President Joe Biden told reporters Friday that dropping out of his race for the White House was not an option shortly before the airing of a mixed interview on ABC News about his debate disaster with Donald Trump.
"Completely ruling that out," Biden said when he was asked if he was quitting his campaign at the airport following a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin.
He had told the rally crowd: "I am going to run and I'm going to win again."
Later, in an interview that had been taped earlier with ABC News host George Stephanopoulos, Biden said that only the "Lord almighty" would convince him to quit after his startling debate failure in which he appeared fragile and confused.
"If the Lord almighty came down and said, 'Joe, get out of the race,' I'd get out of the race," Biden said.
"The Lord Almighty's not coming down," he added.
A defiant Biden again in the interview blamed his poor performance on a cold, on fatigue, on not getting enough sleep, on being destracted by Trump. He said he was "sick" and "feeling terrible." He dismissed calls for a new neurological and cognitive exam.
"No one said I had to. ... They said I'm good," Biden insisted.
"It was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition," Biden said. "I didn't listen to my instincts in terms of preparing, and I had a bad night."
He told Stepanopoulos he hasn't watched a replay of the debate.
Meanwhile, in a parallel political universe Biden is refusing to recognize, Democrats were mobilizing to push him out of race and turn to alternatives, including Vice President Kamala Harris.
Some deep-pocket donors have already refused to back Biden — or any Democrat — until Biden is out of the race. Heir to the Disney empire Abigail Disney vowed "not another dime" would go to the party until Biden quits the race. If Biden doesn't withdraw, the "Democrats will lose," she said.
Reviews for Biden's interview with Stephanopoulos were mixed.
Barack Obama's former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Juan Castro said on MSNBC that while Biden was "steadier" in the interview than he was in the debate, it was not good enough to assure people he can win the race for presidency, or do the job.
"You have a president who is basically in denial about the decline that people can clearly see," Castro said.
