USA's President Joe Biden admits that it was a mistake to use the word "bullseye" in a call to scrutinize Donald Trump.
In the same interview, Biden says that his mental sharpness is "damn good".
After Saturday's assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Joe Biden has repeatedly called for unity. The heated tone in the election campaign needs to be cooled down, the President believes.
At the same time, he himself has been criticized by Republicans for how he, according to media reports, expressed himself before the assassination attempt took place.
I have a job, and that is to beat Donald Trump. I am completely sure that I am the best person who can do it. So we have talked enough about the debate. It's time to put Trump in "bullseye", said Biden in the conversation, according to Politico.
Bullseye, the inner circle on a dartboard.
"Focus on him"
In an interview with NBC News, Biden admits that the expression was a mistake – but that it was taken out of context and misinterpreted.
I meant focus on him. Focus on what he does, focus on his politics, focus on the number of lies he told in the debate, says Biden.
The President emphasizes that it is Trump's normalization of violent rhetoric that is the problem.
I'm not the guy who said I want to be a dictator on day one, I'm not the guy who refused to accept the election result, said Biden.
On the question of whether his word choice may have risked inciting people with violent capital, Biden says that one must be able to talk about things.
How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says such things? Should you just be silent then because it risks inciting someone?
Stands firm
In the same interview, Biden defends his decision to stand firm on his candidacy ahead of the autumn's presidential election – despite the severe criticism he has received after the debate against Trump at the end of June.
Firstly: I'm old, but I'm only three years older than Trump. And secondly: my mental sharpness is damn good, says the President.
The two presidential candidates will meet in another TV-broadcast debate in September, and Biden says that he "does not plan to perform at the same level" as in the previous debate.
