Biden admits he ‘screwed up’ debate — but insists he can still ‘beat’ Trump

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

One week after his disastrous performance in a debate touched off a firestorm of criticism and calls for his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race, President Joe Biden is placing blame for the poor showing on himself and himself alone.

Speaking to Milwaukee radio host Earl Ingram, Biden repeated a now-familiar talking point about him having had a “bad night” in his outing against Trump. Over the 90-minute session, the president repeatedly stumbled over words, lost his train of thought, and failed to challenge Trump’s lies.

“The fact of the matter is that I screwed up. I made a mistake,” Biden said. “But I learned from my father, when you get knocked down, just get back up. And you know, we’re gonna win this election. We’re gonna just beat Donald Trump as much as we did in 2020.”

Continuing, the president said his performance was just “90 minutes onstage,” compared to all that he’s “done” over the last three and a half years in the White House.

“I picked a Black woman to be my vice president. I’ve appointed the first Black woman to be a Supreme Court justice,” Biden said. “I’ve appointed more Black judges, more Black women judges, than every other president in American history combined.”

Biden also went after Trump for comments the ex-president made during the debate about so-called “Black jobs.”

“I’m sorry to get so worked up, but he is just — he’s done terrible things in the community, and he has about as much interest and concern for Black, minority communities as the man on the moon does,” he said.

The president taped the interview on Wednesday, the same day he met with a group of Democratic governors in hopes of quelling calls for him to stand down from the race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Following the meeting, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said the governors “have his back” and stressed that “a path to victory in November” remains Democrats’ “number one priority.”

The president’s radio interview is part of a hastily arranged publicity blitz meant to quell discontent with his candidacy and demonstrate his continued fitness for the job amid calls for him to pull out.

On Friday, he is set for an interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopolous, which is set to air the same day.

He has also announced that he will hold a formal press conference next week during the NATO summit, which he is hosting in Washington.