‘I AM STAYING IN THE RACE!’ Defiant Joe Biden Tells Wisconsin Rally He’s Not Dropping Out

President Joe Biden was defiant in the face of calls for him to step aside after a disastrous debate performance, telling an audience of cheering supporters at a Madison, Wisconsin rally that he was “staying in the race.”

Biden has been facing increasing scrutiny since his verbal stumbles during last Thursday’s debate against former President Donald Trump. Recent polling showed 72% of Americans do not believe he has the “mental and cognitive health to be president,” and on Tuesday, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) became the first sitting Democrat in Congress to publicly call for him to withdraw from the race. The week continued to bring more tough headlines for the president, as rumors swirled about internal discontent among Democrats and anxiety among campaign staff.

Nonetheless, Biden remains adamant that he intends to stay in the race, and is sitting down for an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for an interview that will air Friday evening.

After taking a swipe at Trump’s own mental fitness, Biden addressed the criticism of his debate, saying “it was not my best performance” and there had “been a lot of speculation” about what he’s going to do.

He then emphatically declared he was staying in.

“Well, here’s my answer: I am running and gonna win again!” said Biden, as the crowd broke into chants of “Let’s go, Joe!”

He continued, saying that he was the nominee of the Democratic Party because “millions of Democrats like you just voted for me, in primaries all across America, you voted me to be your nominee — no one else, you, the voters.”

Biden criticized the “some folks” who “don’t seem to care who you voted for” and are “trying to push me out of the race.”

“Well, let me say as clearly as I can — I am staying in the race! I’ll beat Donald Trump!” he continued, followed by a small flub as he said, “I will beat him again in 2020. And by the way, we’re gonna do it again in 2024.”

“I learned, long ago when you get knocked down, you get back up. I’m not not letting one 90 minute debate wipe out three-and-a-half years of work,” said Biden, touting his stewardship of the economy and America’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Let me ask you — you think I’m too old to beat Donald Trump?” Biden asked, as the crowd yelled back “No!”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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