President Joe Biden campaigned for re-election on Friday, holding a rally and sitting down for an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos in a crucial swing state. The interview with Stephanopoulos, recorded after a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, is expected to be intense and probing, and two people familiar with the president's efforts said he has prepared extensively for it. Biden is under pressure to withdraw from the campaign trail after his disastrous debate performance against Republican Donald Trump sparked concerns that the 81-year-old Democrat is unfit to serve in office for another four years. On Friday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey released her first public statement since joining Democratic governors at the White House on Wednesday and meeting with Biden. “President Biden saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the past four years. I am deeply grateful for his leadership. And I know he agrees that this is the most important election of our lifetimes,” Healey said in a written statement. “The best path forward right now is a decision for the president to make,” Healey said. “In the days ahead, I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully consider whether he continues to be our best hope for defeating Donald Trump.” Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton said Wednesday he has “grave concerns” about Biden's ability to defeat Donald Trump. “When your current strategy isn't working, upping the ante is rarely the right decision. President Biden isn't getting any younger,” Moulton said Wednesday in a written statement. He reiterated his emphasis in comments Thursday and suggested Biden should resign. “President Biden has done tremendous service to our country, but now it's time for him to follow in the footsteps of one of our founding fathers, George Washington, and step aside to make way for new leaders to run against Donald Trump,” Moulton told Boston public radio station WBUR. “I think at this point he can't do anything other than perform a political equivalent of loaves and fishes,” said Thomas Whalen, a Boston University presidential historian and author. “I think his performance in the debate was so poor.” “Now the money seems to be drying up not only for him but for other Democrats through the party's big donors. I think he has no choice,” Whalen said. “There's still plenty of time for the party to salvage the situation.” “If he decides to resign of his own accord, he can just pass it on, say, give delegates to his vice president, Kamala Harris,” Whalen said. “It would be a smooth transition. All the infrastructure for the campaign is in place. It would probably be the best and most politically safe path for the Democrats to take going forward.” This report used information from the Associated Press.

BOSTON —

President Joe Biden campaigned for re-election on Friday, holding a rally in a crucial swing state and giving an interview to ABC reporter George Stephanopoulos.

The interview with Stephanopoulos, recorded after a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, is expected to be intense and visceral, but two people familiar with the president's efforts said he had been busy preparing for it.

Biden is under pressure to drop out of the campaign after his disastrous performance in the debate against Republican Donald Trump fueled concerns that the 81-year-old Democrat is not ready for another four years.

On Friday, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey made her first public statement since joining Democratic governors at the White House on Wednesday and meeting with Biden.

“President Biden saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the past four years. I am deeply grateful for his leadership. And I know he agrees that this is the most important election of our lifetime,” Healey said in a written statement.

“The best path forward right now is a decision for the president to make,” Healey said. “I urge him to listen to the American people in the days ahead and carefully consider whether he remains our best hope of defeating Donald Trump.”

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton said Wednesday he had “grave concerns” about Biden’s ability to defeat Donald Trump.

“When your current strategy isn't working, doubling down is rarely the right decision. President Biden isn't getting any younger,” Moulton said in a written statement Wednesday.

On Thursday, he reiterated his comments and suggested that Biden should resign.

“President Biden has done tremendous service to our country, but now it is time for him to follow in the footsteps of one of our Founding Fathers, George Washington, and step aside to make way for new leaders to run against Donald Trump,” Moulton told Boston public radio station WBUR.

“I think at this point there's nothing he can do but present a political equivalent of loaves and fishes,” said presidential historian and author Thomas Whalen of Boston University. “I think his performance in the debate was that poor.”

“Now the money seems to be drying up not only for him but for other Democrats from the party's big donors. I don't think he has a choice,” Whalen said. “There's still plenty of time for the party to fix the situation.”

“If he does decide to step down on his own, he can just hand the delegates over to his running mate, Kamala Harris,” Whalen said. “That would be a smooth transition. All the campaign infrastructure is in place. That would probably be the best and most politically secure way for Democrats to move forward.”

This report uses information from the Associated Press.