Joe Biden’s high-stakes interview fails to quell doubts about re-election fitness

Joe Biden dismissed his halting debate performance as just a “bad episode” on Friday, as the US president tried to quell growing calls to suspend his re-election campaign and allow another Democrat to run in his place.

But Biden’s answers in a high-stakes primetime interview — his first since last week’s debate sparked panic in the Democratic party — did little to reassure fellow Democrats who want the 81-year-old president to step aside before November’s presidential election.