Joe Biden brings his embattled presidential campaign to Wisconsin Democratic stronghold

MADISON – As Joe Biden contemplates his political future, facing calls from within his own party to abandon a reelection bid, the 81-year-old Democratic president made a critical stop in this battleground state Friday in a show of commitment to see his campaign through.

Biden visited Wisconsin's voting powerhouse of Madison, where he planned a rally at a city middle school and the taping of a primetime interview with ABC organized to help overturn public fears of a lagging mental acuity. (The rally and ABC interview were conducted after print publication deadlines.)

The stop, perhaps the most important for Biden this campaign cycle, came as the president continued to deflect concerns from Democratic donors and his political colleagues over the president's ability to defeat Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and to carry out the duties of president for the next four years following a stunning debate performance during which Biden lost his train of thought and at times made nonsensical statements.

Democratic governors who met with Biden on Wednesday in a meeting to assess the president said they would stand by the president, including Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers who was the only governor to not participate in the meeting. But on Thursday, the New York Times reported major Democratic donors are launching a pressure campaign to get Biden to step aside.

Live updates: Follow our coverage of the president's visit to Madison, Wisconsin

Biden's campaign, however, is portraying a unified team that is ignoring efforts to replace the candidate. In a memo from Wisconsin campaign officials released to reporters, it was revealed key state surrogates would be on hand.

"President Biden is visiting Madison for his fifth trip to Wisconsin this year, where he will underscore the stakes of this election as Donald Trump grows increasingly extreme and unhinged," the memo said.

"Over the past few weeks, Wisconsin leaders have continued to show strong support for President Biden, and several will join him in Madison, including Governor Tony Evers, Congressman Mark Pocan, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, and Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler."

Evers especially is a key ally for Biden, recently scoring a 51% job approval rating from Wisconsin voters in a Marquette University Law School poll − nearly unheard of in a state that is evenly split politically.

Absent, however, was the state's top Democrat: U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Baldwin has avoided appearing with Biden in the president's recent visits and had already scheduled a campaign stop in northern Wisconsin for Friday.

The last time Baldwin appeared with Biden was at the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. in March, when she was among a group of lawmakers who walked the president into the House chamber.

Biden faced protests from about 75 pro-Palestinians on Sherman Avenue who shouted discontent over Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza into speakerphones, chanting “Biden, Biden you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide” and “Free, free Palestine.” Voters held signs including “Pres. Biden, Serve your country — not your ego. Exit now” and “Pass the torch.” The groups included the Madison chapter of students for Justice in Palestine, Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine and Listen to Wisconsin, according to an earlier Instagram post.Biden’s handling of Middle East policy has been a contentious part of his campaign, especially among young voters. Roughly 48,000 Wisconsinites voted “uninstructed” in the April Presidential Preference Primary.

But supporters invited to the Madison event did not have an ounce of doubt about Biden remaining the presidential nominee for their party.

“I don’t even understand why this is a talking point,” Nancy Locante of Kenosha told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We’re all behind Joe.”Lynn Dahl, 66, attributed issues with Biden’s debate performance to former President Donald Trump’s long list of false claims.“When he was faced with lies, I think that's what set him off,” Dahl said. “It would confuse me if somebody came at me with that volume of lies as well.”Amber Cohen, 41, of Madison, said she would vote for the Democratic candidate no matter what, but said putting in anyone else is “a terrible idea this late in the race.”“I've been a Democrat since I understood what a Democrat was, and I just feel like this is really important,” Cohen said. “I'm pretty tired of people just constantly questioning Biden's age as if that's the issue and not focusing on the utter barrage of lies he was faced with.”

Ahead of the Madison visit, Wisconsin GOP Chairman Brian Schimming said the Biden campaign has gone from one of “confidence to calamity to crisis” over the past 10 days, citing Biden’s debate performance and the Democratic scramble since to shore up support for the president.

“The Democratic Party, nationally and in Wisconsin, is in disarray right now.”

Schimming said Biden’s visit to one of the state’s biggest Democratic strongholds isn’t an effort to expand his support, but rather an effort to “rescue his campaign.” He hinted at calls from Democrats to replace Biden at the top of the ticket.

“As this is playing out right now, this may be Joe Biden’s last appearance in Madison and in Wisconsin as a candidate, even, with the mess that they have going on in the campaign and the Democratic Party right now.”

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler in an interview with the Journal Sentinel ahead of the event predicted Biden would be “knocking it out the park” with his speech.“My message to voters who are trying to figure out the path forward is to pay attention to the President's speech here in Madison today. Watch him on the campaign trail. See the fire and the energy that the voters saw in North Carolina last week,” Wikler said.

Lawrence Andrea of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Joe Biden brings his embattled presidential campaign to Madison