Joe Biden says he ‘messed up’ in debate as he fights to save candidacy

Unlock US Election Countdown Newsletter for free

The stories that matter about money and politics in the race for the White House

Joe Biden has said he “made a mistake” during his debate with Donald Trump, but insisted he will press ahead with his re-election bid despite mounting pressure to drop out.

“I had a bad night,” Biden told a local Wisconsin radio station in a pre-taped interview that aired Thursday morning. “And the fact of the matter is, you know, I messed it up. I made a mistake.”

The US president added that he was “going to win this election”, repeating a line he has used often since last week’s disastrous debate: “When you get knocked down, you just get back up”.

At an Independence Day party at the White House later Thursday, a supporter yelled at Biden to “keep fighting.” The president replied, “You got me, man. I’m not going anywhere.”

The interview in Wisconsin marked the beginning of a new bid by Biden to quell a revolt against his candidacy from within his own Democratic party, with lawmakers, party operatives and influential donors fearing the 81-year-old president is unfit to ‘faced Trump or to serve the other four. years in the White House.

Biden is heading into a new weekend for his campaign, with a stop in the swing state of Wisconsin on Friday and a nationally televised interview with ABC News in the evening. He will travel to another battleground state, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.

Biden is said to have quietly admitted to some of his closest allies that he can’t afford to falter in any of the appearances if he wants to regain the trust of his party.

But the New York Times on Thursday reported that the president had told Democratic governors in an emergency meeting at the White House on Wednesday that he needed to sleep more and work fewer hours, including avoiding events after 8 p.m.

Responding to a question from a governor about his health, Biden replied that he was fine, adding, “It’s just my brain.” Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s campaign chairman, confirmed the comment but said the president was “obviously making a joke and then said ‘all jokes aside.’

A senior spokesman for the Biden campaign later released a separate statement: “President Bush went to bed at 9 and President [Barack] Obama had dinner at 6:30. Normal presidents strike a balance, and so does Joe Biden. Hardly the same toughness as Donald Trump, who spends half his day ranting on Social Truth about plans to cause a recession and the other half playing golf,” the statement said without specifying which Bush president.

Governors Tim Walz of Minnesota, Wes Moore of Maryland and Kathy Hochul of New York told reporters at the White House after the meeting that they had Biden’s “back” and the president was “fit for the job.”

Before heading to Wisconsin, the president is expected to spend Thursday at the White House with close family and then host a Fourth of July celebration for military members and veterans. Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden, have both encouraged the president to stay in the race.

The break comes after a dramatic day for the president, with members of his own party calling on him to drop out of the race against Trump and several opinion polls released Wednesday showing a sharp drop in support after the debate, leaving him behind his republican. rival

Several House Democrats are drafting a joint letter calling on the president to end his re-election bid, two people familiar with the matter said.

Walz, Hochul and Moore weren’t the only governors to praise Biden on Wednesday. Several others, including Gavin Newsom of California and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, posted statements of support to the X social media site.

Newsom and Whitmer remain the donors’ favorites to replace Biden. Party insiders also believe the president would support his vice president, Kamala Harris, if she decides to drop out of the race.

Harris, 59, has suffered from low approval ratings as vice president, but opinion polls since the debate suggest she would do better than Biden against Trump.

The vice president told White House staff in a call Wednesday that she was behind Biden. “We will not back down. We will follow the example of our president. We will fight and we will win.”

Trump and his top advisers, who have kept a low profile since last week’s debate, have signaled they expect Harris to replace Biden on the Democratic ticket.

Trump secretly recorded at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, telling people he thought Biden would “resign.” In the video, which went viral late Wednesday, he added: “That means we’re going to have Kamala . . . she is so bad. She is so pathetic. She is very bad.”