Biden claims illness during debate, says only 'Lord Almighty' can oust him of presidential
Washington (PTI): US President Joe Biden has dismissed concerns about his health and doubts about his re-election bid in November, brushing off a poor performance in the presidential debate as a "bad episode" and insisting that only “the Lord almighty” could persuade him to exit the race.
Biden, 81, said this on Friday in a television interview, a week after his disastrous debate performance in Atlanta against his Republican rival Donald Trump, following which some of his own Democratic Party leaders started urging him to step down and his approval rating plummeted.
In the 22-minute high-stakes interview on ABC News aimed at quelling a burgeoning rebellion in the Democratic party, Biden, who is seeking a second term, said he had “a bad night” and he was "exhausted” and "sick” during his first presidential debate with Trump.
He asserted that only the "Lord Almighty" could make him drop out of the race to win the November 5 election.
He claimed that he is “running the world” and no one is “more qualified” to be president.
Asked whether he would be willing to have an independent cognitive evaluation and release the results to the American people, Biden said: “Look, I have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I’ve had tests. Everything I do. You know, not only am I campaigning, I’m running the world."
The president said in the interview that he was “sick” before the debate. Asked whether it was a bad episode or a sign of a more serious condition, Biden dismissed those concerns.
"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 during his first interview after the debate, adding that his top party leadership are asking him to stay in the race.
"Because I was sick. I was feeling terrible. Matter of fact the docs (doctors are) with me. I asked if they did a COVID test because they were trying to figure out what was wrong. They did a test to see whether or not I had some infection, a virus. I didn't. I just had a really bad cold," he said and reiterated multiple times that he was running for the presidency.
Blaming himself for the bad debate night in Atlanta, Biden said, "Yeah, look. The whole way I prepared, nobody's fault but mine. I prepared what I usually would do sitting down as I did come back with foreign leaders or the National Security Council for explicit detail," adding that Trump "lied 28 times" during the debate.
Biden said none of the major Democratic party leaders have asked him to drop out and asserted that he would withdraw only if the "Lord Almighty" asked him to.
“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,” he added.
The president tried to avoid questions on both his mental fitness and cognitive tests.
"Do you dispute that there have been more lapses, especially in the last seven months?” Biden was asked.
"Can I run the 100 in 10 flat? No. But I’m still in good shape," he responded.
“Are you more frail?” he was asked. "No. Come keep my schedule," he said.
Biden alleged that Trump is a pathological liar.
Asked by the interviewer whether he was being honest with himself about his ability to beat Trump, Biden said, “Yes. Yes, yes, yes.”
He pointed to previous polls that showed he couldn’t win in 2020 as proof and subsequent down-ballot elections, denying extensive polling that reflects a race where he is trailing.
In a reaction to Biden’s interview, Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna, according to The New York Times, said he expected “complete transparency” from the White House and a willingness to answer “many legitimate questions” from the news media and voters about the president’s abilities.
“He has to earn that trust, and that requires more than one interview,” Khanna was quoted as saying by the daily.
ABC News said it offered a similar one-on-one interview to Trump, 78, but the former president declined.
Earlier during a rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin, Biden asserted that he is in the race and will win the election again.
"We had a little debate last week. Can't say it was my best performance. But ever since then, there's been a lot of speculation. What's Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out? What's he going to do? Well, here's my answer. I am running and going to win again," Biden told his cheering supporters.
"...Some folks don't seem to care who you voted for, well, guess what? They're trying to push me out of the race. Well, let me say this as clearly as I can. I'm staying in the race. I'll beat Donald Trump. I beat him in 2020. And by the way, we're going to do it again in 2024."
Biden also took this opportunity to address the issue of his advancing age.
"You probably also noticed a lot of discussion about my age. I keep seeing all those stories about I'm being too old. Let me say something. I wasn't too old to create over 15 million new jobs to make sure 21 million Americans are insured under the Affordable Care Act; to beat Big Pharma, the first firm to ever do that, and lower the cost of it to USD 35 a season,” he said.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
