President Joe Biden spoke to NBC News anchor Lester Holt on Monday, as the Republican National Convention got underway, and just days after an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally.
During the interview, Biden defended himself against claims he’s used incendiary rhetoric in the presidential race, as Holt asked him about a call he had with supporters where Biden said, “It’s time to put Trump in the bull’s-eye.”
Biden said it was a mistake to use the term bull’s-eye, but said he didn’t say “cross-hairs.”
“I was talking about focus on. Look, the truth of the matter was what I guess I was talking about at the time was there was very little focus on Trump’s — agenda,” he said.
After Biden criticized Trump over statements he had made, including some taken out of context, Holt said, “This doesn’t sound like you’re turning down the heat, though.”
Biden continued to criticize the former president, including over Trump’s unfounded claims that he won the 2020 election.
Biden speaks about his call with Trump
Biden said his call with Trump after the shooting was “very cordial.”
“I told him how concerned I was, and want to make sure I knew how he was actually doing,” Biden said. “He sounded good. He said he was fine and he thanked me for calling him. I told him he was literally in the prayers of Jill and me, and I hope his whole family was weathering this.”
He said there was “no place at all for violence in politics in America. None. Zero.”
When asked whether the shooting had changed the trajectory of the race, Biden said to Holt, “I don’t know. And you don’t know either.”
Biden said he’d asked for an independent analysis of the security failures that kept the U.S. Secret Service from stopping the shooting.
He also pointed out that many of the officers there were willing to put themselves at risk to protect Trump.
“They were ready to give their lives for the president,” he said. “The question is should they have anticipated what happened. Should they have done what they needed to do to prevent this from happening? That’s the question that’s — that’s an open question.”
Biden addresses whether he’ll stay in the race
Biden doubled down on his decision to stay in the 2024 presidential race, despite calls from some Democratic lawmakers to step aside.
“Look, 14 million people voted for me to be the nominee in the Democratic Party, OK? I listen to them,” he said.
On the polls showing Trump ahead of Biden, the president said, “It’s essentially a toss-up race,” and said he expected it to be close.
After Holt asked Biden about his performance in his debate against Trump, Biden appeared to grow frustrated with Holt, asking him why they weren’t talking about Trump and “all the lies he told.”
Holt replied that the press had reported on what Trump said, to which Biden repeatedly replied, “No you haven’t.”
Biden said he hasn’t spoken to former President Barack Obama since the debate.
Will Biden debate Trump sooner than September?
Holt asked Biden if he was willing to debate Trump before September. “Is there a sense of wanting to get back on the horse?” he asked Biden.
“I’m on the horse. Where have you been? I’ve done 22 major events, met thousands of people, overwhelming crowds. A lot’s happening,” Biden replied. “I’m on the horse. What I’m doing is going out and demonstrating to the American people that I have command of all my faculties, that I don’t need — notes. I don’t need telepro — I can go out and answer any questions at all. And I stood there when — when NATO was in town. I stood there for an hour and answered questions.”
At the end of the interview, after Holt thanked the president for speaking with him, Biden said to “Sometimes come and talk to me about what we should be talking about ... Ok? The issues.”
“Always happy to talk,” Holt replied.