Can Biden survive on television without a teleprompter? The 81-year-old wants to show how fit he is in a TV interview. But behind the scenes, the Democrat is said to be talking about exhaustion.
After his TV debacle against challenger Donald Trump, US President Joe Biden is fighting on all fronts to save his candidacy. “I had a bad evening. And the fact is that I messed up, that I made a mistake,” said the Democrat in a radio interview. But he learned from his father that you have to keep getting up, said the 81-year-old. 90 minutes on a TV stage is nothing compared to what he has achieved in the past three and a half years.
US media reports that Biden admitted to being tired behind closed doors and therefore wants to limit his evening appointments. The Democrat is currently trying to appease his critics in the party. Reports of a tired president are unlikely to be helpful. His biggest test will probably be a planned TV interview.
TV interview as a trial by fire
Biden plans to give an interview to the US broadcaster ABC on Friday, which will then be broadcast at prime time (2 a.m. on Saturday night in Germany). The conversation is expected to be recorded during the day.
The interviewer George Stephanopoulos has been the face of the channel for many years. In the 1990s, he worked for the then Democratic President Bill Clinton. Biden rarely gives TV interviews. The fact that he now feels compelled to do so shows how serious the situation is. Biden’s appearance is likely to play a decisive role in whether the doubters in his party fall silent or gain momentum.
Biden wants to secure a second term in the US election in November and prevent Trump from returning to the White House. After his disastrous performance in the TV debate in front of an audience of millions, however, the 81-year-old must face the question of whether he is still the right candidate – or whether he should make room for a younger alternative.
Things are simmering in the Democratic Party, initially only behind the scenes. But critics eventually spoke out publicly. Biden finally picked up the phone himself for crisis talks and spoke to the party leaders. He also connected with more than 20 Democratic governors at a meeting in the White House and via the Internet and telephone to secure support.
Biden’s health in focus
According to the New York Times and CNN, Biden told the governors that he needed to sleep more and work less. That also meant limiting events after 8 p.m., the media reported, citing unnamed sources. At the same time, he made it clear that he wanted to stay in the race. CNN writes that the comments frustrated some of the governors.
Biden also reportedly stated at the meeting that he had undergone a medical examination after the TV debacle and that he was fine. Hours earlier, Biden’s spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre sounded a little different. “He hasn’t had a medical examination. It’s a cold, folks. It’s a cold,” she said.
Biden spoke in a rough voice during the debate and appeared hoarse. Afterwards he said that he had had a cold. He also tried to explain his disastrous performance, in which he often made mistakes and lost track, by saying that it was stress from long trips abroad before the debate.
Biden spent Independence Day, which is traditionally celebrated in the USA on July 4, with his family in the White House. In the evening (2:00 a.m. German time on Friday night), Biden will give his traditional speech on the occasion of the holiday.
Here, too, all eyes will be on the 81-year-old. In such speeches, however, Biden usually does not answer questions and reads his speech from the teleprompter. This reduces the chance of verbal slip-ups.
Trump keeps a low profile
Biden continues to focus on attacks against his political opponent, 78-year-old Trump, in the election campaign. “We cannot and must not let this guy win,” he warned in a radio interview with a local station in the US state of Wisconsin.
Trump has remained conspicuously quiet in recent days. His approach is likely strategic, as the whole country is currently debating whether Biden is fit for the presidency. However, Republicans are reportedly hoping that Biden stays in the race because, in their view, this will increase the chances of a Trump victory in the November election.
In recent weeks, Trump and Biden have been neck and neck in the polls. The Republican has always been one to two percentage points ahead – despite his scandals and conviction in a New York criminal trial.
Since the televised debate, however, Trump has been able to significantly increase his lead in the voters’ favor, as recent polls show. This is increasing the nervousness of the Democrats – and apparently also their willingness to consider another candidate. The focus is increasingly on Biden’s deputy, Kamala Harris.
Biden has secured his candidacy in the primaries
The Democrats will officially choose their presidential candidate during a party convention in Chicago in August. Biden has already collected the necessary delegate votes in the primaries, which means he has essentially secured his candidacy. He had no serious competition and was considered a sure bet from the start.
That is why only Biden himself can decide to throw in the towel. Observers assume that if the Democrat really does drop out of the race, he will not show any sign of weakness until the last moment, as this would be disastrous for the polls.
