Biden launches media blitz to counter health fears and salvage US presidential bid
The Guardian|July 06, 2024
Joe Biden was gearing up yesterday for a three-day public relations blitz aimed at salvaging his floundering presidential candidacy after a week of disarray caused by his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump.
Robert Tait
Biden launches media blitz to counter health fears and salvage US presidential bid

In what was likely to be the most decisive set-piece event of his presidency, aside from the debate on 27 June, Biden gave a TV interview to ABC's George Stephanopoulos in an effort to dispel the growing perception that he lacked the acuity for another four years in office.

The interview, expected to last between 15 and 25 minutes, was to be broadcast in full yesterday evening, having been moved from its original scheduled Sunday slot. Biden's performance is certain to be scrutinised for any verbal slips or missteps reminiscent of last week's stumbling display in the CNN debate.

The interview will form the centrepiece of a weekend campaign schedule during which Biden will visit the battleground states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, both seen as vital to the Democrats' chances of retaining the White House.

Next week Biden faces another potentially hazardous test at the Nato summit in Washington, where he is scheduled to hold an unscripted news conference - a rare event during his presidency - he has staged the fewest press conferences of any US president since Ronald Reagan.

Meanwhile, more worries have surfaced about whether Biden, who is 81 and would be 86 by the end of a potential second term, still possessed the requisite mental and physical vigour to win the race against Trump and govern for another four years.

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