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

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — President Joe Biden is fighting to save his endangered reelection effort Friday as he holds a rally and sits down for a network television interview in a pivotal battleground state, with his every answer sure to be scrutinized for evidence of his competency and fitness to run for office.

It could be a watershed moment for Biden, who is under pressure to bow out of the campaign after his disastrous debate performance against Republican Donald Trump ignited concern that the 81-year-old Democrat is not up for the job for another four years.

The interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, being taped after a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, is expected to be intensive and probing, and two people familiar with the president’s efforts said he had been preparing 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 how he wrote off his debate flop. It was not clear that even a so-so performance would be enough to satisfy concerns about his fitness to serve.

The White House itself was raising the stakes for Biden’s interview, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre that it expects “millions of Americans” to watch.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«No Value» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Biden heads into a make-or-break stretch for his imperiled presidential campaign </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> The questions about Biden’s age and fitness are reminiscent of another campaign: Reagan’s in 1984 </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline