(CTN News) – US President Joe Biden has convinced Democratic donors that he can still defeat Donald Trump in the November presidential election, following a dismal debate performance that raised concerns about his prospects.
On Saturday, the 81-year-old president attended a series of fundraising events in New York and New Jersey, defending his performance in CNN’s Presidential Debate.
On Thursday, Joe Biden conceded, “I didn’t have a great night, but neither did Trump” at one event.
“I promise you we’re going to win this election,” the politician declared.
Joe Biden’s debate performance was marked by difficult-to-follow and wobbly responses, generating further concerns among some Democrats about whether he is the ideal candidate to run in this high-stakes race.
Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Joe Biden’s debate performance “wasn’t great,” while his former communications director, Kate Bedingfield, termed it “very disappointing.”
The president acknowledged the worry but committed to fighting harder.
New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, attended the fundraiser alongside Mr. Biden and the First Lady, telling Mr. Biden, “We are all with you 1,000 percent.”
The Joe Biden team acknowledged that the debate did not go as planned but maintained he would not step aside for another nominee.
On Saturday, campaign chairwoman Jennifer O’Malley Dillon stated that internal post-debate polling revealed that “voters’ opinions were not changed”.
“It will not be the first time that overblown media narratives have driven temporary dips in the polls,” she told reporters.
Former President Barack Obama, a friend of Mr. Biden, admitted on social media that “bad debate nights happen”.
“This election is still a choice between someone who fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself,” said Mr. Obama.
Hours later, Mr Trump told his supporters that he saw the discussion as a “big victory” for his campaign.
“Joe Biden’s problem is not his age,” Trump, 78, added. “It is his competence. He’s quite incompetent.
Politicians were not the only ones who criticized Mr Biden’s performance.
A prominent editorial in the New York Times condemned his decision to run again as a “reckless gamble” and advised him to conduct some soul-searching this weekend.
It urged Democrats to “acknowledge that Joe Biden can’t continue his race and create a process to select someone more capable to stand in his place” .
Voters in the US have expressed misgivings about voting for any candidate after Thursday’s debate.
Lori Gregory, a long-time Democrat, told the BBC she “could not handle” watching the discussion, asking, “Is this the best our country can do?”
Republican Crystal Myers-Barber said it was “painful to watch,” but she also thought “Trump came across very level-headed and presidential, and Biden came across very weak.”
Democrat Shana Ziolko said she was “frustrated” by the debate and believed there was no obvious winner.
A post-debate poll conducted by liberal pollster Data for Progress revealed that 62% of potential voters who saw or read about the debate believed Trump won. Only 30% of those polled believed Mr Biden had won the debate.
Until more polling is done, fundraising could be another indicator of Joe Biden’s sustained popularity.
In a memo, chairwoman Jennifer O’Malley Dillon stated that the campaign had raised more than $27 million (£21.3 million) between the Thursday debate and Friday evening.
“After Thursday night’s debate, the Beltway class is counting Joe Biden out. “The data in battleground states, however, tells a different story,” she explained.
“This election was incredibly close before Thursday, and by every metric we’ve seen since, it remains just as close” , she commented.
Source: BBC
