Author: Steve Holland and Jarrett Renshaw
NEW YORK (Reuters) – President Joe Biden kicked off a series of fundraisers in two states on Saturday as he sought to allay a crisis of confidence in his re-election campaign after a poor debate performance that put his Fellow Democrats are frustrated.
Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit the upscale New York beach resort of the Hamptons for a campaign fundraiser hosted by hedge fund billionaire Barry Rosenstein. Later in the day, he will travel to New Jersey for a fundraiser hosted by wealthy New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat.
Hedge fund founder Eric Mindich and his Tony Award-winning producer wife Stacey, celebrity couple Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, and Actor Michael J. Fox is listed as a member of the New York event’s host committee.
Biden told a rally in North Carolina on Friday that he intends to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in November’s presidential election, but there was no sign he would heed calls from Democrats to drop him out of the race.
Biden’s stuttering words and occasionally meandering responses during Thursday night’s debate heightened voters’ concerns that the 81-year-old might not be fit for another four-year term.
The Biden campaign claimed on Saturday that it had raised more than $27 million from debate day through Friday night, but questions remain about whether debate performance will impact fundraising, at least in the short term.
