Biden says only the 'Lord Almighty' can convince him to drop out as calls from Democrats intensify

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With President Biden's decidedly lacking debate performance and subsequent polling downturn, what was an already difficult fight to preserve a Democratic majority in the Senate could be reliant on a resurgence of voters willing to select candidates of different parties for various positions.

Democrats face a particularly difficult Senate election map, with multiple incumbents in swing states seeking another term. They also only have a remarkably slim 51-49 majority over their Republican counterparts, who enjoy a much more favorable map this cycle.

"If a candidate feels like the presidential candidate is going to lose his or her state, naturally they have to figure out ways to create distance between themselves and the presidential candidate," said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

According to data compiled by the center, split-ticket voting across the presidency and the Senate was most popular in the 1970s and 1980s and more often benefited Democrats, who have been able to frequently score Senate seats in states where Republican presidents won. But the practice has been declining in recent decades.

Per Kondik, this downward trend could make things harder for vulnerable Democrats in the current environment.

Fox News' Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

AP

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, a Democrat, said Saturday that President Biden could make a decision within days on whether he stays in the presidential election race to seek a second term.

This comes after Green participated in a recent meeting with Biden and nearly two dozen fellow Democrat governors amid concerns about the president's re-election campaign, following the president's shaky debate performance last month against former President Trump.

"I think the president stays in this race unless he feels that it is not winnable, or he feels that he has to hear other voices in his inner circle that he shouldn't run," Green, whose family has known the president for years, said in an interview with The Associated Press. "If the president felt that he wasn't up to it and truly not up to it, he would step down."

"We'll probably know in the next couple of days how the president feels about all this," he added.

Green said he believes Biden should be allowed to pick who should replace him on the ticket if he were to exit the race and that the president would likely designate Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement.

"I think it’s very clear that the Democratic Party would be ecstatic overall to have the president designate his vice president if it came to that," Green said.

Harris "is a powerful person, she is also a thought-leading woman, she’s an African American who was [California's] attorney general," Green said. "There are no credentials that are better than what the current vice president has."

Biden, 81, has repeatedly insisted over the past week and a half that he will remain in the race, including in an interview with ABC News that aired Friday night.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, said Democrats should have addressed President Biden's cognitive ability long before now, as the president is facing pressure from his own party to drop out of the presidential race.

McCarthy made the comments Saturday when speaking to host Brian Kilmeade on Fox News' "One Nation."

"They have no place to go," McCarthy said. "This was a question that should have been answered a year ago. But they all went along with the joke, especially Kamala Harris. She covered up time and again. Any time someone attacked his intellect or his ability to remember, they said it was a political attack ... So the real problem here is not only did the Democrats who work around him know it and keep it, and all the Democrat leaders, but also those who are raising money for that, told people to give that he's okay, that they've been around him, but privately would tell people he forgets my name."

McCarthy was asked what he believes would happen if Biden decided to stay in the race in the event that officials tell him he is not well enough to run for re-election.

"You know, I've been in meetings with them in there, too, and they never said anything to him," McCarthy said. "When I challenged them, they stayed quiet. They backed this president up knowing he wasn't all there. They have done the same thing. Those aren't the strong enough leaders to remove Joe Biden. Joe Biden is the only one who's going to make that decision. But it really comes down to Obama, Clyburn and Pelosi, I think, are the only people that maybe he would listen to."

The former Speaker also described concerns over Biden's re-election as Democrats' Watergate.

"The problem here is the Democrats," McCarthy said. "This is their Watergate moment. Who knew it? And when I've been talking about this for more than a year with my interactions with this president. And Brian, remember, I have worked with four different presidents, two Republicans and two Democrats. I know what it is like to have a real moving Oval Office, that you really feel that you're at the center of power of the world."

With Biden, "you never felt that way," he added. "I knew that you could have an advantage over him in negotiations like we did in the debt ceiling, getting 2 trillion in cuts, getting welfare reform. You disrupt him. He can't negotiate without his cards. But you know what? They have known this entire time that I knew as well. Because we see proof of it. What did they do? They went along with his crazy ideas of keeping the border open. But also they ... changed the entire system to run for re-election. They made South Carolina the first state. They wouldn't allow people to challenge them. And you know what's interesting, Brian? President Trump is not leading because Joe Biden is doing bad. President Trump is leading because he has earned it."

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Top Democratic congressional leaders are planning to hold a meeting to discuss President Biden's fledgling re-election campaign, even as Biden himself has struck a defiant tone amid calls to drop out of the race.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is leading a virtual meeting with top Democrats on Sunday, with leaders expected to discuss the path forward for Biden's campaign, according to an NBC News report that has been confirmed by Fox News.

The meeting will feature Jeffries and top committee Democrats, a person familiar with the arrangement told Fox News, but will not be a meeting of the full Democratic caucus.

The meeting comes after Biden's 22-minute interview with ABC News on Friday, which the Biden campaign hoped would ease fears that the president doesn't have what it takes to continue the campaign and defeat former President Donald Trump in December. Instead, the interview set off a new round of fears among Democrats who were already concerned by Biden's disastrous debate performance last week.

"Look, Biden looked better and certainly more coherent than he looked during the debate, but there's nothing in this interview that is calming the nerves of jittery Democrats who fear that Joe Biden is on a trajectory to lose this race, to lose to Donald Trump," ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl said after the interview.

Biden, however, struck a defiant tone, saying at one point that he would not drop out unless "the Lord Almighty were to come down and say, ‘Joe, get outta the race.'"

But Democrats, many of whom have expressed fears a lackluster performance by Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket and cost the party Congressional seats, are seemingly not persuaded.

Fox News' Michael Lee contributed to this report.

President Biden made a gaffe at the White House Fourth of July barbecue Thursday, claiming to have been 'in and out of battles' to military service members and their families. (Getty Images)

President Biden claimed Thursday he's been "in and out of battles," while addressing an audience of military service members and their families at Thursday's White House Fourth of July Barbecue. 

"And by the way, I've been all over the world with you. I've been in and out of battles," the president, who never served in the military, though as Commander-in-Chief, met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine in February 2023 and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in October 2023.

It's not the first time Biden has come under fire for remarks to military service members.

In 2019, Biden was criticized for conflating and misrepresenting war stories after the Washington Post exposed a "moving but false war story" told on the campaign trail. Biden, then the former vice president and candidate for president, later defended what he said, saying the "central point" was accurate. 

Veterans 4 America First Institute, a nonprofit veterans' group, responded to Biden's Fourth of July claims in an interview with Fox News Digital.

Click here to read more.

Jasmine Baehr of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.

President Biden and David Axelrod (Left:  Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Right:  (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images))

Former Obama adviser David Axelrod called out President Biden for his post-debate interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos and accused him of "denial, delusion and defiance."

"Biden could be excused for wanting to put his awful debate performance in the rear view mirror. That was his purpose Friday in sitting down for the interview —  to try and quell the panic that has gripped the Democratic Party," Axelrod wrote in a CNN op-ed. "He didn’t succeed."

Biden told Stephanopoulos on Friday that he was the best person to beat Donald Trump in November and that he would only drop out if the "Lord Almighty" came down and told him to. 

The political operative wrote, "Denial. Delusion. Defiance." The headline to the piece read, "Biden’s defiant delusion." 

"The stakes are as great as Biden describes. And if he believes it, as I think he does, he will eventually do what duty and love of country requires, and step aside," Axelrod said. 

"If he does not, it will be Biden’s age, and not Trump’s moral and ethical void, that will dominate the rest of this most important campaign and sully the president’s historic legacy," Axelrod wrote.

Click here to read more.

Fox News’ Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

President Biden clashed with several reporters during a press conference following the damning report released by Special Counsel Robert Hur on Feb. 8, 2024. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

For the first time in months, President Biden will hold a solo press conference on the heels of the NATO summit on Thursday, White House officials told Fox News Digital.

Oftentimes, Biden is only seen speaking to crowds while reading from a teleprompter and blundering the message being fed.

As such, concerns have surfaced that the president is completely scripted and lacks the ability to speak for himself.

During a press briefing last Wednesday, one reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre if there are so many questions about whether the President can do his job, why he was not out in public daily, speaking without teleprompters.

Jean-Pierre told the reporter it was not unusual to see a president using a teleprompter, adding in the coming days he would be participating in interviews with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos and others, which are “not scripted.”

Jean-Pierre was pressed further, though, and asked why Biden does not walk into the briefing room and answer all the questions from reporters.

After dodging the question and tossing crumbs about the President speaking with supporters at a Waffle House in Atlanta, Jean-Pierre told reporters Biden would be holding a “big boy” press conference next week.

“He’ll have a press conference, next week, at a NATO press conference, a big boy press conference, as Justin from Bloomberg stated yesterday,” Jean-Pierre said. “So, we’ll do that, and he’s looking forward to it.”

On Friday, Jean-Pierre was asked about the press conference again during a gaggle on Air Force One.

“We’ll have more to share as we get closer to it, but there will be a press conference. A full blown press conference,” she said.

White House officials told Fox News Digital that the press conference will be held on Thursday.

At a press conference on Feb. 8, 2024, Biden took a barrage of questions from reporters over his age and memory, following a report from Special Counsel Robert Hur on the president’s handling of classified documents. While responding to the claims in Hur’s report that the president did not remember when his son Beau died, Biden appeared visibly angered.

After the press conference, Axios wrote that Biden’s performance was a nightmare for his staff.

Fox News Digital's Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.

Radio host Andrea Lawful Sanders reveals on CNN that the Biden campaign sent questions before the interview. (Screenshot/CNN)

Radio host Andrea Lawful-Sanders, who interviewed President Biden for an interview that aired on Thursday, revealed during an interview on CNN that the president's team provided a list of questions to approve prior to the interview.

CNN host Victor Blackwell said Saturday he listened to both interviews and said the questions were "essentially the same" in both. Biden spoke to Sanders who hosts "The Source" on WURD in Philadelphia, and Earl Ingram, who hosts "The Earl Ingram Show" on WMCS in Milwaukee.

"The questions were sent to me for approval. I approved them," Sanders said.

Blackwell noted the questions during both appearances were about his accomplishments, debate performance, progress in both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, what's at stake in the election, and what he would say to voters who are considering not voting in the presidential election.

Blackwell followed up, "So the White House sent the questions to you ahead of the interview?"

"Yes, I got several questions, eight of them, and the four that were chosen were the ones that I approved," Sanders continued.

Click here to read more.

Fox News' Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks during an event on the South Lawn of the White House August 5, 2021 in Washington, DC.

President Biden's White House staff is the largest since former President Richard Nixon's and has seen a turnover rate of 77% since he took office in 2021.

The White House boasts 565 staffers at a price tag of nearly $61 million, a slight increase from the record-setting 560 staffers Biden had his first year in office, according to a report from Open the Books.

Biden is the first president to boast over 500 staffers since Nixon, the report noted, a staff that was so big that Time magazine declared in 1971 that it was growing with "startling rapidity."

First Lady Jill Biden's staff has ballooned to 24 in 2024, matching the often-criticized count of former First Lady Michelle Obama's staff in 2009 and more than doubling the number on hand for former First Lady Melania Trump, which maxed out at 11.

The first lady's staff, which includes advisers in foreign policy, education and healthcare, comes in at a price tag of $2.5 million, the report notes.

The staff employed by President Biden far outstrips the number on hand at the same time in the presidencies of his immediate predecessors, with former President Donald Trump employing a staff of 413 in Fiscal Year 2020, and former President Barack Obama boasting a staff of 468 in Fiscal Year 2012.

Meanwhile, the president's current payroll of $60.8 million also outstrips the highs seen under both Trump and Obama, with Obama's highest payroll coming in at an inflation-adjusted $58.3 million, and Trump's at an inflation-adjusted $52.2 million.

Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., defended President Biden on Saturday after five of his House colleagues called on the president to step aside from the Democratic nomination in 2024. 

Appearing on "Fox News Live," Garamendi urged Democrats to "not get in a panic" over Biden's debate performance and to "slow" the "feeding frenzy" targeting Biden.

"Slow down. Take a deep breath. Let's take a look at what this president has done and also what he has managed to do since that debate," Garamendi said.

The California lawmaker acknowledged that Biden had a "bad debate" but said he was much improved in the interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos. 

"All of his interviews that I've seen over the years are understated. He speaks softly in these interviews. He's not boisterous, he's not outlandish, but he comes forward very clearly. And he was very clear that not only what he has done in the past, but also, he pointed out what his opponent is going to ask him," Garamendi said of Biden.

"He has the capability of campaigning as well as being president simultaneously," he added. 

Democratic pollster Doug Schoen called on President Biden to prove he's capable to take on former President Trump by accepting Trump's challenge to debate again "anytime" as soon as possible. 

"He has to do a cognitive test right away, independent doctors and release it. I also think he should take Donald Trump and his campaign up on his invitation to debate any time. If Joe Biden wants to prove that he is up to the job, he should debate Trump in the next week or so, as Trump has offered to do," Schoen said Friday on "The Ingraham Angle." 

Schoen also said it would be best for Democrats if Biden exits the race. 

"I also believe that the kind of gaffes Biden is making, and his indecision and uncertainty makes it very clear he should get out quickly. We Democrats need an open, transparent mini primary so that the best man or woman wins it. Will it create excitement in the electorate? It will galvanize a convention into a real process. And it's really the only way my party can have a new candidate with a new message."

Fox News Chief Legal Correspondent Shannon Bream noted that ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos pressed President Biden hard on several uncomfortable questions in a make or break interview on Friday.

"He said a number of times, are you sure you're being honest with yourself about your ability to beat President Trump? Are you sure you're being honest with yourself about the stamina you need for another four years of this? And when President Biden would say, 'yes, of course I'm going to beat him, I feel good about it,' he would, he repeatedly came back to him with poll numbers, with all kinds of battleground swing states with approval ratings and said, 'are you being honest with yourself?'" Bream said on "Jesse Watters Primetime." 

"The president kept saying, 'we don't believe those polls. They don't match up with our polls.' But it was really uncomfortable at points and stuff. Stephanopoulos did press him on a lot of really uncomfortable questions." 

Polling expert Nate Silver is calling for President Biden to step down following his Friday night ABC News interview. 

The 22-minute interview with George Stephanopoulos was intended to calm the president's critics following his disastrous debate performance last month — but Silver claimed the back-and-forth made him look even worse.

"This is a pretty incoherent answer including a non-sequitur [complaining] about a New York Times poll, which he incorrectly claims had him down 10 points before the debate (it was actually 3 or 4 points, depending on which version you look at)," Silver said about a clip of Biden describing how he felt throughout the debate.

Silver — who had written a morning column about Biden's campaign earlier that Friday — claimed he had "wimped out" and deleted a line urging the president to begin transitioning the campaign to Vice President Kamala Harris.

But the pollster said that following the ABC interview, he believed it was time to begin preparations for a new candidate.

"I wimped out in today’s column and deleted a line saying he should formulate a plan to transition the presidency to Harris within 30-60 days, but I’m there now," Silver said. "Something is clearly wrong here."

Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at Historic Greenbrier Farms in Chesapeake, Virginia, US, on Friday, June 28, 2024. (Parker Michels-Boyce/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Former President Trump on Saturday called on his 2024 rival President Biden to ignore his critics and stay in the presidential race, though Trump was hardly sincere. 

"Crooked Joe Biden should ignore his many critics and move forward, with alacrity and strength, with his powerful and far reaching campaign," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "He should be sharp, precise, and energetic, just like he was in The Debate, in selling his policies of Open Borders (where millions of people, including record numbers of Terrorists, are allowed to enter our Country, from prisons and mental institutions, totally unchecked and unvetted!), to Ending Social Security, Men playing in Women’s sports, High Taxes, High Interest Rates, encouraging a Woke Military, Uncontrollable Inflation, Record Setting Crime, Only Electric Vehicles, Subservience to China and other Countries, Endless Wars, putting America Last, losing our Dollar Based Standard, and so much more. Yes, Sleepy Joe should continue his campaign of American Destruction and, MAKE CHINA GREAT AGAIN!" 

"Concern trolling" is he action or practice of disingenuously expressing concern about an issue in order to undermine or derail genuine discussion.

President Biden was mocked online after yet another high profile gaffe on Friday, declaring he would beat Trump "again in 2020."

After his widely panned performance in last week’s presidential debate, Biden campaigned in the key battleground state of Wisconsin, where he doubled down on his commitment to remain in the race.

"You probably heard that I had a little debate last week. Can't say it is my best performance, but ever since then, there's been a lot of speculation, 'What's Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out, what's he going to do?' Well, here's my answer," Biden said. "I am running and gonna win again!"

While Biden praised the Wisconsin audience for having helped him win the election in 2020, he said there are some who are trying to push him out of the race. 

"Let me say this as clearly as I can, I am staying in the race. I’ll beat Donald Trump, I will beat him again in 2020," he said.

After a long pause, he added, "Oh, and by the way, we’re gonna do it again in 2024!"

Fox News Digital's Alexander Hall contributed to this update.

But social media caught on very quickly to his verbal gaffe, and the footage of it went viral on X.

Former Trump campaign operative Steve Cortes wrote, "Joe Biden has no clue what year it is."

"He’s reading from a teleprompter, it’s in his wake window, he has the biggest drug boost he can get, and his brain is still completely gone," OutKick writer Ian Miller posted. "Amazing."

"You know things have gotten desperate when a candidate adds time travel to his list of campaign promises," Pasadena City College philosophy professor Edward Feser joked.

Former Obama adviser and CNN political analyst David Axelrod gave a bad review of President Biden's ABC interview, calling the Friday program "sad to watch." 

“When George Stephanopoulos asked him if he’d be willing to take a cognitive test, he said, ‘I take a cognitive test every day.’ Well, the fact is, that may be true, but 75% of the American people think he fails,” Axelrod said on a post-interview panel on CNN.

Biden on Friday rejected calls from Democratic officials to step aside from the party's presidential nomination, saying only the "Lord Almighty" could convince him not to run against Trump. Axelrod said Biden must be confronted with the reality of how he's polling against Trump.

“And some somebody really needs to be honest with him about it. It’s not, it can’t be the good Lord, but it should be people who love and care for him and his closest advisers, his portrait of where he is in this race doesn’t comport with reality,” Axelrod said.

US President Joe Biden walks to deliver remarks on the Supreme Court's immunity ruling at the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC on July 1, 2024. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

A top neurologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center met with President Biden's physician at the White House earlier this year, White House records show.

Dr. Kevin Cannard, a Parkinson's disease expert, met with Dr. Kevin O'Connor and two others at the White House residence clinic on Jan. 17, records first reported by the New York Post show. The report comes as the 81-year-old president faces increased scrutiny over his age and mental acuity in the wake of a halting and stumbling debate performance on June 27 in Atlanta. 

Dr. John E. Atwood, a cardiologist are Walter Reed, also attended the 5 p.m. meeting, according to White House visitor logs. 

The fourth person in attendance has not been identified. The meeting happened on the same day Biden was at the White House and hosted House and Senate leaders to discuss Ukraine funding, the president's schedule shows. 

O'Connor said Biden was "fit to serve" as president after performing a physical examination in February. 

"President Biden remains a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency," the physician said at the time. 

Biden's physical included a neurological exam which specifically ruled out Parkinson's disease, O'Connor said. 

Reached for comment, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said: "A wide variety of specialists from the Walter Reed system visit the White House complex to treat the thousands of military personnel who work on the grounds."

In a special edition of "The Ingraham Angle," Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz took President Biden to task for failing to remember if he watched a tape of the CNN Presidential Debate in his interview on ABC.

"If the president thinks it's going to squelch the concerns about his mental and physical, prowess, it—that isn't going to do it," Chaffetz said, reviewing Biden's interview in his opening monologue. 

Biden told ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos that he had a "bad night" on the debate stage, but vowed to keep running for re-election even as Democratic Party officials and editorial writers have urged him to step aside in favor of a younger, more capable candidate.

"He can't even remember if he watched a tape of his own debate? He wasn't quite sure? And after six plus days, he's there at Camp David taking all this rest, and then says, 'oh, he has a cold.' Then why'd you go to the Waffle House afterwards and start spreading that cold to everybody? This is not going to do a single thing to assuage any concerns," Chaffetz said. 

Republican National Committee spokeswoman Elizabeth Pipko said that White House handlers have lied to the American people about President Biden's mental condition and fitness for office in an interview Friday on "The Ingraham Angle." 

"Honestly, my heart goes out, not just to Joe Biden, who is clearly not fit for this job or for running for president, my heart goes out to the American people, right? I mean, they're watching this, learning that they've been lied to for nearly four years now by this administration, by Joe Biden, and by their Democrat leaders. They're learning that they're actually not the priority, right, for the next four months. We know that the priority is going to be beating Donald Trump, not serving the American people," Pipko said. 

Pipko made those comments after Biden sat down for an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos that focused on the president's mental acuity and capability to beat Trump in the wake of his disastrous debate performance and calls from Democrats that Biden step aside. 

A new article from liberal outlet The Atlantic called on President Biden to abandon his re-election campaign and resign from office for the sake of saving American democracy.

The piece, written by Atlantic staff writer Adam Serwer on Wednesday, demanded that Biden abdicate his office, making Vice President Kamala Harris president, as the recent debate raised questions about his mental decline.

"Biden must resign … to give American democracy its best chance of surviving," Serwer wrote.

Like many other media pieces criticizing Biden’s June 27 debate performance against former President Trump, Serwer argued that it "confirmed that he has aged dramatically over the past four years."

"Biden was very old to begin with, and at the debate he appeared far more visibly diminished than he has in the past," he wrote. Serwer acknowledged that it may have just been a bad night, but said Biden’s team hasn't dismissed those concerns.

"Now, perhaps it really was just a bad night, and Biden remains as sharp as he was in 2020. If that’s the case, then he should be able to make the kind of public appearances necessary to quell these complaints. If he proves himself capable of doing so, I’ll happily acknowledge error. But after a week of disastrous coverage about his mental fitness, he has not. That is unavoidably ominous."

Serwer added that Biden’s debate was the one chance to calm "fears about his age rather than confirming them," especially since he’s been "behind in the polls prior to the debate."

Fox News Digital's Gabriel Hays contributed to this update.

House Republicans are already sharpening their attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris as public discussions swell over whether she will replace President Biden at the top of Democrats' 2024 ticket.

GOP lawmakers — in both safe red seats and swing districts being targeted by the left — dismissed Harris as a political threat to their chances in November, arguing she's still tied to the same progressive Biden policies they believe are unpopular with voters.

Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., who served as longtime chair of the New York Republican Party before coming to Congress, told Fox News Digital, "Kamala Harris is just as responsible for this administration's failures, but she's more incompetent."

"She will make no difference to the outcome. President Trump will be our 47th," he said.

A swing-seat Republican who asked not to be named told Fox News Digital they were skeptical Harris would do better on the debate stage than Biden. 

"I would say she's the weakest part of the ticket right now, as bad as Biden is," that GOP lawmaker said.

"Whether it's Joe Biden or [Harris] at the top of the ticket, they'll have to defend their abysmal, tax-and-spend record," said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. "We're already seeing significant Republican advantages across the board in swing states, especially increase in support from Hispanic voters."

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., a Trump ally from a deep red district, told Fox News Digital that Biden and Harris "both own the same disastrous policies."

Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this update.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at a post-debate campaign rally on June 28, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Allison Joyce/Getty Images)

ABC's George Stephanopoulos warned President Biden not to "play the crowd game" with former President Trump after Biden pointed to his rallies when asked for his plan to turn his presidential campaign around. 

Here's the transcript: 

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: What's your plan to turn the campaign around?

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: You saw it today. How many-- how many people draw crowds like I did today? Find me more enthusiastic than today? Huh?

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: I mean, have-- I don't think you wanna play the crowd game. Donald Trump can draw big crowds. There's no question about that.

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: He can draw a big crowd, but what does he say? Who-- who does he have? I'm the guy supposedly in trouble. We raised $38 million within four days after this. Over-- we have over a million individual contributors, individual contributors. That-- that's less than 200 bucks. We have-- I mean, I'm not seen what you're-- you're proposing.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You haven't seen the-- the fall-off in the polls? You haven't seen the reports of discontent in the Democratic Party, House Democrats, Senate Democrats?

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I've seen it from the press.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You know, I've heard from dozens of your supporters over the last few days, and a variety of views, I grant you that. But the prevailing sentiment is this. They love you, and they will be forever grateful to you for defeating Donald Trump in 2020.

They think you've done a great job as president, a lot of the successes you outlined. But they are worried about you and the country. And they don't think you can win. They want you to go with grace, and they will cheer you if you do. What do you say to that?

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I say the vast majority are not where that-- those folks are. I don't doubt there are some folks there. Have you ever seen a group-- ta-- time when elected officials running for office aren't little worried? Have you ever seen that? I've not. Same thing happened in 2020. "Oh, Biden, I don't know. Man, what's he gonna do? He may bring me down, he may ..."

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Mr. President, I've never seen a President 36% approval get re-elected.

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Well, I don't believe that's my approval rating. That's not what our polls show.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: And if you stay in and Trump is elected and everything you're warning about comes to pass, how will you feel in January?

PRESIDENT BIDEN: I'll feel as long as I gave it my all and I did the goodest job as I know I can do, that's what this is about. Look, George. Think of it this way. You've heard me say this before. I think the United States and the world is at an inflection point when the things that happen in the next several years are gonna determine what the next six, seven decades are gonna be like.

The ABC News panel had some choice words for President Biden following his primetime interview with anchor George Stephanopoulos Friday.

"Look, Biden looked better and certainly more coherent than he looked during the debate, but there's nothing in this interview that is calming nerves of jittery Democrats who fear that Joe Biden is on a trajectory to lose this race, to lose to Donald Trump," ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl told Stephanopoulos after the interview. 

"In fact, for some of those people, the interview is raising new concerns, particularly the fact that he is unwilling or unaware of the fact that he is in a dire situation here regarding the campaign, that he is losing, in the view of many Democrats and frankly in the polls you cited, that he is losing to Donald Trump," he said.

Karl added it was "alarming" when Biden said he would be content with a hypothetical defeat against former President Trump as long as he as he "gave it [his] all," telling Stephanopoulos that a Biden ally reacted to him with a "wow."

"The bottom line here: there was nothing in this interview that will force Joe Biden out of the race… but there's also nothing in this interview that will calm the nerves of Democrats who are saying it's time for him to get out," Karl added. 

ABC News chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz said those Democrats she had texted insisted the interview "wasn't as bad as they expected," but added, "That's a pretty low bar."

The network's congressional correspondent Rachel Scott told Stephanopoulos after hearing from Democratic lawmakers, they're concerned that while the "dam hasn't broken tonight," "the bleeding has not stopped, either."

"Another Democrat telling me, ‘Better, but not sure that is enough,' that they need more than one interview, more than 22 minutes to prove that the president has the stamina to continue in this race and defeat Donald Trump," Scott said before adding that the "movement" trying to remove Biden as the Democratic nominee "is growing."

Raddatz concluded the panel by pointing to Biden's default response, "Watch me," when asked about his age, stressing that aging "is not like a broken bone. It doesn't get better."

Fox News Digital's Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this update.

Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump participates in the CNN Presidential Debate at the CNN Studios on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

President Biden said former President Trump distracted him by "shouting" during their debate last week, behavior Biden said only added to his troubles during a disastrous performance.

"How quickly did it come to you that you were having that bad night?" ABC News' George Stephanopoulos asked the president during an interview that aired Friday evening. 

"Well, it came to me I was having a bad night when I realized that even when I was answering the question, even though they turned his mic off, he was still shouting. And I let it distract me," Biden said. "But I'm not blaming it on that, but I realized that I just wasn't in control." 

The ABC News interview marked Biden's first sit-down interview since his widely panned debate performance, which included the president losing his train of thought, stumbling over his words and delivering responses in a raspy voice, something that the White House later blamed on a cold. 

The debate's agreed-upon rules included turning off the microphone of the president or former president when the other was answering a question. At times, Trump was seen and heard speaking when his mic was turned off, but he was not heard or seen shouting at Biden during the first debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle. 

Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this update.

President Biden three times dodged questions about whether he'd take a neurological test in one of the more contentious moments of his first sit-down interview since a widely panned presidential debate performance last week.

"Have you had a full neurological and cognitive evaluation?" ABC News' George Stephanopoulos asked Biden in an interview conducted Friday afternoon and aired in the evening.

"I get a full neurological test every day with me," Biden replied. "I've had a full physical. … I've been to Walter Reed for my physicals."

Stephanopoulos again pressed the president about taking a neurological test, and Biden again ducked. 

"Have you had the specific cognitive tests, and have you had a neurologist, a specialist, do an examination?" Stephanopoulos asked.

"No, no one said I had to. … They said I'm good," Biden responded.

Stephanopoulos pressed Biden a third time on taking a cognitive or neurological test, and if the president would agree to take one, asking if Biden then would release the results of such a test to the public. The president, however, brushed off the question by saying he is tested every day in his role as president. 

"Look, I have a cognitive test every single day," Biden said. "Every day I have that test. Everything I do. You know, not only am I campaigning, but I'm running the world. Sounds like hyperbole, but we are the central nation in the world.

"And every single day — for example, today, before I come out here — I'm on the phone with the prime minister of … Well anyway, I shouldn't get into detail, but with Netanyahu. I'm on the phone with the new prime minister of England. I'm working on what we're doing with regard to in Europe, with regard to expansion to NATO and whether it's going to stick. I'm taking on Putin. I mean, every day, there's no day I go through there's not those decisions I have to make every single day." 

Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this update.

US President Joe Biden looks on as he participates in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections with former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at CNN's studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

President Biden was roasted on social media after expressing uncertainty over whether he had watched his performance at last week's presidential debate during his ABC News interview.

In a preview clip that aired on Friday's "World News Tonight," ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos pressed Biden on if he had comprehended how poorly he did in his face-off against former President Trump. 

"Did you ever watch the debate afterwards?" Stephanopoulos asked.

After a brief pause, Biden replied, "I don't think I did, no."

That exchange quickly went viral.

"Biden looks terrible and sounds terrible in the clip @ABC showed at 630… Oof. He doesn’t even remember if he watched the debate later. My god," CNN contributor Scott Jennings reacted.

"Biden still looked bad and sounded confused in the excerpt ABC aired. Maybe not quite as bad as 8 days ago, but definitely nothing there that says ‘I got this,’" journalist Josh Barro wrote. 

"The debate was a week ago and he can't remember if he watched a replay," New York Post columnist Miranda Devine posted.

"If Biden hasn't seen the debate himself, how can he know exactly what other Dems and voters are seeing?" CBS News reporter Kathryn Watson wondered.

Fox News Digital's Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this update.

In this handout photo provided by ABC, U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with 'This Week' anchor George Stephanopoulos on July 05, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin. (ABC via Getty Images)

President Biden did not calm his critics on Friday night following his interview with ABC News, fueling more calls for him to withdraw from the 2024 race and sparking fierce condemnation for refusing to commit to a cognitive exam. 

"I wimped out in today's column and deleted a line saying he should formulate a plan to transition the presidency to Harris within 30-60 days, but I'm there now. Something is clearly wrong here," polling guru Nate Silver reacted to the Biden interview. 

"The most generous way to put it is that he doesn't seem in command, and that's an extremely hard sell when you're Commander in Chief. I continue to think this number is low and Democrats will apply incredible amounts of pressure," Silver continued, pointing to the Polymarket stat showing a "57% chance" Biden drops out of the race.

"The president is rightfully proud of his record. But he is dangerously out-of-touch with the concerns people have about his [capacities] moving forward and his standing in this race," former Obama adviser David Axelrod wrote on X. "Four years ago at this time, he was 10 points ahead of Trump. Today, he is six points behind."

"I deeply respect Joe Biden's lifetime of service to our country. But the argument [Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez] makes in this column is the right one. In this critical time, in this vital election, stepping aside is the right and honorable thing for President Biden to do," businessman and former Democratic LA mayoral candidate Rick Caruso wrote. 

"That @ABC interview did not help. At all," CNN contributor S.E. Cupp said. "There’s no ‘A for effort.’ It’s beat Trump or step aside."

Fox News Digital's Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this update.

On his debate performance

PRESIDENT BIDEN: "It was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn't listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and … and a bad night." 

On whether he watched the debate afterwards

PRESIDENT BIDEN: "I don't think I did, no." 

On whether he will undergo neurological and cognitive tests

PRESIDENT BIDEN: "Look. I have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I have that test. Everything I do. You know, not only am I campaigning, but I'm running the world. Not-- and that's not hi-- sounds like hyperbole, but we are the essential nation of the world." 

On polling behind Donald Trump

PRESIDENT BIDEN: "I think it's in-- all the pollsters I talk to tell me it's a toss-up. It's a toss-up. And when I'm behind, there's only one poll I'm really far behind, CBS Poll and NBC, I mean, excuse me. And-- uh--"

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "New York-- New York Times and NBC both have-- have you about six points behind in the popular vote."

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: "That's exactly right. New York Times had me behind before, anything having to do with this race-- had me hind-- behind ten points. Ten points they had me behind. Nothing's changed substantially since the debate in The New York Times poll."

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "Just when you look at the reality, though, Mr. President, I mean, you won the popular vote-- in-- in 2020, but it was still deadly close in the electoral college--"

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: "By 7 million votes."

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "Yes. But you're behind now in the popular vote."

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: "I don't-- I don't buy that."

On whether he can be convinced to drop out

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: "Well, Yeah, I’m sure. Look. I mean, if the Lord Almighty came down and said, 'Joe, get outta the race,' I'd get outta the race. The Lord Almighty's not comin' down."

Full transcript available here

President Biden repeatedly refused to reconsider his bid for re-election, time and again dismissing the concerns of those trying to pressure him to quit the 2024 White House race due to lagging poll numbers and concerns about his mental acuity during a high-stakes interview Friday.

Biden's 22-minute sit-down with ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos was taped earlier in the day but aired unedited. It was the 81-year-old president's first televised sit-down since his debate against former President Trump last week.

At one point, Stephanopoulos informed Biden he was behind in the popular vote, and the president replied, "I don't buy that."

"I don't think anybody is more qualified to be president or win this race than me," Biden said when pressed about a race his opponent appears favored to win.

When asked if he had the mental acuity to be president another four years, Biden said, "I wouldn't be running if I didn't think I did."

Biden also brushed off concerns about his mental fitness for office. When asked if he was being "honest" with himself about his own cognitive abilities, the president replied, "Yes, I am, because, George, last thing I want to do is not be able to meet that."

Toward the end of the interview, Stephanopoulos asked Biden about the growing number of Democratic lawmakers suggesting he should step aside, and Biden pushed back.

"Look, I mean, if the Lord Almighty came out and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,' I'll get out of the race. The Lord Almighty's not coming down," the president said.

Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this update.