President Joe Biden sat down for his second prime-time interview since his disastrous debate last month, but over the course of the roughly 18-minute interview with NBC News's Lester Holt, the president appeared to lose his cool.
As the interview continued, Biden became more testy as he was asked about the assassination attempt on his opponent, former President Donald Trump , along with questions from Democrats about whether the president should continue to run after his shaky debate performance. These are six of the moments when Biden appeared to lose his patience with Holt during the interview.
Asked about 'turning down the heat' on rhetoric
Biden's pushback with Holt began minutes into the interview when the president was asked about "turning down the heat" rhetorically after Trump was the victim of an assassination attempt.
Holt pressed Biden on his remarks to donors last week when the president said Trump should be put in the "bullseye," to which Biden contended multiple times that he said "bullseye" instead of "crosshairs." When Holt pressed Biden that it did not appear he was turning down the temperature on his rhetoric, the president denied the accusation but reinforced his statement.
"Oh, no, no, no, no. Look, what I’m turning down — we have to stop the whole notion that there are certain things that are contrary to our — our democracy that we’re for," Biden said.
Trajectory of the race
When Biden was asked if the assassination attempt on Trump changed the trajectory of the race, the president responded that he did not know but also said Holt did not either.
"I don’t know. And you don’t know either," Biden said.
If Biden has seen the debate
When Biden was asked earlier this month by ABC's George Stephanopoulos if he had seen the debate, he said he had not. Holt followed up with Biden during the interview, asking if he had seen the debate now. Biden said he had now seen pieces of it.
Holt asked a follow-up question about whether, after seeing the clips, Biden understood the moments that concerned some Democrats and where he appeared "confused." Biden deflected to criticisms of Trump.
"Lester, look, why don’t you guys ever talk about the 18 — the 28 lies he told? Where — where are you on this? Why doesn’t the press ever talk about that? Twenty-eight times, it’s confirmed he lied in that debate. I had a bad, bad night. I wasn’t feeling well at all. And, and I had been, without making — I screwed up," Biden said.
During the June debate, Biden also made numerous false and misleading statements, including that no troops had died under his presidency.
"I didn’t have to see it. I was there. And by the way, seriously, you won’t answer the question, but why doesn’t the press talk about all the lies he told? I haven’t heard anything about that," Biden said when Holt pressed the president on the question.
The two then went back and forth, with Biden claiming the media had not covered Trump's false or misleading statements, while Holt asserted they had covered it. Biden ended the exchange by saying, "God love you."
Asked about Trump's running mate
When asked about his thoughts on Trump's running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Biden brought up past negative comments the Ohio senator had made about the former president. Holt then pressed Biden by saying Vance has also made negative comments about him.
"Well, that — he says some things about me, but see what he said about Trump. What’s with you guys? Come on, man," Biden responded.
If Biden would do another debate sooner
Holt also pressed Biden on whether he would debate Trump sooner than their planned September debate hosted by ABC News. He asked specifically if Biden would want to debate sooner to recover from his poor showing in the June debate and "get back on the horse."
"I’m on the horse. Where have you been?" Biden responded bluntly.
Biden also said he does not "plan on having another performance on that level."
Testy goodbye
When Holt wrapped the interview and thanked Biden for sitting down with him, the president appeared irritated by Holt's questions.
"All right. Mr. President, it’s always good to talk to you. Good to see you. Thank you for making some time for us," Holt said.
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"Sometimes come and talk to me about what we should be talking about," Biden replied.
Biden's interview with NBC comes as he still faces questions over his ability to continue as the Democratic nominee, even as much of the public talk has been paused by the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Trump over the weekend.
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