Read the transcript of President Biden’s first post-debate interview

President Biden participated in his first sit-down interview since his disastrous debate performance last week.

He spoke on Friday to ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, commenting on his "bad episode," when it occurred to him he was performing poorly at the debate and dodging repeated questions about taking a neurological test.

Biden's interview aired in full for the first time Friday evening after mounting calls within the Democratic Party that Biden bow out of the race due to concerns over his age and mental acuity. Biden has vowed to remain in the race despite traditional allies and media outlets calling on him to pass the political baton to a younger Democratic contender.

Below is Biden's full interview transcript with Stephanopoulos, as reported by ABC News:

BIDEN REPEATEDLY DODGES QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER HE'D TAKE NEUROLOGICAL TEST: 'NO ONE SAID I HAD TO

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Mr. President, thank you for doing this.

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Thank you for having me.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's start with the debate. Eh, you and your team said, have said you had a bad night. But your …

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Sure did.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: But your friend Nancy Pelosi actually framed the question that I think is on the minds of millions of Americans. Was this a bad episode or the sign of a more serious condition?

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: It was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn't listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and … and a bad night.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You know, you say you were exhausted. And … and I know you've said that before as well, but you came … and you did have a tough month. But you came home from Europe about 11 or 12 days before the debate, spent six days in