Biden: "Only God Almighty will force me to withdraw from the election"

US President Joe Biden in an interview with the US television company ABC on the evening of Friday, 5 July, said that only God can force him to give up his bid for a new presidential term.

Biden called his failed performance at the televised debate with Donald Trump a "bad episode". According to the president, he had a bad cold that evening, he felt terrible, but there are no signs that he has serious health problems.

"I was exhausted. I didn't listen to my instincts about preparing for the debate. I just had a bad night," Biden said in a hoarse voice.

Asked whether he would agree to undergo an independent medical examination, including neurological and cognitive testing, and report the results to voters, Biden replied: "Look, I take a cognitive test every day. Every day I take this test – everything I do is a test," Biden said.

He reiterated that he was confident that he could defeat Trump in the November election. The ABC News host cited polls that show him lagging behind Trump, despite court rulings against the former US president.

"I don't think anyone is more qualified to become president or win this race than I am," Biden said.

The day before, it was reported that Democratic Senator Mark Warner is inviting senators from his party to a meeting on Monday to discuss Biden's campaign. The Washington Post claims that Warner wants to ask the group to put pressure on the US president to drop out of the race.

Biden responded by saying that "they are not going to do that". According to him, he is ready to withdraw from the presidential race only if God Almighty forces him to do so.

"I'm the guy who brought NATO together. No one thought I would be able to expand it. I am the guy who stopped Putin. No one thought that could happen. I'm the guy who developed the South Pacific initiative with AUKUS. I'm the guy who brought together 50 countries – not only in Europe, but also beyond – to help Ukraine," Biden explained.

The 22-minute interview, which ABC reported was neither cleaned up nor shortened, was closely watched by concerned Democrats. One senior House Democratic official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that after watching a brief excerpt of the interview with Biden, he did not know how he would "last another week as a candidate".

Meanwhile, Democratic Party sponsors began to put pressure on Joe Biden.

Abigail Disney, the heiress to the Disney family fortune, told CNBC business news channel that she did not believe in Biden's ability to defeat Donald Trump.

She noted that her intention to stop supporting Biden's campaign was based on "realism, not disrespect".

Philanthropist Gideon Stein told the New York Times that his family would not give $3.5 million to non-profit and political organisations involved in the presidential campaign unless Biden withdraws from the race.

Hollywood producer Damon Lindelof, who has donated more than $100,000 to the Democrats this election cycle, published an open letter in Deadline calling on other donors to withhold their funds until changes are made in the party.