‘I screwed up’: Joe Biden addresses debate performance with Milwaukee radio host

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden in a Milwaukee radio interview on Wednesday said he “screwed up” during the debate with former President Donald Trump last week — marking some of the first public comments from the president since the event.

“I had a bad night,” Biden told Milwaukee radio host Earl Ingram in a pre-recorded interview set to air Thursday morning. “And the fact of the matter is that I screwed up. I made a mistake. That’s 90 minutes onstage, look at what I’ve done in 3.5 years.”

The comments, made during an interview with Ingram Wednesday, are among the first from the president following a shaky debate performance that highlighted questions about Biden’s age and led some Democrats to call to replace him at the top of the ticket. Biden has said he plans to stay in the race.

About one minute of select clips from Biden’s interview was provided to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Ingram, a longtime Biden supporter, told the Journal Sentinel he spoke with the president for 20 minutes. The full interview will air 8 a.m. Thursday on WAUK-AM(540).

During the interview, Biden also touted his efforts to engage minority communities and noted his work appointing Black judges, according to the short clips.

“I picked a Black woman to be my vice president. I’ve appointed the first Black woman to be a Supreme Court justice,” Biden said. “I’ve appointed more Black judges, more Black women judges, than every other president in American history combined.”

He attacked Trump for recent comments the presumptive Republican nominee made about Black workers.

“I’m sorry to get so worked up,” Biden said. “But he is just — he’s terrible things in the community, and he has about as much interest and concern for Black, minority communities as the man on the moon does.”

Biden is set to visit Madison Friday.

The interview was recorded the same day Biden met with 24 Democratic governors from across the country as he sought to tamp down concerns from within the party about his place at the top of the ticket. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers was the only Democratic governor to miss the meeting.

“(Evers) didn’t attend the meeting because he’s focused on moving forward and winning Wisconsin,” Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback wrote on X. “He supports President Biden – his comments in support of the president over the last week speak for themselves, and he looks forward to campaigning with the President on Friday.”

Several governors after the meeting indicated they remained behind Biden.

“He has had out backs through COVID, through all of the recovery, all of the things that have happened,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told reporters. “The governors have his back.”

“A path to victory in November is the No. 1 priority,” Walz added. “And that’s the No. 1 priority of the president. So that’s what we’re trying to get done.”

Milwaukee is set to host the Republican National Convention starting July 15.

Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed from Milwaukee.