David Axelrod accuses Biden of 'denial, delusion and defiance' following George Stephanopoulos interview
WASHINGTON, DC: Political analyst David Axelrod called out President Joe Biden in an op-ed for CNN, following the latter's interview with ABC News host George Stephanopoulos on Friday, July 5.
It was Biden's first major television interview since the presidential debate, where his abysmal performance resulted in growing calls from the Democrats asking him to drop out of the race.
However, the incumbent maintained that he was the best candidate to defeat the presumptive GOP nominee, Donald Trump, in November. He added that the only reason he would step aside is if the "Lord Almighty" himself came down and told him to.
David Axelrod's comments on Joe Biden
The former adviser to Barack Obama wrote, "Denial. Delusion. Defiance," in his piece on the incumbent, which bore the headline, "Biden’s defiant delusion."
"Biden could be excused for wanting to put his awful debate performance in the rearview mirror. That was his purpose Friday in sitting down for the interview — to try and quell the panic that has gripped the Democratic Party. He didn’t succeed," commented Axelrod.
"The stakes are as great as Biden describes. And if he believes it, as I think he does, he will eventually do what duty and love of country requires, and step aside. If he does not, it will be Biden’s age, and not Trump’s moral and ethical void, that will dominate the rest of this most important campaign and sully the president’s historic legacy," he shared.
Axelrod further took aim at particular moments in the interview concerned with the topic of the President's cognitive skills, and wrote, "When Stephanopoulos asked the president if he would take an independent medical evaluation, complete with neurological and cognitive exams and release the results, Biden demurred and deflected."
He later added that in his current trajectory, Biden was headed for a "landslide defeat to a lawless and unpopular former president."
Internet reacts to David Axelrod's take
Netizens slammed the Democratic Party while reacting to Axelrod's comments on the Fox News website, as the following examples demonstrate.
"Democrats don't care about the country, they care about hanging on to power at any cost," wrote a person.
"The democrats are worried about winning the election and not that Biden is a liability to our country... We need someone who makes us safe from foreign threats and Trump did that magnificently," stated another. [sic]
"When are the Dem's going to grow up. This is not about beating Trump. It's about Biden not knowing what he's doing and some unelected official(s) calling the shots," expressed a user.
"This Denial, delusion and defiance is not new to Biden! 😂😂😂😂😂 I DO NOT feel bad for Dems. I feel bad for America, but not them. We are moving on whether they want to accept it or not," jibed another user. [sic]
"When is the delusion going to end? When are the Democrats going to come out openly and say that the last person on Earth they want as their candidate in Joe Biden?" inquired one more user. [sic]
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.
