WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden discussed a wide range of topics during an interview with NBC News that aired on July 15, days after the attempted assassination of his political rival, former President Donald Trump.
In the interview, President Biden shared his thoughts on his confidence in the Secret Service, former President Trump’s vice presidential pick, and his phone conversation with the former president.
He also emphasized the urgent need to end political violence.
President Biden confirmed that he had a conversation with former President Trump following the assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, and he described the conversation as “very cordial.”
“I told him how concerned I was, and I wanted to make sure I knew how he was actually doing. He sounded good, he said he was fine, and he thanked me for calling him,” the president told NBC’s Lester Holt.
President Biden said he told former President Trump that the GOP nominee was in his “prayers” and that he hoped the Trump family was doing well “weathering” the event.
“My first reaction was, my God,” the president said.
“There’s no place at all for violence in politics in America, none, zero. And we’ve reached a point where it’s become commonplace.”
Following the assassination attempt, President Biden has been calling for the country to “lower the temperature” in its deeply divided political environment.
During a conversation with donors during a call on July 8 that was shared by his campaign, President Biden said, “It’s time to put Trump in the bull’s-eye.”
“It was a mistake to use the word,” President Biden said during the NBC interview.
Trump’s Vice President Pick
On July 15, President Biden also remarked on former President Trump’s choice of Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate, calling him a “clone of Trump on the issues.”“I don’t see any difference,” the president told reporters.
During the interview, President Biden described the choice of Mr. Vance as the GOP vice presidential pick as “not unusual” for former President Trump, saying the Republican nominee prefers to “surround himself with people who agree completely” with him.
The Biden campaign said Vice President Kamala Harris called Mr. Vance on July 15 and left a message to congratulate him.
In a call with reporters, the Biden campaign also said Ms. Harris was ready to debate Mr. Vance in late July on CBS News.
During the interview, the president also commented on U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s decision on July 15 to dismiss the indictment against former President Trump in his classified documents case on the unlawful appointment of special counsel Jack Smith.
Secret Service
When asked whether he had confidence in the Secret Service after the assassination attempt on the former president, President Biden said he feels “safe with the Secret Service.”“They’re ready to give their lives to the president,“ he said. ”The question is, should they have anticipated what happened? Or should they have done what they needed to do to prevent this? That’s a question. That’s an open question.”
President Biden said the incident has affected his ability to get out and meet everyday voters.
“I like to walk out, shake hands, move, look at people in the eyes, see what they’re thinking. It just really curtailed that ability on my part and everybody’s part,” he said.
President Biden said he hasn’t changed his mind about running for reelection in 2024, expressing a firm commitment to stay in the race to finish the job he started.
“Fourteen million people voted for me to be the nominee in the Democratic Party. OK. Listen to them,” he said.
When asked about his debate performance, the president said: “I had a bad, bad night. I wasn’t feeling well at all.
“I’m going to debate him in September.”
The White House announced the interview before the attempted assassination of former President Trump. The interview was recorded on the afternoon of July 15 at the White House and aired at 9 p.m. ET. The network stated that the pre-recorded interview was unedited.
