In an exclusive Friday interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, President Joe Biden Biden fell back to the claim that his poor debate performance was due to a cold, and claimed that he was ill enough that he required a Covid test prior to the debate. 

When asked directly by Stephanopoulos about his health in recent months, Biden retorted, “Can I run a 110 flat? No, but I’m still in good shape.”

Stephanopoulos, who is best known for his role as Bill Clinton’s White House Communications Director and a staunch Clinton-loyalist, tried to keep the conversation about Biden’s health rather than policy. For instance, at one point Biden stated that in a hypothetical second term, he would “straighten out the tax system,” “make sure we’re in a situation where we have healthcare for all people,” and have taxpayer-funded childcare and eldercare. Stephanopoulos declined to inquire about the substance of these major policy proposals and instead pivoted back to asking about Biden’s health. 

On top of bringing up large policy proposals, Biden also highlighted his foreign policy record, touting NATO expansion and aid to Ukraine.

Stephanopoulos also questioned Biden’s electability against Donald Trump. Biden claimed that the race is a “toss-up” and that he does not think “anybody is more qualified to be president or win this race than me.” In response to questions about whether Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, or Hakeem Jeffries would be able to persuade him to drop out of the race. Biden countered, “I’m not going to answer that question; it’s not going to happen.”