President Biden scrambles to save his reelection with a trip to Wisconsin and a network TV interview

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is fighting to salvage his threatened reelection bid, as he holds a rally and gives a television interview in a crucial state on Friday. Any answer he gives will undoubtedly be scrutinized for evidence of his ability and fitness to run for office.

It could be a turning point for Biden, who is under pressure to withdraw from the campaign after his disastrous debate performance against Republican Donald Trump led to concerns that the 81-year-old Democrat would not be able to handle the job for the next four years.

The interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, being taped after a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, is expected to be intense and penetrating, and two people familiar with the president’s efforts said he had prepared aggressively. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.

There was broad agreement that Biden cannot afford to have another “bad day,” which is why he called off the election. his debate flopIt was not clear whether even a mediocre performance would be enough to allay concerns about his fitness to serve.

Amid private angst among Democratic lawmakers, donors and strategists after Biden’s damaging debate performance, most in the party have publicly held the fire as they wait to see if the president can rebuild some confidence with his weekend travel schedule and handling of the Stephanopoulos interview, which airs in full on ABC on Friday night.

But three Democratic members of Congress have called for Biden to resign as nominee, with Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts, voicing his concerns in a radio interview on Thursday and joining Reps. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, and Raúl Grijalva, D-Arizona, in calling for an alternative.

“President Biden has done a tremendous service to our country, but now it is time for him to follow in the footsteps of one of our founding fathers, George Washington, and step aside to allow new leaders to rise up and take on Donald Trump,” Moulton told WBUR radio station on Thursday.

Biden appears to have brought his family and inner circle closer together as he tries to prove he is still the best option for Democrats to compete in Elections in November.

The ubiquitous presence of Hunter Biden in the West Wing, as the debate has become an uncomfortable dynamic for many aides, according to two Democrats close to the White House who asked not to be identified to discuss the sensitive matter.

For many employees, the face of Hunter Biden was just weeks after his conviction for weapons possessionTaking a greater role in advising his father was troubling and a questionable choice at this important time, they said.

Biden’s re-election campaign is forging ahead with aggressive plans despite the uncertainty. It plans to pair its in-person events with a new $50 million ad campaign this month aimed at capitalizing on high-viewer moments like the Summer Olympics which will start in Paris on July 26.

Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will travel to key states this month, as organizers plan to knock on more than 3 million doors in July and August to reach voters in person in a new $17 million initiative.

Biden himself will campaign in Pennsylvania on Sunday.

Biden was originally scheduled to speak at the National Education Association in Philadelphia on Sunday, but the campaign canceled the plans after the group’s walkout, which it announced Friday. The president will not cross a picket line, the campaign said. He will still be in Pennsylvania this weekend. Biden will also travel to southwestern states, including Nevada, after hosting the NATO summit in Washington next week, the campaign said Friday. He will also continue to focus on the so-called “blue wall” states — Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan — that have been crucial to him in the past.

In a strategy memo released Friday morning, the campaign also specifically emphasized that Biden would engage in “frequent, spontaneous moments” — once a hallmark of the gregarious, easygoing politician’s career but one that has waned during his presidency.

For Biden, every moment now is crucial to rebuild the lost trust that resulted from his shaky performance in Atlanta last week. Yet the president continued to make mistakes that did not help him.

During an interview with WURD radio in Philadelphia that aired Thursday, Biden stumbled and said, “I’m proud to be, as I said, the first vice president, the first Black woman to serve with a Black president” — mumbling some of his oft-used lines about his pride in serving with the first Black president and electing the first Black woman as vice president.

Such verbal gaffes are not uncommon for Biden, but they are gaining increasing attention in this environment.

In a hastily arranged meeting with more than 20 Democratic governors Wednesday nightBiden acknowledged that he needs to get more sleep and limit evening activities so he’s rested for work, according to three people who spoke anonymously about the private meeting. California Gov. Gavin Newsom later told reporters in Holland, Michigan, that Biden’s comment about limiting events after 8 p.m. was meant as a joke, noting that he said it “with a smile on his face.”

Newsom said no one in the room tried to sugarcoat the reality of last week’s debate.

“You looked at the physiology. You saw everything about it. It was the breathing, it was the physicality, the whole thing,” Newsom said at a subsequent event in Holland.

He said Biden had asked all the governors for advice and told the president to focus more on discussing the future.

There are signs that key groups are already taking positions on who should succeed Biden as the Democratic nominee.

Glynda C. Carr, CEO of Higher Heights for America PAC, which supports Black women candidates, said Harris should take the lead if Biden leaves office. She said any other candidate would be “another example of the continued dismissal of Black women’s leadership in the national narrative.”

“To put it simply, Vice President Harris should not be on any list of potential replacements – Kamala Harris is the only successor,” Carr said.

Biden is expected to use his rally in Madison to run through his favorite talking points as he tries to defeat Trump, highlighting protections for democracy, the economy and “our rights and freedoms,” his campaign said.

Wisconsin officials, including Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and state party chairman Ben Wikler, will speak. Notably, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who is running for reelection in one of the most crucial races for Senate control this year, will be present elsewhere.

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Associated Press reporters Joey Cappelletti in Saugatuck, Michigan, and Aamer Madhani and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.