Biden Says CNN Debate Was a ‘Bad Night,’ Vows to Keep Running for Reelection (VIDEO)

President Joe Biden knows he had a “bad night” during CNN’s June 27 presidential debate as he faced Donald Trump in Atlanta.

“It was a bad episode,” Biden told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Friday in the president’s first post-debate TV Interview. “No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing, and I had a bad night.”

Biden explained that he had a cold and was “feeling terrible” during that first debate, which more than 51 million viewers watched on television. He even asked doctors about getting tested for COVID at some point. “They did a test to see whether or not I had some infection, you know, a virus,” he told Stephanopoulos. “I didn’t. I just had a really bad cold.”

The president said his debate performance was “nobody’s fault but [his]” and noted that Trump “lied 28 times” during the debate.

“I just had a bad night,” he added. “I realized that even when I was answering a question, even though they turned [Trump’s] mic off, he was still shouting. And I let it distract me. I’m not blaming it on that, but I realized that I just wasn’t in control.”

Biden also expressed confidence in his ability to defeat Trump in the upcoming election, saying it won’t be tougher than it was four years ago. “Not when you’re running against a pathological liar,” he said. “Not when he hasn’t been challenged in the way he’s about to be challenged.”

And Biden said he’s not withdrawing his candidacy, despite doubts from some Democrats about his chances.

“If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race,” Biden told Stephanopoulos. “The Lord Almighty’s not coming down.”