I traveled with Biden all weekend. He’s not going down without a fight.

Joe Biden is still running for president. Quite literally.

A week after a disastrous debate performance that led many within his own party to question his physical and mental stamina, the president could be seen jogging from Air Force One to greet Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers in Madison. He jogged across the stage at a middle school to the Tom Petty song “I Won’t Back Down.” He jogged from the lectern and swayed with the choir after speaking to an enthusiastic Black congregation in Philadelphia. 

“I am running and going to win again,” he said at the Madison rally, prompting chants from the crowd: “Let’s go, Joe!”

The president indignantly cast the calls for him to step down as an affront to the millions of voters who had turned out to support him during the primaries. “Some folks don’t seem to care who you voted for,” he said. Then, shouting, “I’m staying in the race!”

Over the long holiday weekend, as Mr. Biden was staring down the biggest crisis of his political career, I was given a front-row seat to it all, as part of the White House travel pool. At this extraordinary moment in U.S. politics, it happened to be the Monitor’s turn to be the eyes and ears for the wider Washington press corps, sending out regular updates about everything the president said and did during swings through Wisconsin, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. 

“Jill Biden’s husband,” as the president likes to introduce himself, came on the Washington political scene more than a half-century ago as a 30-year-old senator. Now, pointed questions about his mental acuity have brought Mr. Biden to a make-or-break moment for his 2024 reelection campaign – and a defining juncture for his storied political career. 

Facing criticism in the wake of the debate that he and his team were in denial and willfully ignoring concerns, Mr. Biden made a concerted show of energy this weekend. His voice was often strong on the campaign trail. At one stop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he spoke and mingled with supporters for over an hour in 90-degree-Fahrenheit heat, in a courtyard filled with balloon animals and wafts of sunscreen. And while he often held the handrail exiting his plane, he also jokingly acted as though he was ready to dart away from us in the press pool. 

It remains to be seen whether those efforts can reverse the tides of criticism. While voters at his events expressed enthusiastic support, there were also signs – literally – that not everyone is on board. 

“Save your legacy, drop out,” one sign read outside Mr. Biden’s rally in Madison. At other stops, protesters criticized the president for “genocide” in Gaza. There were also reminders of his opponent, who has been widening his lead in recent polls. As the Biden motorcade sped along a Pennsylvania highway, we passed a Trump billboard urging motorists to “Achieve the American dream!”

Mr. Biden and his allies are vigorously making the case – both in public and behind the scenes – that he is still the best Democrat to beat Donald Trump. He sat down with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday for an interview that some criticized for being short and unconvincing.

Monday morning, the president called into “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, feistily telling the hosts, “I’m getting so frustrated by the elites in the party.” He added, “If any of these guys don’t think I should run, run against me. Go ahead. Announce for president – challenge me at the convention!” He also released a letter to congressional Democrats saying he had heard the “fears and worries about what is at stake” and arguing that he understands that responsibility better than anyone.

“I wouldn’t be running again if I didn’t absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024,” he wrote.

On the trail this weekend, Mr. Biden doubled down on retail politics, shaking hands and taking countless selfies; gave speeches about American values; and lightly sparred with the press. 

One reporter called out a question as the president was boarding Air Force One in Madison, wondering how he could argue simultaneously that democracy itself was at risk and that he was the best candidate to take on Mr. Trump. 

“Because I beat him before and I’ve gotten more done than any president has,” Mr. Biden said.

We huddled around the president on the tarmac, a sweaty bunch of journalists reflected in his aviators, trying to hear him over the roar of the plane. “That was four years ago, Mr. President,” a reporter responded.

“You’ve been wrong about everything so far,” Mr. Biden fired back. “You were wrong about 2020. You were wrong about 2022 that we were gonna get wiped out. Remember the ‘red wave’?” he said, referring to predictions of Republican dominance in the midterms that never materialized. “You were wrong about 2023, when you said all the tough races we were going to – and we won them all but two.” 

The president answered at least 15 questions in that two-minute “gaggle” – the most face-to-face time we in the pool had with him this weekend. His answers never varied: He sees himself as the strongest candidate to beat Mr. Trump. He shrugs off the doomsayers and poor poll numbers alike, insisting they’re all wrong.

Toward the end of the trip, at a Philadelphia church, the senior pastor compared Mr. Biden to the biblical character of Joseph, who overcame fraternal betrayal and exile and ultimately triumphed. “Don’t count him out,” he called, to cheers and applause from the Black congregation. 

That’s the message the president is sticking with. As he boarded Air Force One in Harrisburg to fly home and return to the maelstrom of Washington, the president turned back to us in the pool. 

“I’m up for the job,” he said, flashing a thumbs-up.