Reviews at first presidential debate between President Biden and former President Donald Trump.
“It was not the best night for Biden,” Rep. Illinois Robin Kelly admits to CBS News.
“It pains me to say that the president’s performance is bad,” opined Pennsylvania Rep. Madeleine Dean. “They have a bad debate. There are no two ways about it.”
“Look, it’s terrible debate“said Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig, who told reporters she was still “processing” what happened.
But for all the handwringing and quarterbacking on Friday about President Biden a busy postverbally stumbling and mentally incomplete, many congressional Democrats are not ready to give up on him, although there have been some reported calls within party ranks to consider other candidates.
“This is one attack,” Biden ally Rep. Jim Clyburn, from South Carolina told CBS News. “If this is a ball game, he gets two more swings.”
Clyburn’s message to nervous Democrats: “Stay the course.”
Clyburn, Mr Confirmation 2020 from candidate Biden then pushed him victory in the presidential primaries and nominationssaid he plans to speak with the president and campaign on his behalf this weekend in Florida and Wisconsin.
“We have to focus on Biden’s record,” said the veteran Democrat, who described Biden’s performance as a “style” difficulty. “Focus on the core. We have a workhorse on behalf of the American people. We’ve got a show horse trying to get people out of office.”
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi agreed when asked about her impressions of President Biden’s first matchup against former President Trump.
“Compared to people who lie all the time, we see integrity on one side and dishonesty on the other. That’s how I see it,” Pelosi told CBS News.
Former President Obama weighed in on the same message on social media.
“A bad debate is about to happen. Trust me, I know,” Obama posted. “But this election is still a choice between people who have fought for ordinary people all their lives and people who only care about themselves. Between people who tell the truth, who know right from wrong and will give the American people a straight face – and people who lie through their teeth for their own sake yesterday did not change, and that is why so much is at stake in November.
Some Democrats are less forgiving.
“This is beyond my pay grade,” Rep. Tom Suozzi, who won New York’s swing district this year, told reporters when asked whether President Biden should step aside.
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, in an interview with WBUR declined to directly answer questions about whether Mr. Biden would be suitable for another post. Like other Democratic lawmakers, he said he had a “very bad night,” but unlike him, he wasn’t sure what to do next.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with him for the last three and a half years,” he told WBUR. “He has done a lot for the country. That makes a difference, and I will have an estimate ahead of what’s next. But I can’t answer that for you today.”
“I think there’s going to be a lot of discussion about what’s going to happen next. I think we’re going to have to look at President Biden again and see what happens,” he also said, adding, “He had a very bad night last night. So the question is whether he will disqualified for the next 4 years?
Other lawmakers tried to play down concerns about the 81-year-old president’s influence at the top of the ticket in the election race.
“I’m not part of the drama of this city that immediately sues because someone has a hard night when we’re in crisis,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell, of Michigan, who admitted the “purple state” will be competitive. “Whatever it is, I’m going to go home and talk to the people in my district.”
“Voters aren’t going to make a decision because someone has a sore throat,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, of California, who traveled to Atlanta as a campaign surrogate and insisted Mr. Biden would “100%” be the nominee.
The White House confirmed that the president had a cold during the debate, describing it as “nothing out of the ordinary.” The Biden campaign held an all-staff call on Friday. Communications director Michael Tyler told reporters that the campaign had no plans to shift strategy and insisted there was “no conversation” about Mr. Biden stepping aside.
Addressing a crowd in North Carolina on Friday amid chants of “Joe” and “four more years,” Mr. Biden said. admit his mistake.
“I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” the 81-year-old said at a campaign rally in Raleigh. “People, I don’t walk as smoothly as I used to. I don’t talk as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as I used to. But I know what I know – I know how. tell the truth.”
Nicole Killion
