President Joe Biden seemed to engage in a confrontational exchange with a TIME reporter during an interview where he was being questioned about his age and its implications for the upcoming 2024 election, as stated in the interview transcript.
The interview, conducted by TIME Washington Bureau Chief Massimo Calabresi and Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, delved into various subjects such as the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the Middle East turmoil, and the forthcoming 2024 election. In a rapid-fire segment of the interview, which was released on Tuesday, the president aimed to address any apprehensions regarding his age.
“The last two years of Presidents, two-term President’s tenure are usually focused on foreign affairs. You are 81 years old, and would be 86 by the time you left office. Large majorities of Americans, including in the Democratic Party, tell pollsters they think you are too old to lead. Could you really do this job as an 85-year old man?” the Time asked, not clarifying which staff member was speaking.
“I can do it better than anybody you know. You’re looking at me, I can take you too,” the president responded.
“Did you consider not running again because of your age?” the Time followed up.
“No, I didn’t,” Biden responded.
Following a special counsel report on his handling of classified documents, Biden’s suitability for office was called into question. Special Counsel Robert Hur, in his report, stated that the president would not face charges but justified his decision by suggesting that the jury might view Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
During a two-day, five-hour interview with Hur, Biden seemed to have forgotten the start and end dates of his vice presidency, as well as the date of his late son Beau Biden’s passing.
In an effort to alleviate concerns about his fitness for office, the president held a press conference. Biden criticized Hur for raising questions about Beau’s death, but the subsequently released transcript revealed that it was Biden himself who had brought up the date, not Hur.
Despite grappling with concerns about his age, Biden lags behind Trump in both national and key swing state head-to-head matchups. According to a Feb. 6 NBC poll, 76% of American voters express worry about Biden’s age and health as the 2024 election approaches.
“And what do you say to Americans who are worried about it?” the TIME asked.
“Watch me. Look, name me a president that’s gotten as much done as I’ve gotten done in my first three and a half years,” Biden responded.
“When all of you wrote in Time magazine I couldn’t get any of it done. When you told me there’s no pay, no way, no way he can get a trillion-plus dollar bill done in terms of, to deal with infrastructure, where there’s no way he gets $368 billion for dealing with the environment, where there’s no way I could get the, the, the legislation passed on,” he responded.
