President Joe Biden on Friday proclaimed he would continue in the presidential race, before telling a crowd in Madison, Wisconsin, that he would beat rival Donald Trump “again in 2020.”
Biden cannot afford to make any mistakes on the campaign trail this weekend after last Thursday’s disastrous debate in Atlanta.
He will also sit down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in Madison for an interview that will air at 8 p.m. ET tonight.
“Well, let me say this as clearly as I can: I’m still in the race,” Biden said at the rally. “I will beat Donald Trump. I will beat him again in 2020. By the way, we’re going to do it again in 2024.”
Biden, using a teleprompter, appeared enthusiastic throughout the 17-minute speech, which was scheduled during his peak performance hours, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. According to Axios.
President Joe Biden on Friday proclaimed he would continue in the presidential race, before telling a crowd in Madison, Wisconsin, that he would beat rival Donald Trump “again in 2020.”
The speech began with Biden asking the crowd if they enjoyed their Fourth of July and then mocking Trump for his Independence Day gaffe.
“By the way, if you’re wondering if Trump has it all together, have you ever heard how he explained the Fourth of July when he was president?” Biden asked. “No, I’m serious. It’s true.”
During Trump’s 2019 Hail to America speech at the Lincoln Memorial, the Republican said George Washington’s Continental Army was successful because it “took over the airports” from the British.
“And they say I misspoke,” said Biden, 81.
“It is true, this man is a stable genius,” the president continued.
He then told the crowd, over and over, that he resisted calls to step aside.
“You’ve probably heard by now that we had a little debate last week,” Biden said. “I can’t say it was my best performance.”
“But since then there’s been a lot of speculation: What is Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out? What is he going to do?” the president continued.
“Well, here’s my answer: I’ll run and I’ll win again,” Biden said.
The president has not publicly wavered about his commitment to staying in the race, while behind the scenes, Democrats are mulling whether they can successfully pressure Biden to consider that option.
As Biden spoke in Wisconsin, The Washington Post reported that Virginia Senator Mark Warner wanted to create a group of Democratic senators to pressure Biden to drop out of the race.
A handful of Democratic House members have already said publicly that Biden should resign.
Biden insisted that his departure would go against the wishes of Democratic voters who supported him during the primaries, in which he faced only self-help guru Marianne Williamson and then Rep. Dean Phillips in a handful of states.
“You voted for me to be your nominee. No one else,” Biden said.
“You’re the voters, that’s what you did. And despite that, some people don’t seem to care who you voted for,” he said. “But guess what? They’re trying to get me out of the race.”
Reaffirming his decision to stay in the race, he added: “I learned a long time ago that when you get knocked down, you get back up.”
“I’m not going to let a 90-minute debate ruin three and a half years of work,” Biden said.