'Biden seems confused': CNN questions president's cognitive health and points out he mixed up COVID-19 tests with antiviral pills in his ABC interview
A CNN corresponded said Wednesday that Joe Biden 'seemed confused' in his ABC News interview earlier this week, when the president appeared to mix up COVID-19 at-home tests and antiviral pills.
Biden, 79, spoke to ABC's David Muir for 20 minutes in an interview that aired on Wednesday and defended his administration against criticism of its handling of the pandemic and readiness for the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, but also admitting that there were certain mistakes made.
When asked about complaints that the lines to get tested for COVID-19 were excessive, with waits of over five hours in New York City as one example, Biden said that 500 million at-home tests had been ordered.
But several times he referred to the tests as 'pills' - potentially thinking of the Pfizer antiviral pills, which were federally approved on the same day.
'Repeatedly throughout this interview - President Biden seems confused and was confusing the half a billion tests that they've ordered with a half a billion pills,' said Jeff Zeleny, CNN's chief national affairs correspondent.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny - pictured on a panel on Wednesday night alongside Gloria Borger and John Kasich, in a discussion with Wolf Blitzer (left) - said Biden 'seemed confused' in his Wednesday night interview
President Joe Biden said in an interview that aired on ABC News Wednesday evening that his administration's response to the pandemic has not 'been good enough'
'Of course, pills were in the news today with the Pfizer approval of the anti-viral, so he corrected himself, but that was one thing that stuck out to me.'
Zeleny, appearing on Wolf Blitzer's show on Wednesday afternoon, accused Biden of 'really not accepting any responsibility' for the lack of testing.
Biden, asked whether the administration should not have seen Omicron coming and prepared accordingly, said 'nobody saw it coming'.
Defiant, the president said they were doing the best they could.
Zeleny said it was not enough.
'Simply, this administration, and the president leading the charge here, really not accepting any responsibility at all for this lack of testing,' Zeleny said.
'We've seen these images across the country, long lines, just the inability to get tests.
'And yes, Omicron came on very quickly here, but it has been almost a month since Thanksgiving where they knew this was coming.
'So he said he wishes he could have acted faster, and then explains why he didn't.'
Zeleny also pointed out that he has not received detailed information regarding the delivery of the 500 million tests that Biden promised.
'But the question also is: The at-home tests for January - there is no sense from the administration that they will be sent out in early January, as the president suggested in this interview,' Zeleny concluded.
In the interview on Wednesday, Biden was asked how the administration had failed to see Omicron coming, and laughed.
Lines of people wait for their COVID tests in Queens, New York City, on Thursday
Biden sat down with ABC's David Muir at the White House in an interview that aired three days before Christmas to discuss a range of issues – including the lack of testing kits around the country as COVID surges and American travel for the holidays
Massive lines have formed around the country for Americans to receive free at-home rapid COVID testing kits ahead of the holidays. Pictured: City residents wait in line in Philadelphia for their kits on Monday
People line up to await the opening of a CityMD health clinic as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in Manhattan, New York City on Saturday
A huge line forms at the Barclays Center Saturday as demand for COVID testing soars in New York City
'How did we get it wrong?' the president responded. 'Nobody saw it coming. Nobody in the whole world. Who saw it coming?'
Host David Muir replied: 'Did the administration not expect that there could be moments like this one where you'd have a highly transmissible variant around the corner?'
Biden said: 'It was possible, and it's possible there could be other variants that come along.
'That's possible.
'But what do you plan for? You plan for what you think is available.
'That is the most likely threat that exists at the time and you respond to it. And I think that that's exactly what we've done.
'And that's - for example, Omicron is spreading rapidly, but the death rates are much, much lower than they were.
'This is not March of 2020. This is a very different time that we're in now.'
Omicron first emerged in Botswana, and then spread quickly through South Africa before being found in Europe - particularly the U.K. and the Netherlands.
The new variant - the latest to be considered by the World Health Organization an official variant of concern - is scything its way through the United States, and is on track to overtake Delta.
Omicron has 30 mutations, and appears to be significantly more transmissible than Delta - which was already remarkably virulent. What is not known yet is whether Omicron is more deadly.
'Omicron only really came on the scene just before Thanksgiving. We weren't talking about Omicron six months ago,' said Biden.
'But it's just recent.
'And so we are chasing Omicron.
'But the fact of the matter is, you're chasing whatever comes on the scene that hadn't, wasn't there before, and this wasn't there this last summer for example.'
Muir pressed Biden on whether the administration had failed the American people.
'We're nearly two years into this pandemic, you're a year into the presidency. Empty shelves and no test kits in some places – three days before Christmas when it's so important. Is that good enough?' Muir asked the president, in an interview that aired on Wednesday evening.
'No, nothing's been good enough,' Biden replied.
'But look, look where we are,' he added of the progress.
'Last Christmas we were in a situation where we had significantly fewer people vaccinated, emergency rooms were filled, we had serious backups in hospitals that were causing great difficulties.
'We're in a situation now where we have 200 million people fully vaccinated. And we have more than that who have had at least one shot – and we're getting these booster shots, as well.'
Asked if it was a failure of his administration, Biden replied: 'I don't think it's a failure.'
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December 24, 2021
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