President Joe Biden was defiant during a rare news conference ...
fighting back at critics who are calling for him to drop out of the race. POTUS is trying to show voters he's still got the mental chops to beat Donald Trump and carry out the duties of president for another term ..
. and while he made a few trademark flubs -- like saying "Vice President Trump" in referring to Kamala Harris -- he was confident in his ability to win another election, and pushed back on narratives about his mental fitness. Biden called his debate disaster a "stupid mistake" .
.. saying he was off his game because he traveled all over creation in the weeks before .
.. including from Italy to L.
A. to go to the fundraiser with George Clooney . He said he won't make that mistake again.
The Prez also poo-poo'd stories about him being no good after 8 PM ...
Biden says the narrative out there is false and he just wants fundraising events moved up in the day so his supporters can get home earlier. He says he's trying to pace himself more and his schedule remains jam-packed after the debate. Biden took some shots at Trump too .
.. saying the former president just rides around on his golf cart these days while he gets important policy passed.
There's a lot of pressure on Biden here, both internally and externally, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre even hyping this appearance up as a "big boy" press conference. Biden's so far been defiant amid growing calls for him to drop out of the race, say.
