“Retirement? Only if God asks me to” –

“Would I retire if I mightn’t beat Donald Trump? It depends. If God Almighty came down and told me, I might.” This is how Joe Biden responds to George Stephanopoulos, in the 22-minute interview with ABC News, when asked regarding the possibility of withdrawing his candidacy and abandoning the race for the White House in the 2024 US elections. The president of the United States, who highlights the objectives achieved and the results achieved during his mandate, reiterates the concepts expressed in a rally in Wisconsin. “I’m still running because I think I understand better” than anyone “what needs to be done to take this nation to a whole new level.” “If the Lord Almighty came down and said ‘Joe, abandon the race,’ I would withdraw,” he says, immediately specifying that “the Lord Almighty will not come down.” Stephanopoulos returns to a “more practical level” and raises the possibility of a general push by the Democratic Party to convince him to take a step back: “It’s not going to happen.”

The poor performance in the televised debate with Donald Trump, last week in a CNN studio, has further fueled questions regarding the president’s physical and cognitive abilities. “It was a bad episode, there is no indication of serious conditions. I was exhausted. I did not listen to my instincts in terms of preparation,” says the president, who also recalls the particular context: “Trump lied 28 times.” “I was sick. I felt terrible. I asked the doctors if they had done a Covid test because they were trying to understand what was wrong. They did a test to see if I had any infection, any virus. I didn’t have it. I just had a bad cold,” he explains. “Does he have the mental and physical capacity to make it another 4 years?”, the direct question. “I believe that. I wouldn’t be running for office if I didn’t think so,” Biden responds. “I’m running once more because I think I understand better than anyone what it takes to take this nation to a whole new level. We’re on the right track. We’re on the right track,” he says.

The reporter repeats the question in another form. Is the president honest with himself when it comes to assessing his own true condition and capabilities? “Yes, I am. The last thing I want is to not be able to do all this. I think, as some economists and foreign policy analysts say, if I stop now I will go down in history as a very successful president. No one thought I might do what we did,” he says. “Can I run 100 meters in 10 seconds flat? No, but I am in good shape,” Biden says, as the interviewer dwells on the president’s physical condition. What did the doctor say following the debate? “He looked at me and said, ‘You are exhausted.’ That’s it. I have doctors, some of the best in the world, who travel with me everywhere. There is a constant evaluation of what I am doing, and they don’t hesitate to tell me if they think there is something wrong.” Would he be willing to undergo an independent medical evaluation that includes neurological and cognitive tests and share the results with the American people? “I take a cognitive test every single day. Every day I take that test. I’m not just campaigning, I’m running the world. That’s no small feat, we’re the essential nation in the world…”