MADISON, Wis. — President Joe Biden, fighting to save his endangered reelection effort, used a highly anticipated TV interview Friday to repeatedly reject taking an independent medical evaluation that would show voters he is up for serving another term in office while blaming his disastrous debate performance on a “bad episode” and saying there were “no indications of any serious condition.”

“Look, I have a cognitive test every single day,” Biden told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, referring to the tasks he faces daily in a rigorous job. “Every day, I have that test. Everything I do. You know, not only am I campaigning, but I’m running the world.”

The 81-year-old Biden made it through the 22-minute interview without any major blunders that would inflict further damage to his imperiled candidacy, but it appeared unlikely to fully tamp down concerns about his age and fitness for another four years and his ability to defeat Donald Trump in November.

It left Biden in a standoff against a significant faction of his party with four months to go until Election Day, and with just weeks until the Democratic National Convention. The drawn-out spectacle could benefit Biden’s efforts to remain in the race by limiting the party’s options to replace him. But it also could be a distraction from vital efforts to frame the 2024 race as a referendum on Trump.

During the interview, Biden insisted he was not more frail than earlier in his presidency. He said he undergoes “ongoing assessment” by his personal doctors and they “don’t hesitate to tell me” if something is wrong.

“Can I run the 100 in 10 flat? No. But I’m still in good shape,” Biden said.

As for the debate, “I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing,” Biden said.

Biden suggested that Trump’s disruptions — from just a few feet away — had flustered him: “I realized that, even when I was answering a question and they turned his mic off, he was still shouting and I let it distract me. I’m not blaming it on that. But I realized that I just wasn’t in control.”

At times, Biden rambled during the interview, which ABC said aired in full and without edits. At one point, he started to explain his debate performance, then veered to a New York Times poll then pivoted to the lies Trump told during the debate. Biden also referred to the midterm “red wave” as occurring in 2020, rather than 2022.

Asked how he might turn the race around, Biden argued that one key would be large and energetic rallies like the one he held Friday in Wisconsin. When reminded that Trump routinely draws larger crowds, the president laid into his opponent.

“Trump is a pathological liar,” Biden said, accusing Trump of bungling the federal response to the covid-19 pandemic and failing to create jobs. “You ever see something that Trump did that benefited someone else and not him?”

The interview, paired with a weekend campaign in battleground Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, was part of Biden’s rigorous effort to course-correct from his rocky debate performance. But internal party frustrations continue to fester, with one influential Democratic senator working on a nascent push to encourage the president to exit the race and Democrats quietly chatting about where they would go next if the president drops out — or what it would mean if he stays in.

“It’s President Biden’s decision whether or not he remains in the race. Voters select our nominee and they chose him,” said California Rep. Ro Khanna, a member of the Biden campaign’s national advisory board that works as a gathering of his top surrogates. “Now he needs to prove to those voters that he is up to the job and that will require more than just this one interview.”

One Democrat who watched said they found Biden to be still shaky under controlled conditions and predicted more will call on him to leave the race.

Still, in Wisconsin, Biden was focused on proving his capacity to serve another term. When asked whether he would halt his campaign, he told reporters he was “completely ruling that out” and said he is “positive” he could serve another four years. At a rally in front of hundreds of supporters he acknowledged his subpar debate performance but insisted, “I am running, and I’m going to win again.”

“I beat Donald Trump,” a forceful Biden said, as the crowd gathered in a middle school cheered and waved campaign signs. “I will beat him again.”

LAWMAKERS’ CONCERNS

While private angst among Democratic lawmakers, donors and strategists has been running deep since the debate, most in the party have held public fire as they wait to see if the president can restore confidence with his weekend travel and his handling of the interview.

To that end, Sen. Mark Warner reached out to fellow senators throughout this week to discuss whether to ask Biden to exit the race, according to three people familiar with the effort who requested anonymity to talk about private conversations. The Virginia Democrat’s moves are notable given his chairmanship of the Senate Intelligence Committee and his reputation as a lawmaker who is supportive of Biden and has working relationships with colleagues in both parties. Warner’s effort was first reported by The Washington Post.

The strategy remains fluid. One of the people with knowledge of Warner’s effort said there are enough Senate Democrats concerned enough about Biden’s capacity to run for reelection to take some sort of action, although there was yet no consensus on what that plan would be. Some of the Democratic senators could meet as soon as Monday on how to move forward.

The top Democrats on House committees are planning to meet virtually Sunday to discuss the situation, according to a person familiar with the gathering granted anonymity to talk about it.

At least four House Democrats have called for Biden to step down as the nominee. While not going that far, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said in a carefully worded statement Friday that Biden now has a decision to make on “the best way forward.”

“I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump,” Healey said.

In the interview, Biden was asked how he might be persuaded to leave the race. He laughed and replied, “If the Lord Almighty comes down and tells me that, I might do that.”

There were also a few signs of discontent at Biden’s campaign rally Friday, with one person onstage waving a sign that read “Pass the torch Joe” as the president came out. His motorcade was also greeted at the middle school by a few people urging him to move on.

But Rebecca Green, a 52-year-old environmental scientist from Madison, said she found Biden’s energy reassuring. “We were just waiting for him to come out strong and fighting again, the way we know he is.”

Many Democratic lawmakers, who are hearing from constituents at home during the holiday week, are deeply frustrated and split on whether Biden should stay or go. Privately, discussions among the House Democrats flared this week as word spread that some of them were drafting public letters suggesting that the president should quit the race.

Biden appears to have pulled his family closer while attempting to prove that he’s still the Democrats’ best option.

The ubiquitous presence of Hunter Biden in the West Wing since the debate has become an uncomfortable dynamic for many staffers, according to two Democrats close to the White House who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

For many staffers, the sight of Hunter Biden, just weeks after his conviction on felony gun charges, taking a larger role in advising his father has been unsettling and a questionable choice, they said.

In a hastily organized gathering with more than 20 Democratic governors Wednesday evening, Biden acknowledged that he needs to sleep more and limit evening events so he can be rested for the job. In trying to explain away those comments, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stressed that Biden “works around the clock” but that he “also recognizes the importance of striking a balance and taking care of himself.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who attended the meeting, said Biden “certainly engaged with us on complicated matters.”

“But then again, this is something that he needs to not just reassure Democratic governors on, but he needs to reassure the American people,” Beshear said.

Information for this article was contributed by Todd Richmond, Joey Cappelletti, Dylan Lovan, Will Weissert, Zeke Miller, Mary Clare Jalonick, Aamer Madhani, Lisa Mascaro and Josh Boak of The Associated Press.

    President Joe Biden waits for the start of the Independence Day firework display over the National Mall from the balcony of the White House, Thursday, July 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
  

    President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School in Madison, Wis., Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
  

    President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School in Madison, Wis., Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
  

    President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School in Madison, Wis., Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
  

    President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School in Madison, Wis., Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
  

    President Joe Biden, right, greets supporters at a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School in Madison, Wis., Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
  

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom poses as State Representative Nick Pisciottano points to him during a campaign stop supporting President Joe Biden on Friday, July 5, 2024, outside Pittsburgh. The stop was held at a Biden Harris campaign head quarters. (Benjamin B. Braun/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)
  

    President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School in Madison, Wis., Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
  

Proponents of two proposed Arkansas constitutional amendments did not submit their petitions to the Secretary of State’s office on Friday, saying they fell short of the required number of signatures needed to make the November ballot.

Spokespersons for the amendments’ supporters said they intend to resubmit similar proposals in the 2026 election cycle and work to get the General Assembly to enact elements of the proposals into law in 2025.

For AR Kids, the coalition behind the Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024, gathered 69,968 signatures collected from 55 counties, spokesperson Bill Kopsky said at an afternoon press conference. While the group didn’t submit signatures, it did submit an affidavit with a county breakdown of where signatures were collected to the secretary of state.

Act 236 of 2023 required 90,704 signatures from at least 50 counties. Previously, signatures need only be collected from 15 of the state’s 75 counties. 

“Our runway was about two weeks short,” Kopsky said in a reference to the time constraint the all-volunteer signature campaign was under.

Arkansas Citizens for Transparency and the Arkansas Press Association announced in a joint statement shortly before the 5 p.m. deadline for submitting petitions that they didn’t have the required total number of signatures but had met the minimum signature qualification in 50 counties. The groups sought to place an initiated act to amend the state Freedom of Information Act on the November ballot as well as a constitutional amendment guaranteeing government transparency as a citizen’s right.

“We were closer on the act than the amendment,” said Andrew Bagley, press association president and publisher/editor of The Helena World.

Educational Rights Amendment

For AR Kids and its member groups remain committed to achieving the goals of the proposed amendment, Kopsky said.

 “Arkansas voters deserve a chance to vote on improving the future of all Arkansas kids,” he said.

The primary goal of the proposed amendment was to hold private schools that receive state funding to the same standards as public schools. The proposal stems from a new voucher program that provides taxpayer money for allowable educational expenses, such as private school tuition.

 The proposed measure also would have guaranteed voluntary universal access to pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds, after-school and summer programming, quality special education and assistance for children in families within 200% of the Federal Poverty Line ($62,400 for a family of four).

“Lawmakers have the power to fund proven strategies like pre-K, after-school summer programs, finally doing something to improve our special education system and giving low-income children more support,” Kopsky said. “We believe everything in our proposal is a right.”

Steve Grappe of Stand Up Arkansas, one of the For AR Kids coalition members, said the group spent a lot of time seeking signatures in rural counties “because they’re disproportionately impacted” by the tax funds being funneled to private schools under the LEARNS Act.

“They’re feeling the heat,” he said, noting that parents in urban areas have lots of choices for educating their children while those in rural counties have only public schools.

Grappe noted that volunteers had collected signatures of support from 40% of the voters who voted in the 2020 presidential election, much higher than the required percentage.

Other members of the coalition include the Arkansas Education Association (AEA), Arkansas Conference of the NAACP, the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, The Arkansas Retired Teachers Association and Citizens First Congress (CFC).

AEA President April Reisma thanked the volunteers who endured hot weather and “dishonest” opponents to gather signatures and thanked the citizens who “bravely signed” the petitions.

“We didn’t have outside money,” she said, referring to two groups opposed to the amendment proposal that amassed hundreds of thousands of dollars from wealthy donors, some of whom are not from Arkansas.

For AR Kids relied on 1,200 volunteers, not paid canvassers, Kopsky said.

“I have immense gratitude for each and every one of them and everything they sacrificed,” he said.

The measure faced opposition from Arkansans for Students and Educators and Stronger Arkansas, two ballot question committees with close ties to the governor. Additionally, the measure was opposed by Family Council Action Committee 2024, which like Stronger Arkansas also opposes the proposed abortion and medical marijuana amendments.

Arkansans for Students and Educators and Stronger Arkansas have received a total of $986,000 and $375,000, respectively, in campaign contributions, according to June financial disclosure documents. Meanwhile, For AR Kids received a total of $8,217 from donors.

Arkansans for Students and Educators issued a statement Friday saying that Arkansans have once again “rejected the status quo of the education establishment that has kept us at the bottom for decades. …[T]he message being sent is crystal clear: Arkansans are demanding bold change for our education system — one that empowers parents, puts students first, and starts to pay teachers what they deserve.”

A key component of the LEARNS Act was establishing a $50,000 minimum salary for Arkansas teachers.

Elaine Williams, a For AR Kids volunteer from Prescott, told supporters during the press conference:

“We did not lose. We just didn’t have the total. I say that because people believe in what we were trying to do and what we are yet going to do.”

Government transparency

Nate Bell, a former state legislator and chair of the Arkansas Citizens for Transparency ballot question committee, said the group will continue to work for open government.

“An open and transparent government is essential for the future of our democratic institutions because a citizenry without independent information will be unable to make informed judgments about the quality of government they are being provided,” he said. 

“Unfortunately, rules have been set that are very arduous and costly and we have learned a lot from this experience that will be valuable in the future,” Bell said in a reference to the higher signature threshold and number of counties required by Act 236 of 2023.

A lawsuit filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court last year argues the requirement makes it harder for citizen-led petitions to qualify for the ballot. A judge heard arguments in the case in February, but has not yet issued a ruling.

Ashley Wimberley, the press association director, said deciding not to submit the petitions was difficult but was made “in order to save the dedicated staff in the Secretary of State’s office unnecessary work.”

In a joint statement with ACT, Wimberley expressed gratitude for the campaign’s volunteers and those who donated funds toward the effort.

 “We were short on time. This is a hurdle not an end. This has been an educational process, and we are hopeful that the same is true for our legislators who represent the people who believe in this across the state,” the statement said.

Bagley, installed as the APA president a week ago, served on the Arkansans for a Free Press ballot committee, said: “Polling shows that open government is immensely popular, and it is essential whether it’s at the Capitol or the local level.”

He said the association looks forward to working with lawmakers in next year’s session “to preserve the people’s right to know.”

Arkansans for a Free Press will continue organizing and will file an updated proposal to try to qualify for the 2026 election, he said.

“I still have hope and believe that we share the concerns of a majority of Arkansans.  We cannot allow Winthrop Rockefeller’s legacy to be erased,” he said, referring to the Arkansas governor in whose term the state Freedom of Information Act became law in 1967.

Other unsuccessful measures

Restore Election Integrity Arkansas, a ballot question committee supporting the Absentee Voting Amendment of 2024, did not submit petitions on Friday.

The proposed constitutional amendment would have limited absentee voting to people who can prove their inability to vote in person. It would have allowed absentee ballots to be distributed within 30 days of election day only to registered voters who are unable to be present at the polls on election day because they are absent from the county where they’re registered to vote, or are hospitalized, incarcerated or in a long-term care facility. 

Restore Election Integrity Arkansas also had proposed a separate measure to require Arkansas elections be conducted with hand-marked, hand-counted paper ballots, but it was rejected by the attorney general. 

The Arkansas Supreme Court in May dismissed a lawsuit that asked the high court to independently certify the legal sufficiency of the measures’ ballot titles and popular names and order them placed on the ballot. 

Pine Bluff resident Dave Dinwiddie did not submit petitions Friday for his initiated act to lower the age requirement from 45 years to 25 years for antique vehicle tags because he did not collect a sufficient number of signatures.

Dinwiddie told the Advocate earlier this week that he collected fewer than 100 signatures of the required 72,563. He said he plans to raise money over the next few years and try again to lower the age requirement for antique tags in 2026.

Antoinette Grajeda, Mary Hennigan and Tess Vrbin contributed to this report.

Supporters of a proposed constitutional amendment to expand abortion access in Arkansas packed a hallway in the state Capitol Friday afternoon and cheered while movers delivered boxes full of petitions to put the amendment to a statewide vote in November.

The group behind the proposed amendment announced midday Friday it had exceeded the minimum threshold for county and statewide totals needed to qualify for the ballot. 

Arkansans for Limited Government delivered over 100,000 signatures from 53 counties, more than the required 90,704 signatures from 50 counties, to the Secretary of State’s office ahead of Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline.

“A lot of people across the nation kind of look at the South as a hopeless cause, and I think we’ve proven that, with this many signatures, we can make change here and we can protect reproductive rights here,” said medical student Margaret Woodruff, who wore the words “future abortion provider” taped to a white lab coat.

The measure must await formal certification from the secretary of state and then survive expected legal challenges before being presented to voters in November.

AFLG expressed its gratitude to voters and its belief “that healthcare is personal and private” in a statement Friday.

“Bodily autonomy and the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship are values that transcend party politics, economics, and religion,” the statement reads. “Healthcare decisions, including decisions about reproductive health, should be made between patients and their healthcare team.” 

The Arkansas Abortion Amendment would not allow government entities to “prohibit, penalize, delay or restrict abortion services within 18 weeks of fertilization.” The proposal would also permit abortion services in cases of rape, incest, a fatal fetal anomaly or to “protect the pregnant female’s life or physical health,” and it would nullify any of the state’s existing “provisions of the Constitution, statutes and common law” that conflict with it.

Abortion has been illegal in Arkansas, except to save the pregnant person’s life, since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

The amendment’s supporters on Friday held signs with slogans such as “Trust women,” “The people rule” and “Arkansans know best.”

The group chanted “This is what democracy looks like” and “I know my body,” repeatedly cheering as movers flanked by Capitol police delivered more and more boxes, labeled by county, to the committee room where the Secretary of State’s office will count and verify signatures.

Alison Guthrie, an activist and canvasser for the amendment, said she was holding back tears during the delivery, especially since roughly 20,000 signatures had been gathered since Monday.

“It feels absolutely unreal,” she said. “It feels a little bit like justice… It’s just an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. Everyone worked so hard, so it’s motivating and it’s inspiring, and it makes me feel a lot more hopeful about Arkansas.”

Arkansans for Limited Government was about 10,000 signatures shy of the minimum at the start of the week, but made a strong effort to gather last-minute signatures, including on Independence Day when an email claiming to be from the organization caused confusion by stating no more signatures were needed. AFLG quickly alerted supporters that the misleading email was not from them and encouraged people to continue signing petitions. 

Supporters of the Arkansas Abortion Amendment have faced a number of challenges throughout the campaign, including a “Decline to Sign” effort encouraging voters not to sign petitions for the amendment. The effort was led by anti-abortion groups Arkansas Right to Life and the Family Council, the latter of which posted on its website a list of 79 people paid by AFLG to collect signatures.

AFLG called the post attempted intimidation; the Family Council has since removed the list from the post but has kept it publicly available on its political action committee website. Acquiring and publishing the list is legal under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

The Family Council Action Committee announced Friday it would support legal challenges against the abortion amendment if it’s approved for the November ballot. 

Stronger Arkansas, a ballot question committee whose members have close ties to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, also opposed the proposed amendment. Sanders’ former gubernatorial campaign manager Chris Caldwell leads the group, which proclaimed in a statement that Arkansas will remain “the most pro-life state in America” in 2024. 

“Only 5% of registered voters signed the radical abortion-until-birth petition, and we are confident when we hear from the other 95% that Hillary Clinton and her far-left allies from New York and California will be defeated,” the statement reads.

Opponents of the amendment at the Capitol on Friday held their own signs that said “Decline to sign,” “Pray to end abortion” and “Life: the first inalienable right.” The two groups rarely interacted throughout the afternoon. Supporters of the measure outnumbered opponents.

Jo Ann Craig, who opposed the amendment, said she was sad to see so much support for it and hoped for “a big conversion of everyone’s hearts.”

“I honestly thought that people from outside our state had just manipulated our state [because] they wanted to get their signatures,” Craig said. “…If they’re not being tricked and they know exactly what they’re doing, that makes me sad.”

A unique challenge to the Arkansas Abortion Amendment has been a lack of national support. While several states have approved citizen-led abortion-rights initiatives over the last two years and more are pursuing similar efforts, Arkansas’ has been controversial among reproductive justice advocates because it would reinstate an abortion policy more restrictive than under Roe v. Wade. For this reason, major national abortion-rights groups have not been involved in promoting or funding the campaign, Slate reported.

“We never counted ourselves out, and I hope we’ve demonstrated to the world that reproductive liberty is a winning issue even in seemingly unexpected places,” AFLG spokesperson Rebecca Bobrow said in a Friday email. “We’ve been people-powered from beginning to end, and today’s success is a hopeful testament to the unrelenting and courageous work of our more than 800 volunteers, who often bore the brunt of the burden from our doubters and detractors.”

After overcoming six months of hurdles, AFLG acknowledged its accomplishment Friday, but also the additional work that lies ahead.

“We are proud of our fellow Arkansans for rejecting the state’s extreme abortion ban and taking the first, important step towards protecting pregnant women now and in the future,” AFLG said in a statement. “We celebrate our accomplishments today, but on Monday we get back to work because women’s lives are at stake. The hardest job is ahead of us, and we will not fail.”

Woodruff and another medical student, Cat Davis, said the amendment’s likelihood of being on the November ballot gave them hope, not only for their future careers but for the healthcare landscape of Arkansas and the South. The amendment could help combat Arkansas’ infant and maternal mortality rates, which data has shown are the highest in the nation, Woodruff said.

Additionally, fewer medical students have sought to practice in states with abortion bans since the reversal of Roe v. Wade, according to a study released in early May by the Association of American Medical Colleges Research and Action Institute.

“We need good providers in Arkansas, and I think this [amendment] is a good step towards that,” Davis said.