Donald Trump claims Joe Biden ‘can’t walk or talk’ as he skips Republican debate
Donald Trump has questioned whether President Joe Biden will be physically capable of running for re-election in 2024 – as he skipped the first Republican debate of the campaign.
The former president made the comments as he took part in a 46-minute interview uploaded to X, formerly known as Twitter, on the same night as eight of his party colleagues clashed on TV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
But Trump said it would not have made sense for him to be involved in the debate, hosted by Fox News, because he was so far ahead in opinion polls in the race to be the Republican Party’s candidate.
Instead, he spent much of the interview lashing out at Biden, who he described as “the worst president in the history of our country”.
Trump, 77, also claimed that Biden, 80, “can’t put two sentences together, can’t speak, can’t walk, can’t talk”.
He added: “I don’t think he gets to the starting gate, but these people do miracles.”
Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump during the interview on X
The former president, who was defeated by Biden in the 2020 presidential election, said his rival was “worse mentally than he is physically – and physically he’s not exactly a triathlete…
Trump added: “You’re waiting for him to collapse and he almost always does.”
But Trump said he would still “love” to run against the current occupant of the White House, who he dubbed “crooked Joe Biden” – similar to the nickname he used for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election campaign.
However, the Republican hopeful is facing four separate sets of criminal charges and it came as his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani surrendered to authorities in Georgia over accusations that he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
But Trump dismissed the various allegations as politically motivated – and said he was confident that “the people see it’s a fraud”.
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‘Why wouldn’t they try and kill you?’
The interview was conducted online by controversial former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who left the US network earlier this year.
During the chat, the presenter suggested Trump could be assassinated by political opponents and asked: “Why wouldn’t they try and kill you?”
Trump replied: “Honestly, they’re savage animals. They are people that are sick, really sick. You have great people in the Democrat Party, you have great people that are Democrats, most of the people in our country are fantastic.
“And I’m representing everybody. I’m not just Republicans. But I represent everybody – the president of everybody. But I’ve seen what they do. I’ve seen the lengths that they go to.”
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Trump on enemies: ‘They’re savage animals’
Meanwhile, Trump was reluctant to agree with Carlson’s suggestion that financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in August 2019, was murdered.
When asked if he thought Epstein had been killed, Trump replied: “It’s possible, [but] I don’t really believe – I think he probably committed suicide…
“But a lot of people think he was killed. He knew a lot on a lot of people.”
But Trump was enthusiastic in lashing out at his Republican rivals, including presidential hopefuls Asa Hutchinson – who he described as “weak and pathetic” – and former ally Chris Christie – who he said was “like a lunatic”.
Explaining his decision not to take part in Wednesday’s debate, he said: “I’m leading by 50, 60 points, and some of them [his opponents] are at one and zero…
“Do I sit there for an hour, two hours, whatever it’s going to be, and get harassed by people that shouldn’t even be running for president?”
He added: “I’m going to have all these people screaming at me, shouting questions at me, all of which I love answering, I love doing, but it doesn’t make sense to do them, so I’ve taken a pass.”
Trump also called for the war in Ukraine to be ended “immediately”.
He claimed: “If I were president, it would never [have] started.”
Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday.
Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida – just miles away from where the US president has this weekend played golf.
The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.
In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: “Make democracy great again.”
Thousands gathered in Washington DC to rally against various Trump policies. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Another protester took aim at Mr Trump‘s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a placard that read: “Stop Putin’s puppets from destroying America.”
Tesla boss Mr Musk also featured on many signs due to his role in controversial government cuts as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Demonstrators in NYC. Pic: AP
People marching in Atlanta, Georgia. Pic: Reuters
A rally in Vermont. Pic: The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist, said she drove to the rally to protest Mr Trump’s policies on “everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education”.
“I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is,” she added.
A drone view of the protest at the Utah State Capitol building. Pic Reuters
A protester sports a Handmaid’s Tale costume. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Some at the various protests carried Ukrainian flags, while others sported rainbow attire and waved rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Other protesters wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and carried “Free Palestine” signs.
Thousands marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan and in Boston, Massachusetts, while hundreds gathered in the sunshine outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, and in the rain outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
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Mr Trump – who shook financial markets with his tariffs announcement this week – spent the day in Florida, playing a round of golf before returning to his Mar-a-Lago residence.
People protest in Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
Activists in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Pic: AP
Some four miles from Mar-a-Lago, more than 400 people gathered – and drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who held up signs including one which read: “Markets tank, Trump golfs.”
The White House has said Mr Trump plans to go golfing again on Sunday.
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