Biden defiant as America reacts to make-or-break TV interview – live

Amid growing calls for his exit, president told ABC only ‘the Lord almighty’ could make him exit 2024 race

• Full story: Biden says only ‘Lord almighty’ could make him drop out

Good morning,

Joe Biden is still fighting for his political life. On Friday, the president was defiant in a make-or-break TV interview on ABC, insisting that only “the Lord almighty” could persuade him to exit the US presidential race.

Here are key takeaways from the high-stakes ABC TV interview.

Pressed by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on what he would do if friends and supporters expressed concern that his candidacy would cost Democrats the House of Representatives and Senate, Biden replied: “I’m not going to answer that question. It’s not going to happen.”

Millions are pinning their hopes on the Democratic party as the last wall of defence against Donald Trump’s threat of an “imperial presidency”, The Guardian’s Washington DC bureau chief David Smith writes. Instead the Democratic party is offering 81-year-old Joe Biden and an internal civil war.