President Joe Biden ventured onto friendly territory Friday night to sit down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in what was supposed to be his marquee media moment to turn things around regarding questions about his mental health. It was not well-received.
It was only 22 minutes, which is ridiculous to suggest would be long enough to squash any concerns among Democrats about the president’s ongoing mental slide. Biden’s interview is rightly being called a disaster for Democrats: it didn’t settle matters concerning Biden’s cognitive issues, but it didn’t provide the necessary evidence to provide anti-Biden Democrats to have their ‘Goldwater moment’ with the president. Still, the interview did not win over congressional Democrats, Biden’s staunchest adversaries at the moment, one of which summed up the ABC News hit with just two words: “He’s toast” (via Axios):
Just talked with a Democratic member of Congress about Biden. They told me: "This is like Lehman Brothers in 2008 where everyone said the company is going nowhere, it was fine, and then all of a sudden it wasn't."
— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) July 5, 2024
Just watching the interview now bc I’m in LA — it’s only 22 minutes?!?????? They’re trying to inspire confidence with 22 minutes of questions?
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) July 6, 2024
That was the worst possible outcome: not anywhere near good enough to settle matters, but also not quite bad enough to be a slam-dunk that he has to go tomorrow.
— Michael Tomasky (@mtomasky) July 6, 2024
In the 22-minute interview, Biden insisted he has the stamina to take on Trump and refused to take a cognitive test.
The president rejected polls indicating he's trailing his Republican rival and minimized the extent to which his Democratic allies have pressured him to withdraw from the race.
And Biden made clear he's not dropping out: "If the Lord Almighty came down and said 'Joe, get out of the race,' I'd get out of the race. The Lord Almighty's not coming down."
What we're hearing: "No one's mind has been changed," a House Democrat said, adding that a growing number of lawmakers agree "it's time" for Biden to step aside and are "hoping to give him space to do this on his own."
Another House Democrat said their colleagues feel Biden's interview was "not impressive" and that "he's toast" in November.
Said a third: "The interview hardly inspires confidence. It changes nothing."
A fourth House Democrat said they were "shocked" by Biden's "refusal to recognize reality" in terms of polling and his "failure to make an argument about why he wants a second term."
Megadonors are also looking to force Biden out of the race, refusing to give another dollar until the Delaware liberal steps aside. And for now, Biden’s main areas of support rest with his family, the Democratic Party base, 66 percent of which want him to remain, and Democratic governors—for now. There’s a good chance that if polling doesn’t improve and typically safe blue states continue to get redder, the guard could be changing there. The governors aren’t standing by Biden out of loyalty or confidence. It’s all about 2028 for them—they would rather have Kamala Harris get ruined by a 2024 election defeat than face her in four years.
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