US PRESIDENT JOE Biden has dismissed concerns about his age and doubled down on his vow to remain in the country’s presidential election race, saying that only the “Lord Almighty” could convince him to halt his campaign. 

His remarks came in an interview with ABC News that was hyped as the most consequential of the 81-year-old’s career amid growing concern among Democratic voters and lawmakers about his fitness to govern. 

In the 22-minute one-to-one which aired unedited, Biden defended his poor performance in a debate with Republican candidate Donald Trump last week that triggered calls for him to quit, but acknowledged that he had “a really bad night”. 

“I was sick, I was feeling terrible… I just had a really bad cold,” Biden said. “I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing.”

EXCLUSIVE: President Biden tells @GStephanopoulos the debate was “a bad episode,” adding that he was “feeling terrible” after a busy month.

The full exclusive interview airs at 8/7c on ABC.https://t.co/hlL4FaVp80 pic.twitter.com/unJF13rrQ7

— ABC News (@ABC) July 5, 2024

He said that he allowed Trump – who he described as a “pathological liar” to distract him and accused him of lying 28 times throughout the debate. 

“I realised that, even when I was answering a question and they turned his mic off, he was still shouting and I let it distract me,” he said. “I’m not blaming it on that. But I realised that I just wasn’t in control.”

Asked if staying in the race might jeopardise Democrats holding on to the White House, Biden said: “I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me.”

He denied that he was “more frail” and dodged calls to have doctors assess his mental acuity, saying that the duties of the presidency mean “I have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I have that test, everything I do.

“Can I run the 100 in 10 flat? No. But I’m still in good shape.”

ABC host George Stephanopoulos repeatedly referenced the growing Democratic clamor for a conversation on picking a new candidate, and asked Biden if he would step down if convinced he couldn’t beat Trump.

“It depends. If the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, I might do that,” he said.

EXCLUSIVE: Pres. Biden would not commit to an independent cognitive test when pressed in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.https://t.co/hlL4FaVp80 pic.twitter.com/Jg2SepN8bN

— ABC News (@ABC) July 6, 2024

The interview was intended to help Biden weather the storm, but his hoarse voice and meandering answers drew immediate Democratic fire for appearing “out of touch.”

The Trump campaign mockingly posted on social media that “Biden sounds great” as the broadcast went out, before concluding the president “is in denial and in decline.”

Post-debate polls have shown a widening deficit in Trump’s favor, and at least four Democrats in Congress have called on Biden to step aside, as have major newspapers, donors and a raft of Democratic-supporting political commentators.

The Biden campaign has pushed back hard on any suggestion he may withdraw and, just hours before the ABC interview, released an aggressive campaign travel schedule for the rest of July.

Appearing at a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, the president delivered an energetic stump speech, unequivocally declaring, “I’m staying in the race. I’ll beat Donald Trump.”

US media has reported that Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Mark Warner and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries were both planning crisis talks with lawmakers in the coming days.

David Axelrod, a top aide in Barack Obama’s White House and an occasional thorn in the side of the Biden administration, said the interview showed a president “dangerously out of touch” with concerns over his fitness for office.

“Four years ago at this time, he was 10 points ahead of Trump (in polls). Today, he is six points behind,” Axelrod posted on X.

The White House has announced Biden will visit Pennsylvania this weekend before holding a press conference during the Nato summit in Washington next week.

Contains reporting from © AFP 2024