Video: On CNN, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) Says “I hope Joe Biden didn’t really mean [the ‘God Almighty’ line] and “I will have given it my goodest” Was “not an adequate answer…not a reassurance that Democrats want to hear”

On CNN yesterday, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) had a bunch to say about the situation with President Joe Biden, post-debate, and what might be coming next. See below for video and highlights, including the following. By the way, I’m pretty much exactly at the same place on this topic as Rep. Connolly is at this point: Biden’s been a superb president, but at this point, Democrats need to really ask themselves what the optimal path is going foward to defeat Trump and save our democracy from destruction. The stakes are absolutely that high…

• “…we’re kind of piling on right now. I mean, look at the sycophancy of Fox News with Trump and his acolytes. Do you think they don’t practice the questions and go over the questions before an interview in depth? So I wouldn’t have done this if I were the Biden campaign, but I sure wouldn’t allow this to be overblown, especially when we’re looking at the alternate network Fox, which has become nothing but an intimate part of the Trump campaign.“
• “I think the president gave a good 22 minutes, by and large. But I do think there were some troubling aspects to that interview. One of which is what you cite. You know, invoking God Almighty as the only intervention that is going to dissuade him from going forward, I hope Joe Biden didn’t really mean that. Look, this is a very human process, not a divine process. While we all hope for the blessings of God, politics is a very human business and we have to make some very hard decisions going forward. And so does he. And so interacting with your fellow human beings – your family, your White House staff, the campaign staff, stakeholders, delegates, elected officials, political leaders, the public – that’s what has to happen, not God. And the second troubling aspect was, when asked if you lose to Trump and if there’s this big risk that you could, what will be your take on that? And his answer was, well, I will have given it my goodest. You know, that’s not an adequate answer, and that’s not a reassurance that Democrats want to hear. And Joe Biden can and must do better than that.”
• “I decided that, you know, I wanted to give the president space and the dignity of recovery time. And I’m hopeful that this week and next week provide him that space in that recovery time. We’re going to see him on stage, on television and in rallies at a press conference and of course, at the looming NATO Summit, where 32 heads of state or heads of government are going to be in town. And he’s the host. So he’s going to be on stage a lot and we’ll all have an opportunity. And frankly, the international community will have an opportunity to evaluate what they see and what they experience.”
• “I was hired by Joe Biden to work in the U.S. Senate. I’ve known him for 45 years. I know his family. I’ve been to his home. I wrote speeches for him and bills for him and amendments for him. I traveled with him. This is a man I revere and I am not about to throw him overboard because of a bad experience. I want to give him every  opportunity to try to recover. Having said that, at the end of the day, we cannot afford to make a mistake about Donald Trump. We’ve got to put our best foot forward. And I’m hopeful that’s Joe Biden. I’m open to the fact that, sadly, that might not be. I do believe that what happened at the debate was more than a bad night. And that’s why that image is so indelible in so many minds. And that’s why so much alarm has been raised about what does that mean. And President Biden, the burden is on him to prove, you know, yeah, I stumbled, it was terrible, I had an episode, but I’ve recovered from that.”
• “I’ve never seen Joe Biden in that kind of posture. He clearly was struggling for words and concepts and sentences. That can happen if you’re overly tired. That can happen if you’re ill. But we have to know that that’s what it was and that’s all it was. And, you know, to the president’s credit, he’s trying to rise to the occasion and do that. But he has to be open to the fact that at 81, he is showing his age. And is that such an insurmountable handicap –  and I hope not – that he can’t win the election in November? That’s the real Democratic existential question that’s under underway right now in terms of trying to answer.”
• “I think there are lots of pockets of conversation, and you were right to refer to it as like family therapy. The Democratic family is going through a therapeutic process with the head of our family. How are you? Are you, in fact, up to continuing running the family as we look to the next four years? And you need to kind of demonstrate that. It’s got to be manifest. I think a lot of people are giving the president that space and giving themselves that space to have that evaluation. I will say, calling for him by issuing a statement and calling for him to step aside, I understand what motivates people to do that and why they might do that and the frustration they’re experiencing, and they’re looking at their own districts. But knowing Joe Biden, I guarantee you all that’s going to do is get his back up, it’s not going to achieve the purpose for which those statements were issued.”
• “Certainly, President Biden is very aware of the stakes. You know, he’s in a kind of defensive posture right now. Understandably. The whole world kind of descended on him after that debate. And this is a proud man with an extraordinary record and a history, a personal history of always exceeding expectations. He’s had to overcome all kinds of hurdles and impediments and tragedies in his life to get where he is. He’s not about to be pushed off the stage because some people are disgruntled or or feel that he’s in denial. Having said that, we need a White House to help bridge the denial and the early defensiveness to have a deeper dialog so that we can arrive at the right decision about moving forward and defeating Donald Trump in November. And we’ve got to get to that point. And hopefully time will give us this week that opportunity. And hopefully the White House can move beyond a defensive posture for the president and for the country.”