President Biden walked aboard Air Force One on Saturday after holding a fundraiser in New Jersey and spoke by phone.
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President Biden had planned to celebrate his victory with Democratic supporters and donors in the days following his first debate with former President Donald Trump in 2024.
Instead, he spent the weekend doing damage control, trying to reassure the party that he was still up to the job, after his hoarse voice and stuttering words left Democrats collectively scratching their heads during Thursday’s debate. His weak performance led to a chorus of calls for him to end his re-election bid.
“I understand the concerns after the debate. I get it,” Biden told a crowd of supporters gathered at the home of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Saturday night. “I had a bad night. But I will fight harder and need you to join me in completing the mission.
Biden refreshed after debate
The Biden campaign has been hoping to use the debate to change the election, and the president spent a week preparing for the debate at Camp David. They originally wanted to contrast him with Trump on issues such as abortion, democracy and the economy, and hoped to dispel concerns about Biden’s age.
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were ordered out of a Waffle House in Marietta, Georgia, after Thursday’s first presidential debate of the 2024 election.
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Less than 24 hours after the debate, Biden returned to the rally stage in Raleigh, North Carolina. This time his voice was stronger and his momentum was stronger.
“I know how to get the job done. I know how to get things done. I know what millions of Americans know – when you get knocked down, you get back up,” he told the cheering crowd said.
Biden offered up new talking points for the first time about his weak performance — something he will continue to repeat at several different campaign receptions in New York and New Jersey on Friday and Saturday.
“I don’t walk as easily as I used to. I don’t speak as fluently as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to,” he said. “But I know what I know: I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong.
President Biden and British musician Elton John at the grand opening of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center in New York on Friday.
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Campaign is trying to shift attention back to Trump
Since the debate, Biden and his allies have tried to convince those who watched or watched the video online that it was just a bad night and not representative of who he is as a candidate and president.
It all started in earnest when the president and first lady attended a watch party in Atlanta after the debate. The first lady praised her husband for “answering every question” and said Trump “lied.”
On Friday, the couple attended a political fundraiser in New York where they highlighted Trump’s false comments during the debate. On Saturday, they visited the East Hampton home of hedge fund manager Barry Rosenstein and his wife, Lizanne Rosenstein.
First lady Jill Biden waves to President Joe Biden as they walk from Air Force One on the beach in Westhampton, New York, on Saturday.
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A small crowd greeted the convoy on its way into residential areas, holding signs that read: “We love you, but it’s time,” “Stand down for democracy,” “Quit for America,” and “Thanks, next.” “
Lizanne Rosenstein told the crowd gathered on her lawn, which included former Trump White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, “We could waste our time comparing debate nights, but you know what? Compare Previous presidents make more sense.
The first lady dismissed the naysayers with one sentence: “Joe is not only the right person for the job, he is the only person for the job.”
Campaign says debate didn’t change outcome
Campaign communications director Michael Taylor told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday that there were no conversations about Biden stepping down and that they were committed to a second debate with Trump in September.
Asked how Biden would prepare differently for the second debate, Taylor said: “Look, we’re going to talk more about the second debate as we get closer to it. What we’re focusing on right now what is [is] …back on the stump and communicating directly with the voters who will decide elections in battleground states.
The Biden campaign insisted the debate did not significantly change the outcome of the race and claimed it raised $33 million from debate day through Sunday morning.
“In modern campaigns, a single moment doesn’t determine the outcome of any race,” Molly Murphy, a pollster for the Biden campaign, told MSNBC on Sunday. She said focus groups showed voters Didn’t like the substance of Trump’s answers in the debate.
What are top congressional Democrats saying?
Top congressional Democrats pushed back on suggestions on political talk shows Sunday that Biden should be replaced as the Democratic nominee.
“Absolutely not,” Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Listen, if [Democrats] If they don’t get a little bit anxious, they’re not Democrats,” he said, adding, “Bad debates happen.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., the national co-chairman of the Biden campaign, told ABC’s “This Week” that he believed Biden was “the only one who can Democrats who defeated Donald Trump.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries previously told reporters that he still believed Democrats could win back the House with Biden’s support. Recover.
But Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., sent a different message on MSNBC.
“Obviously there were huge problems with Joe Biden’s debate performance. There’s also a huge reserve of affection and love for Joe Biden within our party, so it’s a difficult situation for everyone,” Raskin told Ari Velshi, MSNBC. “But we are having very honest, serious and rigorous conversations at all levels of our party because this is a party and we have different views.”
Raskin said Democrats will need him at the center of “whatever President Biden decides.”
“Whether he’s a candidate or someone else is a candidate, he’s going to be the keynote speaker at our convention. He’s going to be the figure that unites us moving forward.
