US president speaks with George Stephanopoulos in interview to be shown in full on ABC News
Joe Biden was “exhausted” and “feeling terrible” going into last month’s presidential debate, he has claimed during a potential make-or-break TV interview that will be aired in full this evening.
The US president sat down with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday after a fiery campaign rally where he vowed to fight on against rival Donald Trump.
Stephanopoulos, a former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton, began by citing representative Nancy Pelosi, who this week questioned whether Biden’s feeble performance represented an episode or a condition.
“It was a bad episode,” the 81-year-old insisted, his voice sounding strained after the rally, in an early clip broadcast on World News Tonight with David Muir. “No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and – I had a bad night.”
Stephanopoulos noted that Biden had returned from Europe 12 days before the debate and that he had spent six days at the presidential retreat Camp David.
