Biden, 81, came with a fresh appearance but the same confused responses in a sit-down chat with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.
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Biden scheduled an interview with ABC after he shocked the world with a pitiful performance at last week’s presidential debate against Donald Trump.
On June 27, Biden stepped up to the world stage to sputter incoherent phrases and struggle through unrelated answers while Trump stood and watched.
The performance confirmed fears among voters that Biden’s advanced age had finally gotten the best of him and sparked a frenzy over whether there would be a last-minute Democratic replacement.
However, Biden’s administration defiantly powered through the rumors, and an interview was scheduled as a last-ditch effort to restore voter confidence.
But the oldest president in US history did more harm than good as viewers mocked his strangely orange appearance and weak answers to Stephanopoulos’s questions.
Some online critics went so far as to say Biden was sporting a spray tan similar to his bitter rival, Trump.
“Biden should never borrow Trump’s fake tan,” wrote one person on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Can we talk about Biden getting a f**king spray tan?” wrote another person.
“Whoever decided to give Biden a spray tan deserves a raise,” a third person joked.
Others were left speechless at Biden’s bizarre answer to Stephanopoulos’s question on whether the president watched his own performance in the debate.
Biden said “I don’t think I did, no,” appearing to not remember the answer to the obvious question.
Stephanopoulos asked Biden if his debate performance was a possible sign of a serious condition, but the president blamed everything on a cold.
“It was a bad episode, no indication of a serious condition,” the President said. “I was tired.”
George Stephanopoulos’ political background
George Stephanopoulos interviewed President Biden on July 5. Here’s all you need to know about the ABC anchor,
Early career
- Began his political career as an aide to Ohio Congressman Ed Feighan before serving as his Chief of Staff
- Worked on 1988 presidential campaign of Greek-American liberal Democrat Michael Dukakis in 1988
- Appointed executive floor assistant to House majority leader Dick Gephardt in 1989
Time with Clinton Administration
- Stephanopoulos joined Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign as deputy campaign manager in 1991
- Tapped as top aide in President Clinton’s Administration in 1992
- Served as Clinton’s senior advisor for policy and strategy during the president’s first term
- Resigned from the Clinton Administration in 1996 citing stress, fatigue, and depression
Tenure at ABC News
- Stephanopoulos joined ABC News in 1997 as an analyst after his tenure with the Clinton Administration
- He began hosting This Week on ABC in 2002 until 2010 (returning as an anchor in 2012)
- Stephanopoulos has interviewed three presidents including, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Barack Obama
- He’s also interviewed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Representative Nancy Pelosi, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and former FBI Directory James Comey
- Stephanopoulos has earned three Emmy Awards, a DuPont Award, three Murrow Awards, and two Cronkite Awards for his work in journalism
However, Stephanopoulos countered that Biden spent a week at the presidential retreat Camp David.
“Because I was sick, I was feeling terrible,” Biden said, adding that his doctors even performed a Covid test to rule out a possible infection.
Stephanopoulos grilled Biden on his 36% approval rating and said he’s never seen a president performing so poorly get reelected.
But Biden hit back saying “No one is more qualified to win this race than me” and that only the “Lord almighty” could convince him otherwise.
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JOE TO SLEEP
Just yesterday, concerning photos showed Biden squinting at his watch during a Fourth of July celebration at the White House.
The Biden family appeared with Vice President Kamala Harris and others for the Independence Day fireworks display from the Truman Balcony on the South Lawn Thursday evening.
The celebration dragged on until 9:09 pm, which may have been past the president’s bedtime, according to the president’s official schedule log.
The event came after Biden told Democratic governors in a meeting that he needed to work fewer hours to catch up on sleep, per The New York Times.
Multiple sources close to the Biden administration have reportedly said the White House is scrambling for answers ahead of this year’s election.
But Biden continues to stand strong in the public eye, despite fears felt throughout the nation.
In an X post shared ahead of Friday night’s interview, Biden said, “Let me say this as clearly as I can: I’m the sitting President of the United States.
“I’m the nominee of the Democratic party. I’m staying in the race.”
Biden’s post-debate gaffes
President Joe Biden’s gaffes have increased at an alarming rate over the past few years.
- Biden alarmingly described himself as a “Black woman” during a radio interview with Philadelphia station WURD on Thursday.
- “I’m proud to be, as I said, the first vice president, first black woman… to serve with a black president,” Biden said, appearing to confuse himself with Vice President Kamala Harris.
- Biden previously served as VP to President Barack Obama, the US’ first black president, which is likely the source of his confusion.
- The president also attempted to go off-script and insult rival, Donald Trump, while addressing military families during the White House’s Fourth of July barbecue.
- While Biden came in strong, he fumbled his word and came crashing down.
- “By the way, you know I was at that World War I cemetery in France and a – the one that one of our colleagues, a former president, didn’t want to go and be up there,” Biden said in an apparent dig at former president Donald Trump.
- “I probably shouldn’t even say that. Anyway,” he continued as his voice dimmed.
- After shocking the audience, he quickly went back on script and tried to get the energy back up.