On Friday, while at a campaign stop in Wisconsin, Joe Biden defiantly announced that he is "staying in the race" ahead of his crucial prime-time interview with George Stephanopolous, which is set to air Friday night. The interview could be a critical moment for his campaign following his disastrous presidential debate performance last week that has led to many in the mainstream media and even some Democrats urging him to drop out of the race.
Speaking in Madison, Wis., Biden addressed the debate but merely conceded it wasn't his "best performance." He did, however, acknowledge the speculation regarding the future of his candidacy.
"There’s been a lot of speculation: What’s Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out? What's he going to do?" Biden told the audience. "Well, here’s my answer: I am running and going to win again."
And then he forgot what year it was.
"Let me say it as clear as I can: I'm staying in the race! I’ll beat Donald Trump. I will beat him again in 2020," he said. "By the way, we’re going to do it again in 2024."
Joe Biden's big moment, defiantly announcing he is staying in the race:
— MAZE (@mazemoore) July 5, 2024
"I'll beat Donald Trump. I'll beat him again in 2020." pic.twitter.com/KUTxBUVgoc
I guess he deserves a smidge of credit for at least correcting himself. Despite the flub, Biden insisted that he has what it takes to make it through the campaign.
Biden also directly confronted his age, which polling indicates is a top concern for voters as he seeks re-election.
“You think I’m too old to restore Roe v. Wade to all the land? You think I’m too old to ban assault weapons again? To protect Social Security and Medicare?” he asked in a series of call-and-response questions that the audience answered with a resounding, "No!"
His last question: "You think I'm too old to beat Donald Trump?"
As the audience shouted "no" again, Biden added: "I can hardly wait."
Now 81 years old, Biden would finish a second term at 86. Trump, 78, is nearly as old as Biden, but voters indicate in polls that they are more concerned about Biden's age.
A New York Times/Siena poll conducted after the debate found that 74% of voters viewed Biden as too old for the job.
During his remarks, Biden repeated the same old attacks on Trump that he’s been using lately, such as calling him a "one-man crime wave" with "the morals of an alley cat."
The latest RealClearPolitics average shows that Trump has more than doubled his lead in the national average since the debate, so a lot is riding on this forthcoming interview. According to Daily Beast columnist Matt K. Lewis, Democrats shouldn't count on it being an easy night for Biden.
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"Democrats who are hoping for an easy night for Biden should probably place their hope elsewhere," he writes in an op-ed for The Hill. "They are making the same mistake as Democrats who assumed Jake Tapper and Dana Bash — who moderated the CNN presidential debate that first exposed the extent of Biden’s vulnerabilities — might throw the debate in Biden’s favor."
But the real problem with the interview, he argues, is that it can only hurt Biden.
"Regardless, it’s hard to see how Biden can benefit from this interview," he suggests. "If Biden performs poorly, it’s game over. And if he performs well, then who cares? He was supposed to do well."
He's got a point.
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