President Joe Biden has reportedly admitted that he will have to end his re-election campaign if he cannot convince voters that he is up for the job after his flailing performance at last week’s debate against Donald Trump.

A key ally to the president told The New York Times that while Biden remains committed to the race, his next several crucial public appearances could shape his plans for 2024.

Biden is scheduled for an interview with ABC News host George Stephanopoulos on Friday followed by campaign stops in critical swing states Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

“He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place” by the end of the weekend, according to the ally, speaking anonymously to The Times.

White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told The Independent “that claim is absolutely false.”

“If the New York Times had provided us with more than 7 minutes to comment we would have told them so,” he added.

A spokesperson for Biden’s campaign told The Independent that the report is “wrong.”

The statement reported in The Times would appear to be the first from within Biden’s camp that suggests the president is mulling his departure from the race, as polling shows him slipping considerably in his rematch against the twice-impeached and criminally convicted Republican rival.

Biden’s campaign and White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients have each called all-hands meetings with staff on Wednesday.

The president also is meeting with Democratic governors at the White House on Wednesday, as Democratic officials across the country fear that the president’s shrinking chances of victory imperil other down-ballot Democratic races.

Major newspaper editorials and prominent allies have argued that the president should end his re-election campaign, or that his campaign and the Democratic Party should seriously confront nosediving poll numbers and growing concerns about the president’s age and future.