Joe Biden Faces Backlash for Saying He Doesn't 'Think' He Watched Debate

President Joe Biden is facing backlash on social media after stating he doesn't "think" he has watched last week's presidential debate following his poor performance.

On Friday night, ABC News aired a two-minute clip of the president's primetime interview with George Stephanopoulos—Biden's first interview after his poor performance in the first presidential debate against former President Donald Trump last Thursday.

In the brief clip, Stephanopoulos asks Biden, "Did you watch the debate afterwards?" The president responds, "I don't think I did, no."

Biden went on to explain to Stephanopoulos about how he prepared for the debate.

Biden's reply in the clip was met with backlash on social media.

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung posted on X, formerly Twitter, "How the hell do you not know if you re-watched the debate?"

Media personality Tommy Stallings, posting from the @Used_To_Be_GOP X account said, "'I don't think I did,' is as bad of an answer as he's going to stop doing events after 8:00 PM - for God's sakes - he's the President of the United States - a 24/7 job. And if you can't remember if you watched the worst debate performance in living modern history, you don't deserve the job."

Publicist Diane Mantouvalos said on X, "This should have been an anticipated question, to which he could have answered: I've seen clips. Or: Not in its entirety, but enough to understand people's concern. Also, if he didn't watch, that in itself is reckless. A conscientious exec would take an hour or two to assess performance. What does he do all day? Bananas."

Newsweek emailed the Biden campaign for comment Friday night.

Biden is facing a potentially "critical" moment with Friday's TV interview with ABC News, a professor told Newsweek on Friday.

During last week's debate with Trump, Biden gave a series of incoherent and confusing responses and appeared to trail off at times without finishing his sentences. A Biden aide, meanwhile, previously told Newsweek that the president was battling a cold. However, since then, the president has received calls from those within the Democratic Party to end his reelection bid. Meanwhile, his odds of victory against Trump have also slumped, according to bookmakers.

Speaking to Newsweek via phone on Friday, Scott Lucas, a professor in international politics at University College Dublin, said the TV interview, as well as upcoming rallies, were "critical" for Biden's chances of staying in the contest. Biden held a campaign rally in Wisconsin, a swing state, on Friday.

"The next 72 hours are critical, perhaps decisive for whether Joe Biden stays in the campaign until November," Lucas said. "Tonight's interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC in prime time, the rally today in the swing state of Wisconsin, the rally on Sunday in the swing state of Pennsylvania, Democratic strategists, activists, donors, politicians will be looking at how Biden performs and they'll be going over private polling on whether Biden has a chance at beating Donald Trump in November."

This is a developing news story and will be updated with more information.