President Biden defended his vitality in a make-or-break press conference Thursday night, saying he’s maintained a rigorous schedule after his “stupid mistake” at the June 27 debate in Atlanta, where he turned in a disastrous performance that cast doubt on his political future.
“I just got to pace myself a little more,” Mr. Biden, 81, said after a NATO summit in Washington. “The next debate I won’t be traveling in 15 time zones the week before.”
Mr. Biden said he’s been going “full bore” since his poor debate, including campaign rallies in Wisconsin and Philadelphia.
He contrasted his schedule with that of Mr. Trump, saying his GOP rival — who did rallies in Virginia and Florida since the debate — appeared to be riding around his golf cart ahead of their November rematch.
“I beat him once, and I’ll beat him again,” Mr. Biden said.
Mr. Biden said earlier start times to fundraisers and other events are a way to let people go home at a respectable time — not to allow him to go to bed earlier.
He joked that his staff “adds things all the time” and he’s “catching hell” from first lady Jill Biden, though he didn’t elaborate.
Mr. Biden also defended his ability to handle tough foreign leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“I’m ready to deal with them now and three years from now,” Mr. Biden said, though he added that Mr. Putin “has a problem” and must stop his invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Trump often attacks Mr. Biden as ill-equipped to go toe-to-toe with strongmen leaders such as Mr. Xi, Mr. Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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