MADISON, Wisconsin
\nPresident Joe Biden on Friday battled to put down an uprising among some Democrats pushing him to abandon his reelection campaign after a poor debate performance, vowing that \u201cI\u2019m staying in the race.\u201d
\nIn a fiery speech to supporters in Wisconsin and in an ABC News interview, Biden argued he is the best Democratic candidate to prevent Republican Donald Trump from regaining the White House in the Nov. 5 election.
\nBiden\u2019s halting performance at his debate with Trump on June 27 raised serious concerns among some Democrats about his mental acuity and stamina at age 81.
\nThere is a movement afoot in the party to persuade him to step aside, with critics warning he faces near-certain defeat and could drag other Democrats down with him. House Democrats and a group of senators are expected to convene on the topic when they return to Washington next week.
\nSome public opinion polls have shown Trump widening a lead since the debate, and a Reuters\/Ipsos poll found that one in three Democrats want Biden to quit the race.
\nBiden rejected the movement on Friday.
\n\u201cWe had a little debate last week. Can\u2019t say it was my best performance. But ever since then there\u2019s been a lot of speculation. \u2018What\u2019s Joe gonna do? Is he gonna stay in the race? Is he gonna drop out?\u201d Biden said. \u201cWell here\u2019s my answer: I am running and gonna win again.\u201d
\nBiden used a 22-minute ABC News interview to argue again that he simply had a bad night at the debate but was otherwise fine.
\nUnder persistent questioning from ABC interviewer George Stephanopoulos, Biden dismissed polls that showed him trailing Trump and said other polls have him in a better position.
\nAsked if he had undergone a specific cognitive test for a neurological exam, Biden said he had not had one and \u201cno one said I had to.\u201d The rigors of the White House are sufficient, he said.
\nIn his last physical exam on Feb. 28 he was determined to be fit for duty.
\nBiden added he was the best candidate to take on Trump and that only \u201cLord almighty\u201d could oust him from the race.
\nBiden\u2019s latest efforts to convince Democrats to stick with him were dismissed by some, although he seemed determined to fight on.
\n\u201cHe seems not to be able to compute the fact that people have these questions about him,\u201d Democratic strategist David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, told CNN.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s pretty clear that he\u2019s not going anywhere unless there\u2019s a major revolt on the Hill,\u201d a senior Democratic National Committee official told Reuters.
\nSenator Mark Warner, a well-respected moderate Democrat, is inviting Democratic senators to a meeting on Monday to discuss Biden\u2019s campaign, a source told Reuters. The Washington Post reported Warner was seeking to ask the group to press Biden to exit the race.
\nBiden told reporters he had spoken to at least 20 lawmakers and that they were telling him to stay. Asked about Warner\u2019s call for him to go, Biden said: \u201cWell, Mark Warner, to my understanding, is the only one considering that.\u201d
\nAt the rally, Biden said he was thankful for the support of his vice president, Kamala Harris, who has emerged as a top choice to replace him were he to step aside as the Democratic Party\u2019s standard-bearer.
\nOne person at the Madison rally held up a sign behind Biden that said, \u201cPass the torch, Joe.\u201d
\nHarris posted a supportive note on X after the rally, saying Biden had devoted his life to fighting for Americans. \u201cIn this moment, I know all of us are ready to fight for him,\u201d she said.
\nBut Illinois Democratic Representative Mike Quigley, on MSNBC, called on Biden to step aside and \u201clet someone else do this\u201d or risk \u201cutter catastrophe.\u201d
\nIn his appearances on Friday, Biden knocked Trump\u2019s intelligence and called him a liar, delivering stinging attacks that were absent when he appeared on the Atlanta debate stage.
\nBut he had sharper words for those in his party who doubt his ability to lead them to victory on Nov. 5.
\n\u201cThey\u2019re trying to push me out of the race. Well let me say this as clearly as I can: I\u2019m staying in the race! I\u2019ll beat Donald Trump. I will beat him again in 2020,\u201d Biden said, getting the year wrong. He followed up by saying: \u201cAnd by the way we\u2019re going to do it again in 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MADISON, Wisconsin President Joe Biden on Friday battled to put down an uprising among some Democrats pushing him to abandon his reelection campaign after a poor debate performance, vowing that \u201cI\u2019m staying in the race.\u201d In a fiery speech to supporters in Wisconsin and in an ABC News interview, Biden argued he is the best […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416919,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-416901","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n