UNITED STATES’ PRESIDENT Joe Biden remained defiant in front of voters in the state of Wisconsin and later reiterated the point on X, formerly Twitter.

“Let me say this as clearly as I can: I’m the sitting President of the United States. I’m the nominee of the Democratic party. I’m staying in the race,” he posted to his profile.

With his reelection bid in peril, and an apparent rebellion from some nervous Democratic donors, the one-to-one with the ABC network later this evening has been hyped as the most consequential of the 81-year-old’s long career.

Biden’s campaign spiralled into disarray last week after the first televised election debate with Donald Trump triggered panic within his Democratic Party and calls for him to pull out of the race.

Let me say this as clearly as I can:

I’m the sitting President of the United States.

I’m the nominee of the Democratic party.

I’m staying in the race.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 5, 2024

On Wednesday, the New York Times published an article which that Biden had confided in an ally that he was contemplating a step away from his second-term bid.

The Biden campaign has pushed back hard on any suggestion he may withdraw and, with just left hours before a much-anticipated ABC interview, Biden pushed back against any suggestion that he would be leaving the race.

At a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, the President delivered an energetic stump speech, unequivocally declaring, “I’m staying in the race. I’ll beat Donald Trump.”

President Joe Biden attended a rally in Wisconsin today ahead of a much-anticipated interview with ABC News. Alamy Alamy

As supporters cheered, he went on the attack against his rival.

“Let’s focus on what really matters,” Biden said, reading from teleprompters. “We’re running against the biggest liar and the biggest threat… to our democracy in American history – that’s not hyperbole.”

Fears the President might bow out of the race aren’t the only blow to the Democratic Party’s campaign as this week the US Supreme Court ruled that Trump, and any other President, is immune from prosecution for “official acts” during a presidency.

The historic decision is sure to impact the upcoming election – as Biden’s re-election campaign team has made much of Trump’s legal woes. 

Donald Trump's legal argument against his prosecution in a trial for alleged offences committed during and before the 6 January riot at Capitol Hill were upheld by the Supreme Court this week. Alamy Alamy

The decision was came under fire from Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Biden-appointed Supreme Court Judge, who wrote in her dissenting opinion of the Court’s decision that the President of the United States can, officially, “become a law unto himself”.

“As we enter this uncharted territory, the People, in their wisdom, will need to remain ever attentive, consistently fulfilling their established role in our constitutional democracy, and thus collectively serving as the ultimate safeguard against any chaos spawned by this Court’s decision,” she said.

Contains reporting from © AFP 2024