Biden acknowledges age and poor debate performance but vows to defeat Trump – Euractiv

President Joe Biden said on Friday he intends to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in November’s presidential election, showing no signs he would consider dropping out of the race after his poor debate performance disappointed fellow Democrats.

“I know I’m not getting any younger, that’s obvious,” Biden said jubilantly at a rally the day after he went head-to-head with his Republican opponent in a showdown widely seen as a defeat for the 81-year-old president.

“I don’t walk as easily as I used to, I don’t talk as fluently as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to,” he said, as the crowd chanted “Four more years.”

“If I didn’t believe with all my heart that I could do the job, I wouldn’t run again. The stakes are too high,” Biden said.

Biden’s slurred speech and occasionally rambling answers during the debate have heightened voters’ concerns that he may not be fit for another four-year term and prompted some of his fellow Democrats to consider whether they could replace him as a candidate in the Nov. 5 U.S. election.

Campaign spokesman Michael Taylor said that possibility had not been discussed. “We’d rather have a bad night than have a candidate who doesn’t have the right vision for the direction of the country,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

The Biden campaign held an “all hands on deck” meeting Friday afternoon to assure staffers that Biden would not drop out of the race, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Although Trump, 78, unleashed a series of lies throughout the debate, the focus afterward was on Biden, especially among Democrats.

Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, avoided a direct answer when asked if he still believed in Biden’s candidacy.

“I support this campaign package. I support the Democratic majority in the Senate. We’re going to do everything we can to take back the House in November. Thank you,” he told reporters.

Some other Democrats similarly objected when asked whether Biden should continue to run. Democratic Senator Jack Reed told a local Rhode Island TV station: “It’s the president’s decision.”

But several top Republicans, including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, have said they support Biden.

“Bad debate nights happen. Believe me, I know. But this election is still a choice between those who have spent their lives fighting for everyday people and those who only care about themselves,” former Democratic President Barack Obama wrote on X.

The New York Times editorial board, which endorsed Biden in 2020, called on Biden to withdraw from the race so that Democrats could choose another candidate with a better chance of defeating Trump. “The greatest public service Mr. Biden could perform right now would be to announce that he will not run for reelection,” the editorial said.

The Biden campaign said it raised $14 million Thursday and Friday, and had its best hour ever for fundraising immediately after the debate on Thursday night. The Trump campaign said it raised $8 million on debate night.

One possible bright spot for Biden: Preliminary ratings showed just 48 million Americans watched the debate, far below the 73 million who watched the last face-off between the two candidates in 2020.

Biden, already the oldest president in U.S. history, has faced only token opposition in the months-long race for the party’s nomination and has garnered enough support to secure his spot as the Democratic nominee.

Trump also defeated his intra-party rivals earlier this year, laying the foundation for a long and fierce general election battle.

If Biden steps down, Republicans would have less than two months to choose another candidate at their national convention, which begins on Aug. 19 — a potentially messy process that could pit Kamala Harris, the nation’s first Black female vice president, against governors and other candidates for possible successor.

Trump takes aim at Virginia

At an afternoon rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, Trump told supporters he had “a major victory over a man who wants to destroy our country.”

“The problem with Joe Biden is not his age, it’s his ability,” Trump said.

Trump advisers said they believed the debate would boost his chances in Democratic-leaning states such as Virginia, which has not supported a Republican presidential candidate since 2004.

Earlier, some Trump supporters said they were shocked by Biden’s poor performance. “I’m worried that they will replace him with someone more competitive,” said Mike Botman, who said he has attended more than 90 Trump rallies.

Trump fundraisers say they are inundated with enthusiastic calls from donors.“Any fundraiser knows there are times when you need to ask donors for help, and this is a watershed moment,” said Ed McMullen, who served as ambassador to Switzerland during Trump’s presidency.

Trump was convicted in New York last month of covering up hush-money payments to a porn star, and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and his chaotic presidency have also raised questions about his fitness for office.

He is due to be sentenced on July 11, days after his party meets to formally nominate him. He faces three other criminal charges, though none appear likely to go to trial before November.

Biden’s poor debate performance on Friday sparked global shock and public calls for him to step down, which could lead some of America’s closest allies to prepare for Trump’s return.

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