Dem
51
GOP
49
Joe Biden's first post-debate test was the interview with George Stephanopoulos. His second test was the post-NATO-meeting press conference. And last night, NBC aired his third test, an interview with Lester Holt. Here it is, if you want to watch it:
Although the video is half an hour long, Biden's portion is less than 20 minutes.
Relative to the two previous tests, Biden was a little bit stronger. He tripped over his tongue a little, but was largely clear and concise. We'd say he was an 8 out of 10. Unfortunately for him, he's not going to reach too many people with this appearance, we think. The interview aired after the Republican convention, and how many times are non-politics-junkies going to tune in to see if Biden crashes and burns?
Lester Holt asked some good questions, and Biden had some good answers. For example, Holt inquired as to whether Biden regrets talking about "putting a bullseye" on Trump, given what happened over the weekend. Biden conceded that, in retrospect, he would have expressed himself differently. Not every presidential candidate is willing to admit to an ill-considered choice of words.
Holt followed that by asking if Biden felt that his criticism of Trump helped create a climate that made the assassination attempt possible. Biden's answer here was very strong; he asked back: "Look, how do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a candidate says things like he says? Do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody?" We would say that's the only correct response to Holt's question.
Beyond the assassination attempt, Biden said he still feels safe under Secret Service protection, expressed disappointment with the Aileen Cannon decision (see above), was underwhelmed by Trump's choice of a running mate, and pointedly observed that, in his view, the media is not doing enough to be critical of Trump and Trumpism. Holt was not pleased by that.
Again, we don't think this is going to move the needle much, given that so many people's attention is elsewhere. So maybe the real takeaway is that Biden clearly remains steadfast, and is showing no inclination to leave the Democratic ticket. (Z)