President Joe Biden defended his mental acuity Monday but said he understands why people are asking “legitimate” questions about his age and fitness for office.
The president sat for an interview, scheduled prior to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump over the weekend, with NBC News’s Lester Holt at the White House before departing Washington, D.C., for Las Vegas, Nevada, on Monday evening.
During the interview, Holt pressed Biden on his age, yielding an exchange that NBC characterized as “combative.”
“I’m old,” the president responded. “But I’m only three years older than Trump, number one. And number two, my mental acuity has been pretty damn good. I’ve gotten more done than any president has in a long time in three-and-a-half years. I’m willing to be judged on that.”
“I understand why people say, ‘God, he’s 81 years old. Whoa. What’s he gonna be when he’s 83 years old, 84 years?’”, the president continued. “It’s a legitimate question to ask.”
Biden had slowed down his campaign attacks against Trump in the days following the assassination attempt. Still, a number of Republicans, including Trump’s new running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), blamed Biden’s rhetoric for emboldening suspected shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Holt also questioned the president Monday about his specific use of the word “bullseye” in discussing Trump in the past.
Biden conceded that using that particular word was a “mistake” but still pressed viewers to put “crosshairs” on Trump’s “agenda.”