Biden says he’s best qualified to beat Trump, brushes off low polling and denies cognitive issues – as it happened

“I keep seeing all those stories about being too old,” said Joe Biden, adding:

“You think I’m too old to restore Roe v Wade as the law of the land? Too old to ban assault weapons again? To protect social security and Medicare? … Too old to beat Donald Trump?”

After each question, the crowd cheered and applauded energetically.

Joe Biden talked about his poor debate performance, saying: “Can’t say it’s my best performance but ever since then, there’s been a lot of speculation. What’s Joe going to do?”

“Here’s my answer. I am running and going to win again,” Biden said energetically.

“I’m a nominee … because millions of Democrats like you just voted for me in primaries all across America,” he added.

“Let me say this as clear as I can: I’m staying in the race to beat Donald Trump.”

Joe Biden opened up his speech with a jab at Donald Trump, telling the crowd of Trump’s comments about the Fourth of July from 2019 in which he said that revolutionary war troops “took over the airports” from the British.

“He’s a stable genius,” Biden said mockingly.

Joe Biden has taken the stage in Madison, Wisconsin.

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, yelling: “Let’s go Joe! Let’s go Joe!’

Joe Biden is set to take the stage shortly in Madison, Wisconsin, where he is expected to address a crowd of supporters in the swing state.

We will bring you the latest updates.

Donald Trump has asked a judge to partly pause his criminal case involving his alleged mishandling of classified documents in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

In a court filing on Friday, Trump’s lawyers wrote that a pause is “necessary to minimize the adverse consequences to the institution of the presidency arising from this unconstitutional investigation and prosecution”.

The request comes after the supreme court ruled last week that Trump has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts committed as president.

Massachusetts’ governor, Maura Healey, has released a statement on Joe Biden, saying that she urges him to “listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump”.

On Friday, Healey, one of Biden’s top surrogates, said:

President Biden saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the last four years. I am deeply grateful for his leadership. And I know he agrees this is the most important election of our lifetimes … The best way forward right now is a decision for the president to make. Over the coming days, I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump.

Whatever president Biden decides, I am committed to doing everything in my power to defeat Donald Trump.

Healey’s public statement follows previous reports of the governor strongly speaking out against Biden’s re-election bid.

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that although Healey did not speak during Wednesday’s meeting between Biden and several Democratic governors, Healey did say in a separate call with other governors that she had told White House chief of staff Jeff Zients that Biden’s political position was “irretrievable” following his poor debate performance.

A crowd of anxious Democrats have packed into a middle school gym in Madison, Wisconsin, to see Joe Biden deliver remarks in part of a redemption tour that his campaign hopes will assuage fears about Biden’s age and cognition following a devastating debate performance last week.

In blue writing on wall of the gym is an apt quotation:

Other people may not have had high expectations for me … but I had high expectations for myself.

The quote, attributed to the decorated American gymnast Shannon Miller, and painted on the wall to motivate an audience of middle schoolers, could just as easily speak to the president today.

“I support him no matter what,” said Marcy Wynn, a Democratic party activist from Madison who had squeezed into the gym to see the president speak. For Wynn, the only acceptable scenario for Biden to step down would be if he made the choice himself. And above all, she is worried about a second Trump term. “On the worst day of my life, the last person I would vote for would be Donald Trump.”

Biden was examined by his physician after last week’s debate with Trump and is fine, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told the Hill.

The Biden campaign said a cold was partially to blame for his poor performance. The president confirmed the doctor visit on a call with Democratic governors on Wednesday and said that he will end work events before 8pm in order to get more sleep, the New York Times reported.

This revelation contradicts what White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday said, that he “did not get checked out by the doctor” since February, adding: “It’s a cold, guys.”

More powerful donors publicly withdraw their support for Biden.

When asked by the Ankler’s Matthew Frank if he was “holding firm” with the Biden campaign, IAC chairman Barry Diller said “no.”

Diller, who is married to designer Diane Von Fürstenberg, previously donated the maximum amount to Biden’s campaign in 2023 and gave $100,000 to Biden and the Democratic party’s joint Super PAC.

Other wealthy Democratic donors are also rallying to pressure the president to step down.

Abigail Disney, heir to the Disney family fortune told CNBC: “This is realism, not disrespect. If Biden does not step down the Democrats will lose. Of that I am absolutely certain. The consequences for the loss will be genuinely dire.”

The White House said on Wednesday that Biden plans to stay in the race despite his poor debate performance.