Adefiant President Joe Biden vowed Friday in Madison to continue his battered campaign against former President Donald Trump, telling supporters gathered at Sherman Middle School that he is the Democratic Party’s nominee and was not going to let others “push me out of the race.”
President Joe Biden speaks at Sherman Middle School in Madison, Wis., Friday, July 5, 2024. SAMANTHA MADAR, STATE JOURNAL
“Let me say this as clearly as I can: I’m staying in the race,” Biden said at the start of a make-or-break series of appearances and interviews aimed at pulling his campaign out of a nosedive since his disastrous debate against Trump last week.
The Madison appearance was to be followed by a prime-time interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that was seen as a significant test on his fitness to run for office. In the interview, he called his debate performance a “bad episode” and said there were “no indications of any serious condition.”
“I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing,” Biden told Stephanopoulos in an excerpt that aired early Friday evening.
