President Joe Biden defended his candidacy for the Democratic nomination on Friday night, in his first on-camera interview since his bad debate performance last week.

The president has been facing pressure to withdraw from the race since the debate stunned Democratic insiders. But Biden told reporters on Friday that he has "completely [ruled] out" dropping his bid, and that he was "confident" he could serve another four years in the White House, CBS News reported. 

Biden told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that the debate was just a "bad episode" rather than a broader indication on his capability of serving as the country's leader.

“It was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition," Biden said in a clip of the interview that aired during "World News Tonight." "I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and — and a bad night." 

Biden also admitted that he did not watch the debate afterwards, and that his performance in the debate was his fault alone. The president also said he only had a "bad cold" during the debate, but that they did a COVID-19 test and other tests to make sure it was not a virus. 

When pressed on polling that indicates he is behind in the race, Biden said "I don't buy that," and said he believes the race is a "toss up."