Biden refuses cognitive test and brushes off debate as ‘a bad night’ in ABC News interview: Live updates

President Joe Biden refused to commit to taking a cognitive or neurological test or release the results, in his first televised interview since the presidential debate.

During the 22-minute, uncut, sit-down with ABC News‘s George Stephanopoulos on Friday evening, the president assured Americans he is fit to run for president and that he could defeat his Republican opponent, Donald Trump, in November.

When asked whether he would commit to taking an independent cognitive test and releasing the results to prove to the public he is capable, the president side-stepped the question – instead pointing to the work he does every day as an example.

“Look, I have a cognitive test every single day… I’m running the world,” Biden said.

The probing questions arrive after Biden performed poorly against Trump in the first debate at the end of June. His lackluster appearance has sent fears through the Democratic Party that he cannot win.

Biden took full responsibility for his poor performance but blamed it on illness and lack of sleep.

He remained adamant that he would not be dropping out of the 2024 race.

Key Points

• Only ‘The Lord Almighty’ would make Biden drop out of race

• Biden dodges question about taking neurological and cognitive tests

• Biden admits he was ‘exhausted’ in debate but denies having ‘any serious condition’

• Joe Biden thrashes ‘stable genius’ Trump in Wisconsin

• Trump wants to distance himself from far-right Project 2025 plan while his PAC pushes ads promoting it

Democratic rep calls for Biden to ‘step aside'

15:02 , Ariana Baio

Minnesota Representative Angie Craig has called for President Joe Biden to “step aside” from the 2024 presidential race because of his poor debate performance.

“I have great respect for President Biden’s decades of service to our nation and his steadfast commitment to making our country a better place,” Craig wrote.

“However, given what I saw and heard from the President during last week’s debate in Atlanta, coupled with the lack of a forceful response from the President himself following the debate, I do not believe that the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump,” she continued.

Craig said she did not come to her decision lightly but believes there is “too much at stake” to risk losing the election to Trump.

She asked the president to make room for a new generation of leaders within the party.

Debate was ‘a bad night’, Biden says

14:41 , Ariana Baio

President Joe Biden said the first presidential debate was a “bad night” for him but assured Americans that he is still well enough to run a successful presidential campaign and defeat Donald Trump in November.

When speaking with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Friday evening, Biden raised various reasons why he did not do well in the debate including that Donald Trump distracted him, he was tired, had recently been traveling, had a cold and did not prepare well.

“ It was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and-- and a bad night,” Biden said.

How the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling opened the door for a shocking question: Can presidents kill their rivals?

13:00 , Alex Woodward

It was an absurd hypothetical raised by an appeals court judge to point out the literally unbelievable and dangerous consequences of the legal argument from Donald Trump’s attorneys.

But it landed as a shocking warning from a Supreme Court justice in an earthquaking decision this week that shields Trump from accountability for crimes committed in office.

Read more:

A shocking question at the Supreme Court: Can presidents kill their rivals?

Watch: Biden admits he was ‘exhausted’ in debate but denies having ‘any serious condition’

12:30 , Mike Bedigan

ICYMI: Biden attacks ‘one-man crime wave’: ‘Let’s exile Trump politically’

12:00 , Alex Woodward

In his energetic rally speech in Wisconsin on Friday, Biden laid out the stakes of the 2024 election, once again warning that the fate of American democracy hangs in the balance if Trump wins.

He referenced Trump’s criminal convictions for falsifying business records to pay off a porn star, and how a jury determined that he sexually assaulted E Jean Carroll and then awarded her $90m for defaming her.

The “so-called great businessman” was fined $400m for fraud in his civil trial in New York, Biden said.

“He’s not just a convicted criminal, he’s a one-man crime wave,” Biden said.

Biden also referenced Trump’s threats to abortion rights and his opposition to gun control measures in the middle of a gun violence crisis.

“Let’s exile Trump politically,” Biden said before leaving the stage.

Trump wants to distance himself from far-right Project 2025 plan while his PAC pushes ads promoting it

11:00 , Alex Woodward

Project 2025’s 900-page manifesto for nearly every detail of a second Trump presidency was drawn up by more than a dozen former Trump administration officials and advisers, who have planned to “integrate” the document into the campaign’s platform in the coming months.

But on Friday, as his Democratic rivals use Project 2025 as shorthand for his agenda, Trump claimed that he the proposal is news to him.

Trump distances himself from Project 2025 while his PAC pushes ads promoting it

How Democrats in Congress are trying to rein in the Supreme Court

09:00 , Alex Woodward

AOC is filing impeachment articles. Other Democrats are backing a constitutional amendment to reverse the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling. Ethics investigations are underway. And Biden is once again facing calls to back an expansion of the bench.

Here’s how Democrats in Congress are pushing to overhaul the Supreme Court:

How Democrats in Congress are trying to reign in the conservative Supreme Court

Trump issues ‘no holds barred’ debate challenge to Biden

08:00 , Alex Woodward

Trump is challenging Biden to a “no holds barred” debate while the White House and the Democratic officials scramble to respond to the president’s flailing performance at their first 2024 matchup last week.

“I have the answer to the Crooked Joe Biden Incompetence Puzzle — Let’s do another Debate, but this time, no holds barred,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social during the Fourth of July holiday.

Trump issues ‘no holds barred’ debate challenge to Biden

How Trump’s allies and Project 2025 are planning for a nuclear Trump

07:00 , Alex Woodward

Trump’s allies are now suggesting that, if elected, Trump should restart underground nuclear weapons testing, a practice that the US gave up more than 30 years ago, and if resumed would likely fuel a global arms race in a volatile political moment.

Nuclear weapons testing and weapon stockpiling are also key parts of the defense recommendations in Project 2025, the 900-page Heritage Foundation-backed manifesto for Trump’s second term, and authored by Trump’s former defense secretary.

Donald Trump allies are pushing for the first nuclear tests since 1992

Biden dodges question about taking neurological and cognitive tests

06:15 , Mike Bedigan

President Biden dodged questions about whether he would be willing to undergo an independent medical evaluation that included neurological and cognitive cognitive tests and then release the results to the American people.

Speaking during a sit-down ABC interview he said: “Look, I have a cognitive test every single day.

“Every day I have that test – everything we do, you know, not only in my campaign, but I’m running the world, and that’s not how it sounds like hyperbole, but we are the central nation of the world.”

Pressed again by ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos on taking such tests and making the results public, he said: “Watch me between, there’s a lot of time left in this campaign – over 125 days.”

Only ‘The Lord Almighty’ would make Biden drop out of race

05:30 , Mike Bedigan

Joe Biden said that only “The Lord Almighty” would make him step down from the presidential race, despite growing calls for him to drop out.

ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos put to him that by remaining in the race, he was echoing the sentiment of his rival Donald Trump – that he was “only out for himself”.

“How do you respond to critics who say that by staying in the race, you’re doing the same thing?” Stephanopoulos asked him.

“Oh, come on. Well, I don’t think those critics know what they’re talking about,” Biden said. “They’re just wrong… Look, Trump is a pathological liar. You ever see Trump do anything for the benefit of somebody else, not him?

“I convinced myself of two things: I’m the most qualified person to [beat him]. And I know how to get things done.”

Stephanopoulos asked him: “If you can be convinced that you cannot defeat Donald Trump, will you stand down?

“Look, I mean, if the Lord Almighty came down and says ‘Joe, get out of the race the I’d get out of the race. The Lord Almighty is not coming down. These are hypotheticals,” Biden replied.

Asked by Stephanopoulos if he would consider dropping out if his friends and allies in the Democratic Party, he said: “I’m not going to answer that question. It’s not going to happen.”

Biden vows to stay in the race against Trump as he fights for political future

04:30 , Mike Bedigan

In pictures: Biden rallies in Wisconsin

03:45 , Mike Bedigan

Biden vows that debate disaster will not ‘wipe out three and a half years of work'

03:15 , Mike Bedigan

At an energetic rally earlier on Friday in Madison, Wisconsin, Joe Biden said he would not permit “one 90-minute debate” to “wipe out three and a half years of work.”

In front of chanting crowds he touted his accomplishments as president, including creating “15 million new jobs” and reducing student debt for “nearly five million Americans” while putting the first Black woman on the US Supreme Court.

Trump throws a Clarence Thomas-sized wrench into Mar-a-Lago case after Supreme Court immunity ruling

02:45 , Mike Bedigan

Donald Trump wants to pause his classified documents case in Florida for several months so he can argue that his charges should be thrown out under the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential “immunity.”

Read the full story from Alex Woodward here:

Trump throws a Clarence Thomas-sized wrench into the Mar-a-Lago case

Does Kamala Harris have what it takes to beat Trump if Biden bows out?

02:15 , Mike Bedigan

With pressure mounting for Joe Biden to stand aside after his troubling debate performance against Donald Trump, vice president Kamala Harris has emerged as a surprisingly strong potential challenger to the ex-president.

Andrew Feinberg reports:

Does Kamala Harris have what it takes to beat Trump if Biden bows out?

Bden: ‘As long as I gave it my all... that’s what it’s about’

01:45 , Mike Bedigan

ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos asked Biden how he would feel if, after refusing calls for him to step down, Donald Trump was elected in November.

“I feel as long as I gave it my all and I did as good a job I know I can do, that’s what this is about,” Biden replied.

Biden asked if he is being honest with himself about chances of winning

01:19 , Mike Bedigan

In a “more personal” question, George Stephanopoulos asked Joe Biden: “Are you sure you’re being honest with yourself when you say you have the mental and physical capacity to serve another four years?”

“Yes, I am, because George, the last thing I want to do is not be able to meet that,” Biden replied.

“Some of the senior economists, the senior foreign policy specialists say, if I stop now, I go down in history as a pretty successful president. No one thought I could get there, then we got there.”

Stephanopoulos pressed him: “But are you being honest with yourself as well about your ability to defeat Donald Trump right now?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Biden said.

Watch: Biden admits he was ‘exhausted’ in debate but denies having ‘any serious condition’

Saturday 6 July 2024 00:59 , Mike Bedigan

Biden ABC interview to air shortly

Saturday 6 July 2024 00:50 , Mike Bedigan

The full sit-down interview with president Joe Biden and ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos will air shortly.

It is the first interview the president has done since his poor performance in the presidential debate against Donald Trump, during which he spoke in a raspy voice, became confused and appeared to lose his train of thought mid-sentence.

In a previous clip, Biden claimed full responsibilty for his performance, but reiterated he had been “exhausted” and “feeling terrible”.

Stay tuned for updates.

Biden ‘completely’ rules out exiting 2024 presidential race amid pressure for him to quit

Saturday 6 July 2024 00:30 , Mike Bedigan

President Biden on Friday said he won’t consider standing down from his campaign for a second term in the White House despite growing pressure from him to do so from Democratic members of Congress and donors to his party.

Read the full story here:

Biden ‘completely’ rules out exiting 2024 race amid pressure for him to quit

Biden did not watch disastrous debate performance back after

Saturday 6 July 2024 00:15 , Mike Bedigan

President Biden said he did not watch his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump back afterwards.

Asked by ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos during his first interview since the debate last week, if he knew how badly it had been going in real time, he replied: “Look, the whole way I prepared, it was nobody’s fault but mine. I prepared what I usually would do, sitting down…”

Pivoting towards his rival, Trump, he continued: “The fact of the matter is that what I looked at is that he also lied 28 times I couldn’t. I mean, the way the debate ran [it was] my fault, nobody else’s fault.

Stephanopoulos pressed: “But it seemed like you were having trouble from the first question. In, even before [Trump] spoke.”

“Well, I just had a bad night,” Biden replied.

Could Michelle Obama replace Biden as Democratic nominee – and beat Trump?

Saturday 6 July 2024 00:00 , Alex Woodward

The former first lady would certainly be a popular choice, according to the polls, but has repeatedly said she wants no further involvement in the cut-throat world of politics.

Martha McHardy looks at the case for Michelle Obama stepping up to the plate.

Could Michelle Obama replace Biden – and beat Trump?

Biden says debate performance was 'nobody’s fault but mine’

Friday 5 July 2024 23:51 , Mike Bedigan

President Joe Biden has claimed full responsibility for his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump last week.

In a new sit-down interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, due to air in full at 8pm, the president reiterated that he had been ill prior to the debate, but said his performance was “nobody’s fault but mine.”

In a clip, broadcast earlier on the network’s “World News Tonight”, the president addressed concerns raised by senior Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, about whether the debate was a sign of a more serious condition.

“It was a bad episode, no indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing. It was a bad night,” he said.

Biden had indeed had a busy schedule prior to the debate, including visits to the US West Coast and France for the D-Day anniversary, but had returned to Washington with more than a week in hand.

Asked why 11 or 12 days was not enough recovery time, he replied: “Because I was sick. I was feeling terrible. Matter of fact, the doctors with me, I asked that they did a Covid test. We were trying to figure out what was wrong.

“They did a test to see whether or not I had some infection, you know, a virus – I didn’t. I just had a really bad cold.”

The full ABC interviews with Biden is set to air at 8pm ET.

Who could replace Joe Biden?

Friday 5 July 2024 23:45 , Alex Woodward

Joe Biden is not technically the Democratic Party’s nominee for president. Not yet.

So is it possible for Joe Biden to drop out? And who would replace him at the top of the Democratic ballot?

John Bowden takes a look:

Who could replace Joe Biden? Debate performance has Democrats in crisis talks

How would replacing Biden actually work? The answer is as murky as the president’s stance on his future

Friday 5 July 2024 23:30 , Alex Woodward

Democratic insiders have told The Independent that they believe there is “no question” Vice President Kamala Harris would receive the baton if Biden chose not to run in November.

But a Biden campaign spokesperson said that the president is “absolutely not dropping out.”

If he did, Democrats would have to pick a new presidential nominee. And the logistics surrounding that are not simple.

Eric Garcia explains:

What happens if Biden drops out of the race?

Video: Biden says he is ‘completely ruling out’ exiting the presidential race

Friday 5 July 2024 23:09 , Alex Woodward

Watch: Biden vows to stay in the race against Trump as he fights for political future

Friday 5 July 2024 23:00 , Alex Woodward

Just in: Biden 'completely' rules out exiting 2024 presidential race

Friday 5 July 2024 23:00 , Alex Woodward

Biden ‘completely’ rules out exiting 2024 race amid pressure for him to quit

Biden’s ‘make or break’ interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopolous could last just 15 minutes

Friday 5 July 2024 22:45 , Alex Woodward

Biden’s hotly anticipated interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopolous could fall short in more ways than one. The president has reportedly been set aside only around 15 minutes.

How Biden’s ‘make or break’ interview with ABC News could fall short

Democratic senators split on Biden’s future as some want new blood at top of ticket, report claims

Friday 5 July 2024 22:35 , Alex Woodward

Virginia Senator Senator Mark Warner is looking to lead a group of Democratic senators that want President Joe Biden to step aside before November’s election, according to The Washington Post.

Warner is reportedly saying to colleagues that Biden can’t stay in the race following his dismal debate performance and that he’s worried that Biden cannot run a campaign that will defeat former president Donald Trump.

Democratic senators split on Biden’s future, report claims

Impeach, expand, investigate: How Democrats in Congress are trying to rein in the Supreme Court

Friday 5 July 2024 22:00 , Alex Woodward

AOC is filing impeachment articles. Other Democrats are backing a constitutional amendment to reverse the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling. Ethics investigations are underway. And Biden is once again facing calls to back an expansion of the bench.

Here’s how Democrats in Congress are pushing to overhaul the Supreme Court:

How Democrats in Congress are trying to reign in the conservative Supreme Court

Watch: Biden roasts ‘stable genius’ Trump in Wisconsin

Friday 5 July 2024 21:16 , Alex Woodward

Full story: Defiant Biden vows to stay in the race as pressure builds to withdraw

Friday 5 July 2024 21:04 , Alex Woodward

A defiant Biden told voters he isn’t going anywhere and pledged to deny Donald Trump a second White House term, even as he continues to face more calls to stand down from the 2024 presidential race amid questions over his fitness to compete for and serve out a second four-year term.

Biden, who spoke to a raucous crowd of supporters in Madison, Wisconsin on Friday, said he is his party’s nominee in this year’s presidential election because of “millions of Democrats like you” who voted for him “in primaries all across America.”

“The voters did that, and despite that, some folks don’t seem to care who you voted for ... they’re trying to push me out of the race,” he said.

“Let me say as clearly as I can: I’m staying in the race. I’ll beat Donald Trump,” he said. “I beat him in 2020 ... and by the way, we’re going to do it again in 2024.”

Andrew Feinberg has more:

Biden still defiant as pressure to withdraw keeps building

How to watch Biden’s interview with George Stephanopoulos

Friday 5 July 2024 20:55 , Alex Woodward

Joe Biden’s interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos is schedule to air at 8pm ET and PT on ABC.

“He’ll make a compelling case tonight,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday.

“He prepared for this like he does every other interview,” she said. “He’s looking forward to not just the interview but certainly talking directly to the American people. We’re expecting millions of Americans are going to watch … and he’s looking forward to it.”

A first clip of the interview will air on ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir at 6:30pm.

The full interview will be aired again Sunday on This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

ABC said it would also make an edited transcript of the interview available on Friday.

Biden attacks ‘one-man crime wave’: ‘Let’s exile Trump politically'

Friday 5 July 2024 20:52 , Alex Woodward

In his energetic rally speech in Wisconsin, Biden laid out the stakes of the 2024 election, once again warning that the fate of American democracy hangs in the balance if Trump wins.

He referenced Trump’s criminal convictions for falsifying business records to pay off a porn star, and how a jury determined that he sexually assaulted E Jean Carroll and then awarded her $90m for defaming her.

The “so-called great businessman” was fined $400m for fraud in his civil trial in New York, Biden said.

“He’s not just a convicted criminal, he’s a one-man crime wave,” Biden said.

Biden also referenced Trump’s threats to abortion rights and his opposition to gun control measures in the middle of a gun violence crisis.

“Let’s exile Trump politically,” Biden said before leaving the stage.

Biden addresses speculation that he’s dropping out: ‘I’m staying in the race'

Friday 5 July 2024 20:40 , Alex Woodward

Of his debate appearance, Biden said: “I can’t say it was my best performance.”

There’s since been “a lot of speculation: what’s he gonna do?”

“I am running and gonna win again,” he said in forecful remarks.

“I beat Donald Trump. I will beat him again in 2020,” he added. “I’m not gonna let one 90-minute debate throw out three and a half years of work.”

On concerns about his age, he joked, “I know I look 40,” adding that he wasn’t too old to work through achievements in his administration.

“Were running gainst the biggest liar and biggest threat to democracy in American history,” he said.

Biden arrives at Wisconsin rally to chants of ‘let’s go Joe'

Friday 5 July 2024 20:35 , Alex Woodward

Biden has arrived at his campaign rally in Wisconsin to chants of “let’s go Joe.”

He opened with thanks to Democratic officials from the state before taking a dig at Donald Trump.

He referenced Trump’s speech from 2019 in which he claimed that George Washington’s Continental Army “took over the airports.”

“Talk about me misspeaking,” Biden said, laughing. “It’s true, he is a stable genius, this man.”

‘We must not fail’: Liz Cheney warns Trump ‘threatens to unravel our Republic’ and must be defeated

Friday 5 July 2024 20:30 , Alex Woodward

Former Wyoming congresswoman and high-profile Republican Trump critic Liz Cheney is warning that the ofmre president threats to “to unravel our Republic” if elected president again.

Liz Cheney warns Trump ‘threatens to unravel our Republic’

White House responds to questions about Biden needing to work fewer hours

Friday 5 July 2024 20:13 , Alex Woodward

Reporters asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about recent reports that Biden told governors that he needs more sleep and to end his days by 8pm.

Biden “took ownership of trying to do too much in the lead up to the debate” and that he “understands about striking the right balance,” she said on Friday.

“He’s human, just like we all are. It’s a 24/7 job,” she added.

Biden has a ‘verbal check-in’ about his ‘cold'

Friday 5 July 2024 20:12 , Alex Woodward

During a brief press gaggle on the way to Wisconsin, White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre clarified answers she gave about whether Biden had checked in with a doctor after aides said he had a cold during the debate.

Jean-Pierre told reporters earlier this week that he didn’t, but then Biden told governors assembled at the White House that he did.

“He did have a short check in recent days about his cold ... It wasn’t a medical examination. It was a conversation,” Jean-Pierre clarified on Friday.

He had“a verbal check in about the cold” in the days after the debate, she said.

Full story: Trump wants to distance himself from far-right Project 2025 plan while his PAC pushes ads promoting it

Friday 5 July 2024 20:00 , Alex Woodward

Project 2025’s 900-page manifesto for nearly every detail of a second Trump presidency was drawn up by more than a dozen former Trump administration officials and advisers, who have planned to “integrate” the document into the campaign’s platform in the coming months.

But on Friday, as his Democratic rivals use Project 2025 as shorthand for his agenda, Trump claimed that he the proposal is news to him.

Trump distances himself from Project 2025 while his PAC pushes ads promoting it