President Joe Biden declared his intention to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in the upcoming November presidential election, showing no signs of stepping down from the race despite recent debate struggles.
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“I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” an ebullient Biden said at a rally on Friday, a day after his head-to-head showdown with Trump. The debate was widely viewed as a challenging night for the 81-year-old president. “I don’t walk as easy as I used to; I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to; I don’t debate as well as I used to,” he admitted, as the crowd chanted “Four more years.”
Biden’s performance in the debate, marked by verbal mumbles and occasionally meandering responses, heightened voter concerns about his fitness to serve another term. However, Biden remained resolute, saying, “I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul that I could do this job. The stakes are too high.”
The president’s debate difficulties prompted some fellow Democrats to question whether they could replace him as their candidate for the November 5 election.
Campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler, however, dismissed these concerns, saying, “We’d rather have one bad night than a candidate with a bad vision for where he wants to take the country.”
In response to the debate performance, the Biden campaign held an “all-hands-on-deck” meeting on Friday afternoon to reassure staffers that the president would not drop out of the race, according to sources familiar with the meeting.
Meanwhile, Democratic Party leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, avoided directly addressing his faith in Biden’s candidacy, stating, “I support the ticket. I support the Senate Democratic majority. We’re going to do everything possible to take back the House in November.”
Some Democrats similarly evaded the question of whether Biden should stay in the race. Democratic Senator Jack Reed commented, “That’s the president’s decision.”
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However, prominent figures like former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama expressed their continued support for Biden. Obama, addressing the issue on X, wrote, “Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and somebody who only cares about himself.”
The New York Times editorial board, which endorsed Biden in 2020, called on him to drop out to give the Democratic Party a better chance against Trump. “The greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election,” the editorial suggested.
Despite the criticism, the Biden campaign reported raising $14 million on Thursday and Friday, including their best hour of fundraising immediately following the debate. The Trump campaign reported raising $8 million on the night of the debate.
Preliminary viewership data indicated that only 48 million Americans watched the debate, a significant drop from the 73 million who watched the candidates’ last face-off in 2020.
Biden, already the oldest American president in history, faced minimal opposition during the Democratic Party’s nominating contest and has secured enough support to guarantee his spot as the nominee. Similarly, Trump overcame his intra-party challengers early in the year, setting the stage for a long and contentious general election fight.
If Biden were to step aside, the party would have less than two months to select another nominee at its national convention, starting August 19. This could potentially lead to a competitive process involving Vice President Kamala Harris and other governors and officeholders whose names have been mentioned as possible replacements.
At a rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, Trump declared a “big victory against a man looking to destroy our country,” criticizing Biden’s competence rather than his age. Trump advisers believe the debate could bolster their chances in Democratic-leaning states like Virginia, which has not backed a Republican presidential candidate since 2004.
Trump’s fitness for office has also been questioned due to his recent conviction in New York for covering up a hush money payment to a porn star, efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and his tumultuous term in office. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, just days before his party’s formal nomination.
Biden’s shaky performance drew global reactions, with public calls for him to step aside, encouraging some of America’s closest allies to brace for a potential Trump return.
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