President Biden tried to shore up his re-election campaign by speaking to two black radio hosts for interviews that aired Thursday, but in one interview he spoke haltingly at points and in another he struggled to find the right phrasing, and said he was proud to be “the first black woman to serve with a black president.”
He also stumbled over his words during a four-minute July 4 speech to military members at the White House when he began a story about former President Donald J. Trump, calling him “one of our colleagues, the former president,” and then adding: ” “You probably shouldn’t say that anyway,” before abruptly ending the story and continuing.
Mr. Biden made the mistake on Philadelphia-based WURD radio when he tried to convey a statement he had repeated before, that he was proud to serve as President Barack Obama’s vice president. At the beginning of the interview, he bragged that he appointed the first black woman to the Supreme Court and appointed the first black woman vice president.
The president also made a mistake early in the interview when he claimed he was the first nationally elected president in Delaware. He seemed to think he was the first Catholic in the state to be elected statewide and then spoke admiringly of John F. Kennedy, a Catholic.
Mr. Biden and his top aides said the president’s activities in the coming days were part of a series of campaign efforts designed to prove to voters, donors and activists that the president’s debate debacle was nothing more than what he called “a bad one.” Night” referred to .”
Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for Mr. Biden’s campaign, criticized the news media for noting the president’s stumbles.
“It was clear what President Biden meant when he talked about his historic record, including a record number of appointments to the federal bench,” he said, referring to the president’s comments about being a Black woman. “This is not news and the media has gone beyond the point of absurdity here.”
All of the president’s appearances have come under intense scrutiny since he appeared listless and distracted in last Thursday’s debate against former President Donald J. Trump, an appearance that sparked a wave of concern among Democrats about whether he is too old. in order to remain a party member candidate.
The president will meet with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos for an interview on Friday after a campaign event in Madison, Wisconsin. He is scheduled to appear at a campaign rally in Philadelphia on Sunday.
On Thursday, the president used the radio interviews to address concerns about the debate among members of the black community. The hosts of both shows praised and thanked Mr. Biden after the interviews.
During Mr. Biden’s appearance on “The Earl Ingram Show,” which targets black listeners in Wisconsin but also airs across the country, Mr. Ingram opened his show by asking the president to “talk about some accomplishments that “We may have or may not be familiar with your file.”
But despite the relaxed nature of the interview, the president sometimes spoke haltingly as he gave his quick answers. Asked why voting was important, Mr. Biden responded to the Supreme Court’s decision this week on Mr. Trump’s immunity.
“You need someone, someone to make that happen – by the way, the Supreme Court just issued a decision that threatens the American principle that there are no kings in America,” he said. “There is no one above the law.”
“That’s the point where we’ve always – we gave Donald Trump the authority as a leader to use a system – and that’s just never considered by our founders because of the people he appointed to the court.” he said, appearing to stutter several times, a condition he has struggled with since childhood. “It’s just presidential immunity. He can say that I did it in my capacity as a manager, it may have been wrong, but I did it. But it will stay that way – because I – and this is the same guy who says he wants revenge.”
The president’s answers to Mr. Ingram’s four questions were lengthy, as he was largely limited to listing his accomplishments in office and criticizing Mr. Trump. But in the 17-minute interview, he sometimes stopped mid-answer.
In his response to the importance of the vote, he began talking about Mr. Trump’s proposal to increase tariffs on all Chinese goods imported into the United States. He stopped mid-answer and apologized for speaking for too long.
“He wants a 10 percent tariff on everything imported into the United States,” he said, “which experts say will raise taxes on the average American by $2,500, while next time he wants a $5 tax cut.” Trillions of dollars for whoever does it – at least I really don’t want to get too involved in that.”
Mr. Biden also refrained from using an epithet to describe Mr. Trump when speaking in a response about his son Beau, who died of brain cancer after a year in Iraq. Mr. Biden blames his death on the proximity to so-called burn pits where waste was disposed of.
“He was a very healthy man, came back with stage 4 glioblastoma — more brain injuries in this war than any other war — and died,” Mr. Biden said. “I’ll be damned if I’m going to let this SO – excuse me – this president talk about veterans the way he talked.”
At the end of Mr. Ingram’s interview, the president once again acknowledged his poor performance in the debate.
“The fact is, I messed up,” he said. “I made a mistake.”
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2024-07-05 00:44:26
www.nytimes.com
