Washington — President Biden travels to the swing state of Wisconsin on Friday for a campaign rally, kicking off a crucial weekend for his reelection bid as he seeks to allay concerns about his fitness for a second term sparked by his surprising debate performance a little over a week ago.
In addition to the campaign event in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday afternoon, Biden will tape an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, which will air in full on Friday night, the network said. The president will also travel to Philadelphia for another campaign event on Sunday, capping the July 4 holiday weekend with a visit to a second key swing state.
The president’s appearances are under renewed scrutiny after his poor showing against former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, in the first general election debate on June 27. Mr. Biden blamed his performance on a busy travel schedule ahead of the showdown with Trump, saying at a campaign event Tuesday that he “almost fell asleep” on stage after making two trips to Europe in June.
In a series of radio interviews on Thursday, Mr Biden admitted he had a “bad debate” and “made a mistake”.
Mr Biden’s campaign and the White House have sought to allay concerns about his lackluster performance by insisting he had a cold and that the debate fiasco was simply a “bad night.” As part of efforts to allay concerns about Mr Biden and his age, he and Vice President Kamala Harris participated in a call with campaign staff on Wednesday, and they met with 20 Democratic governors at the White House later in the evening. Mr. Biden also spoke with Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, as well as other key allies on Capitol Hill.
The president maintained the same message throughout the meeting, according to participants: He is in the race to defeat Trump and will not be ousted.
“I learned from my father that when you get knocked down, you get back up, get back up,” Biden said in a radio interview Thursday on the “Earl Ingram Show,” broadcast in Wisconsin. “And you know we’re going to win this election, we’re going to beat Donald Trump.”
Amid the assurances, two House Democrats openly called Mr. Biden Reps. Lloyd Doggett of Texas and Raul Grijalva of Arizona have both decided to drop out of the presidential race. Others have publicly urged the president to take steps to prove to voters, Democratic lawmakers and party donors that he is fit to run for a second term in the White House.