Biden laughs off Trump's attacks on his cognitive ability, tells Trump, voters: 'Watch me'

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/ABC News)

When ABC News anchor David Muir asked Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden about the "blistering attacks we've seen from President Trump this week alone on your mental fitness, whether you're up for the job," Biden laughed. "Watch me. Mr. President, watch me," Biden said, in a joint interview with running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) that aired Sunday night.

"Look at us both, what we say, what we do, what we control, what we know, what kind of shape we're in," Biden said. "Come on. This is, look, I think it's a legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they're fit and whether they're ready. But I just, only thing I can say to the American people, it's a legitimate question to ask anybody. Watch me." Biden, who at 77 is the age Ronald Reagan was when he left office, "absolutely" did not rule out serving two terms if elected and said he "can't wait" to debate Trump.

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Parrying other charges Trump and other Republicans are likely to make at this weeks Republican National Convention, Biden noted he has never proposed to "defund" the police — in fact, "I think they need more help, they need more assistance," he said, pointing at Trump's proposed cuts to local law enforcement in his 2021 budget: "So the only guy that actually put in a bill to actually defund the police is Donald Trump" — and won't raise taxes on "mom and pop" businesses or anyone earning under $400,000 a year.

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Biden also said he wants Harris to be the kind of vice president he was to President Obama. "I want you to be the last person in the room on every major decision," he said. "I know she will not be intimidated by the Oval Office. I know she'll not be reluctant to tell me exactly what she thinks."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.