78, in late June.
Another MP asks him to leave
Earlier Wednesday, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, considered a heavy favorite to win the powerful state’s coveted U.S. Senate seat in November, urged Biden to drop out.
The current Democratic president’s gruff, rigid appearance and sometimes incoherent and unfocused answers in that debate have caused panic among his allies about whether he can effectively campaign against Trump or serve another four years in office.
On the debate with Trump
Biden’s campaign said during the debate that the president had a cold and later said he was exhausted after a grueling stretch of international travel. He reportedly assured nervous Democrats after the debate that a doctor had examined him and said he was in good health.
White House physician Kevin O’Connor described Biden in February as a “healthy, active, robust 81-year-old.”
Biden he has repeatedly acknowledged his poor performance. “I made one serious mistake in the entire debate,” Biden said in the BET interview.
But he and his campaign have rejected calls for him to drop out and argued that he is the Democrat best positioned to defeat Trump.
“When I originally ran, you may remember, Ed, I said I would be a transitional candidate and I thought I could move on and hand it off to someone else,” Biden told Gordon.
“But I didn’t expect things to become so, so, so divisive,” he said. “And honestly, I think the only thing that age brings is a little bit of wisdom. And I think I’ve proven that I know how to get things done for the country, even if (unintelligible) we haven’t been able to get them done.”
“But there is more to be done and I am not willing to give up,” Biden said.
The full interview will air on Wednesday night at 10 p.m. Greek time, on the third day of the Republican National Convention.