Rep. Adam B. Schiff said President Biden has not alleviated concerns about his mental acuity and avoided giving a full-throated defense of his party’s presidential nominee Sunday.
Rather than repeating what Mr. Biden and the White House have said — that he will be the candidate in November and win — the California Democrat said only that he is confident that Mr. Biden “will make the right decision.”
“The interview didn’t put concerns to rest. No single interview is going to do that,” Mr. Schiff, who also is the party’s U.S. Senate nominee in California, said about Mr. Biden’s interview with ABC News on Friday.
“What I do think the president needs to decide is, can he put those concerns aside, can he demonstrate to the American people that what happened on the debate stage was an aberration, that he can and will beat Donald Trump,” he said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Mr. Schiff said if Mr. Biden “takes the time to consult people and has an open mind about this, he will do what Joe Biden always does, which is he will make the right decision.”
The president’s prime-time discussion with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos was his first interview since his shaky debate performance in Georgia the week previous has left Democrats in a frenzy.
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While his interview with Mr. Stephanopoulos went better than the debate, it didn’t do much to calm the nerves of the country.
Five House Democrats have already called on Mr. Biden to step aside.
When asked whether he thought Mr. Biden was the strongest candidate to go against former President Donald Trump in November, Mr. Schiff again avoided a direct “yes” or “no,” and said that decision will be the president’s alone.
“Well, ultimately, this is a decision President Biden is going to have to make and President Biden alone. But I would say this. He has been an extraordinary president,” he said.
He told host Kristen Welker that the only reason the competition between Mr. Biden, 81, and Mr. Trump, 78, is close is because of the president’s age.
“Joe Biden’s running against a criminal. It should not be even close. And there’s only one reason it is close, and that’s the president’s age,” he said. “What I would say, Kristen, what I would advise the president, is: Seek out the opinions of people you trust.”
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Mr. Schiff said Mr. Biden should get the opinion of people who have “some distance and objectivity” on whether he should stay in the presidential race or drop out.
“He should take a moment to make the best informed judgment. And if the judgment is run, then run hard, and beat that S.O.B,” he said.
He said the part of the Friday interview that concerned him the most was when Mr. Biden was asked what would happen if he loses to Mr. Trump in November. The president said that if he lost, all that would matter is if he gave it his all.
“That is the answer that most concerned me, as well. This is not just about whether he gave it the best college try, but rather whether he made the right decision to run or to pass the torch,” Mr. Schiff said. “That is the most important decision for him to make right now.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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