• President Joe Biden indicated he would be fine losing to Trump as long as he put up a good fight.
• The 81-year-old president made the comments during his first post-debate interview on Friday.
• Biden continues to present a defiant front even as concerns about his candidacy mount.

President Joe Biden suggested he would be OK losing to former President Donald Trump in November "as long as I gave it my all" — undercutting the heart of his 2024 presidential platform as concerns about his candidacy continue to grow.

On Friday, the 81-year-old Biden sat for his first interview since his disastrous debate performance last week, speaking with ABC News's George Stephanopoulos and attempting to assuage doubts about his fitness for office, including increasing anxiety from within his own party.

Biden has long positioned himself as the best bet to protect American democracy from another four years of Trump. In interviews and stump speeches, Biden paints a picture of chaos and collapse should Trump take the White House again. Biden's campaign has explicitly accused Trump of being in the race only for himself, meanwhile framing Biden as being a candidate for the people.

But near the end of his Friday interview, Biden gave an answer that seemed to contradict his greater-good narrative.

"If you stay in and Trump is elected and everything you're warning about comes to pass, how will you feel in January?" Stephanopoulos asked.

"I'll feel as long as I gave it my all, and I did as good a job as I know I can do, that's what this is about," Biden responded.

The response appeared as definitive an insight as any into Biden's stubborn mindset amid mounting calls for him to drop out of the race.

Four House Democrats and a growing number of liberal donors have publicly called for Biden's replacement. While some reports have suggested Biden is privately weighing whether he can save his reelection bid, he has been firm in his public promise to stay in the race.

Denial proved a prevailing theme throughout Biden's interview with ABC. He chalked up his debate performance to "a bad night," repeatedly dodged questions about his age and cognitive abilities, and disputed poll numbers that show him points behind Trump.

When asked what it would take for him to drop out of the race, Biden attempted to duck the question with a joke, telling Stephanopoulos that he would only step down if "the Lord Almighty" himself came down and told him he couldn't win.

• President Joe Biden sat down for an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos.
• He acknowledged that his debate against Donald Trump was a "bad night."
• But Biden denied he's facing more calls to step down from his campaign.

President Joe Biden appears to be in denial with just how seriously his recent debate performance against Donald Trump has hurt his 2024 campaign.

In an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that aired Friday, Biden was confronted with questions about the fallout of his stumbling debate performance: polling that shows Trump with an increasing lead, voters and Democratic colleagues calling for Biden to step aside, and, to top it all off, an already abysmal approval rating of 36%.

To that, Biden responded: Not in my world.

On the issue of falling support shown in recent polls, Biden questioned the accuracy of the data and leaned on internal polling that he claimed still put the 2024 election at a "toss-up."

"You think polling data is accurate as it used to be?" Biden said.

The president also disagreed when Stephanopoulos pointed out his low approval rating. "Mr. President, I've never seen a president of 36% approval get re-elected," Stephanopoulos said.

"Well, I don't believe that's my approval rating — that's not what our polls show," Biden responded.

On the growing calls from Democratic lawmakers for the president to step down, Biden said he's met with many colleagues and none of them have advised him to suspend his campaign.

"They're not going to do that," Biden told Stephanopoulos when asked if he would consider stepping out of the race if people close to him asked him to do so. So far, four House Democrats have called for Biden to drop out, and one Democratic senator is reportedly trying to organize his colleagues to push for Biden to withdraw from the race.

Biden repeatedly said in the interview that the only person who could get him to step down is the "Lord almighty."

All of the warning signs that have appeared since the June 27 debate were merely propped up by the press, Biden said.

A spokesperson for the Biden campaign told Business Insider that the president's interview with Stephanopoulos was just one of many moments that showcased that Biden is the right candidate to go against Trump.

Biden did acknowledge that he didn't perform well during his debate against Trump.

But the president said the evening was simply a "bad night" for him and that he failed to "trust his instincts" when debating a against a "pathological liar."

"Can I run the 100 in 10 flat? No," Biden said. "But I'm still in good shape."

• President Joe Biden said only God might convince him to drop out of the 2024 race.
• Biden made frequent defiant statements during a hotly anticipated interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos.
• The president is still trying to calm nerves after his disastrous debate performance.

President Joe Biden on Friday was unmoved by the growing number of members of Congress and megadonors who have called on him to drop out. He said only a higher power could cause him to change course.

"If the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, I might do that," Biden told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos when asked if he would step aside if he was no longer the best Democrat to beat former President Donald Trump.

Biden flashed his trademark stubbornness during his 22-minute interview with Stephanopoulos. The interview was designed to calm jittery Democrats, some of whom have pushed for Biden to step aside after his disastrous debate last week.

The president is known for invoking the phrase, "Judge me by the alternative, not the almighty," regarding how commentators should view his candidacy. But on Friday, Biden further suggested that only divine intervention could lead to him stepping aside.

"Look, I'm mean if the Lord Almighty came down and said, 'Joe get out of the race,' I would get out of the race," Biden said at another point. "The Lord Almighty is not coming down."

At that point, Stephanopoulos was trying to ask Biden how the president would respond if either Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer or House Minority Leader Hakeem called on the president to drop out. Biden was clear that he believed that would never happen and that the hypothetical was unwarranted.

"I agree that the Lord Almighty is not going to come down," Stephanopoulos said. "But if you are told reliably from your allies, from your friends and allies in the Democratic Party in the House and the Senate that they are concerned that you are going to lose the House and Senate if you stay in, what will you do?"

Biden faced with a much more earthly consideration, simply declined to consider the possibility.

"I'm not going to answer that question," he said. "It's not going to happen."

• President Joe Biden appeared Friday in his first interview since last week's debate with Donald Trump.
• Donors and supporters saw the interview as key to addressing criticisms of Biden's poor debate.
• Here's four things you need to know about it went.

All eyes were on ABC News on Friday when President Joe Biden appeared in his first interview since his catastrophic debate appearance last week.

Democratic donors and supporters of Biden saw the interview as key to addressing criticisms of his poor debate showing — in which Biden repeatedly fumbled his words and appeared to lose his train of thought.

Here's what you need to know about how Biden's post-debate interview went:

1. He's staying in the race

In response to the debate debacle, some major Democratic donors, including Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings and Disney heiress Abigail Disney, have pledged to withhold funding from the party until Biden drops out of the race.

Other once-loyal supporters, including four sitting House Democrats, have joined their calls for him to step aside.

While some reports indicate Biden has privately acknowledged that he might be unable to save his reelection bid, in his ABC News interview, he publicly reiterated his current plan to stay in the race.

"Are you sure you're being honest with yourself when you say you have the mental and physical capacity to serve another four years?" ABC's George Stephanopoulos pushed Biden.

"Yes, I am," the president responded. "Because George, last thing I want to do is not be able to meet that."

2. Biden called debate night a 'bad episode'

Biden called his poor showing on debate night a "bad episode," but he stressed his fumbled words and mangled answers were "no indication of any serious condition."

"I was exhausted," Biden told ABC News. "I didn't listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and — and a bad night."

Biden, currently 81-years-old, has long faced criticism over his age and fitness for office, which grew louder following the debate. His campaign has offered conflicting excuses for the sitting president's lackluster showing, including that he was sick, jetlagged, and poorly prepared for the event.

When Stephanopoulos pressed Biden, asking why spending nearly a week at Camp David wasn't enough recovery time from his travels to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Biden said he was sick.

"I was feeling terrible," Biden said. "Matter of fact the docs with me. I asked if they did a COVID test because they're trying to figure out what was wrong. They did a test to see whether or not I had some infection, you know, a virus. I didn't. I just had a really bad cold."

3. The president seems to be considering his legacy

While he maintained that he plans to stay in the race for reelection — joking that he'd consider stepping down if "the Lord Almighty" asked him to — Biden, in several responses, appeared reflective about his debate performance and his presidential legacy more broadly.

"If I stopped now, I would go down in history as a pretty successful president," Biden said.

And if Trump wins?

Biden said that "as long as I gave it my all," he will be OK.

"That's what this is about," Biden said.

Notably, Biden dodged questions about what he would do if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies asked him to step down.

4. Biden glossed over his dipping poll numbers

When pressed about his persistent slump in the polls, Biden was defiant, saying the data wasn't accurate.

"I remember them telling me the same thing in 2020 — I can't win. The polls show I can win," Biden said. "Before the vote, I said that's not going to happen: We're going to win."

When he won in 2020, Biden became the first US presidential candidate to secure more than 80 million votes. Biden referenced his historic victory in the interview, reiterating his intention to win again.

Stephanopoulos asked if Biden had seen recent reports of discontent in the Democratic party, which Biden similarly brushed off.

"I've seen it from the press," Biden said.

5. Viewers don't so far appear to be convinced

On social media, clips of the 22-minute interview drew immediate skepticism, if not outright condemnation, from many viewers.

Some lambasted ABC News for airing a pre-recorded version instead of a livestream, while others criticized Biden's responses and appearance during the interview.

"I feel no better," one Instagram user wrote in a comment. "I think this interview made the situation worse."

The initial response wasn't all negative, with some reiterating their support for Biden.

"I can appreciate that he's accepted responsibility," another Instagram user wrote. "He still has my vote. There's no room for any more errors IMO."

• Democratic members of Congress are beginning to call on Biden to drop out of the race.
• As of Friday, July 5, four have done so.
• Two other lawmakers are flatly predicting that Biden will lose to Trump.

President Joe Biden is facing calls to drop out of the presidential race following his disastrous debate performance last week.

The first Democratic member of Congress to do so was Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, who praised Biden's record of accomplishments but said an "authoritarian takeover" would come if former President Donald Trump won.

"Too much is at stake to risk a Trump victory — too great a risk to assume that what could not be turned around in a year, what was not turned around in the debate, can be turned around now," Doggett said. He later said on NBC that some of his House colleagues privately agreed with him.

On Wednesday, Doggett was joined by Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, who told the New York Times that the debate represented an "opportunity to look elsewhere."

"What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race," said Grijalva.

Both men are in their mid-to-late 70s and represent solidly Democratic seats.

On Thursday, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts joined them, telling a local radio affiliate that Biden should "step aside to let new leaders rise up and run against Donald Trump."

And on Friday, shortly before Biden's interview with ABC News was set to air, Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois said on MSBNC that Biden should "let someone else do this."

Separately, two members of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition — Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington — said that they believe Biden will lose to Trump.

Golden went as far as to say that he is "OK" with Trump winning, saying he rejects the idea that Trump is a "unique threat to our democracy."

Democratic politicians who don't hold elected office have also called on Biden to step aside.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, one of Biden's competitors in 2020, said that Biden needed to "allow a stronger Democratic candidate to prevent a disastrous second Trump term.

Another 2020 Biden competitor, former Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, published an op-ed on Tuesday calling for Biden to be replaced with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris is one of several Democratic contenders who could replace Biden if he stepped aside.

• A 25-year-old man exposed himself and peed in the aisle on an American Airlines flight, according to law enforcement.
• Authorities said the man was arrested and charged with indecent exposure on July 3.
• The incident is the latest in a long list of unruly passenger incidents on board commercial flights.

An American Airlines flight was diverted this week after authorities said a 25-year-old man exposed himself and urinated in the airplane's aisle mid-flight.

The Oregon man was arrested and charged with indecent exposure following the Wednesday incident, according to a press release from the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York.

American Airlines flight 3921, which was operated by Envoy Air, was traveling from Chicago to Manchester, New Hampshire, on July 3, the airline told Business Insider in a statement.

Crew members on board the aircraft later told authorities that the man exposed himself and urinated in the aisle of the plane, forcing the flight to divert from its original destination and land at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, according to the attorney's office.

Local law enforcement was called to the gate and took the man into custody, American Airlines said. The flight re-departed shortly after.

"We thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding," a spokesperson for the airline said.

The man appeared in court on Wednesday and was released on his own recognizance, according to the attorney's office. The charge he faces carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a $5,000 charge.

The Wednesday incident is just the latest in an ever-growing list of unruly passenger incidents on commercial flights, which have spiked since the pandemic.

In December, a passenger aboard an Air New Zealand flight was fined after urinating into a cup during a deplaning delay. In 2023, a 21-year-old student was barred from future American Airlines flights after urinating on another passenger.

• President Joe Biden appeared Friday in his first interview since last week's debate with Donald Trump.
• Biden has been widely criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike for his poor debate performance.
• In a preview of the interview, Biden said his gaffes were "no indication of any serious condition."

President Joe Biden said debate night was a "bad episode" on Friday, in a preview of his first interview since his catastrophic appearance last week.

Speaking with ABC News's George Stephanopoulos, 81-year-old Biden said his performance, while lackluster, was "no indication of any serious condition."

"I was exhausted," Biden said. "I didn't listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and — and a bad night."

Biden, who has long faced criticism over his age and fitness for office, is the subject of growing ire from Republicans and Democrats alike for his poor debate performance — in which he repeatedly fumbled his words and appeared to lose his train of thought.

The Biden campaign has offered conflicting excuses for the sitting president's lackluster showing, including that he was sick, jetlagged, and poorly prepared for the event.

In response to the tumult, some major Democratic donors, including Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings and Disney heiress Abigail Disney, have pledged to withhold funding from the party until Biden drops out of the race.

While some reports indicate Biden has privately acknowledged that he might be unable to save his reelection bid, he has publicly braved the criticism and declared his plan to stay in the race.

"I'm not letting one 90-minute debate wipe out three and a half years of work," Biden posted on X shortly before the ABC News interview aired. "I'm staying in the race, and I will beat Donald Trump."