Botched TV debate Biden tries to limit the damage
President Biden goes on the offensive after his weak performance in the first TV duel. His appearance at an election campaign event in North Carolina can also be interpreted as an attempt at damage limitation.
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- After his weak performance in the TV duel against Donald Trump, US President Joe Biden has rejected calls for a new Democratic candidate.
- "I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done. I know what millions of Americans know," said Biden during a campaign appearance in the state of North Carolina.
- Biden received support from his Democratic party colleague Barack Obama.
US President Joe Biden is combative and addresses doubts about his fitness for office: "I wouldn't be running again if I didn't believe with all my heart and soul that I can do this job," said the 81-year-old Democrat at a campaign appearance in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday.
"I'm here in North Carolina for one reason, because I plan to win this state in November," he shouted to a cheering crowd. "If we win here, we win the election."
Biden's performance in the 90-minute TV duel on Thursday evening (local time) in Atlanta fueled doubts in the Democratic Party about the 81-year-old's suitability for office, with the most powerful man in the world regularly floundering during the exchange, speaking indistinctly, softly and in a raspy voice.
No prominent party colleagues from the front row publicly opposed Biden on Friday. But many in the party were skeptical as to whether Biden is really the right candidate to win against Trump.
In his first major public appearance since the debate disaster, Biden attempted to calm his critics and tried to limit the damage. "I know I'm not a young man to state the obvious," he said. "I don't walk as easily as I used to, I don't speak as smoothly as I used to. I don't debate as well as I used to," said the Democrat.
But, unlike Trump, he knows how to tell the truth. "I spent 90 minutes on stage debating with a guy who has the morals of a street dog," said Biden about the TV spectacle hosted by US broadcaster CNN.
Obama backs his party colleagues
Biden received support from his Democratic party colleague Barack Obama. "Bad duels happen. Believe me, I know that," wrote the former president on the online platform X. "But this election is still a choice between someone who has spent his life fighting for ordinary people and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth, who can tell right from wrong and will say it openly to the American people - and someone who lies shamelessly for their own gain." The TV duel did nothing to change this, Obama continued. That is why so much is at stake in the presidential election in November.
First Lady Jill defends Biden
Biden's wife, First Lady Jill Biden, also tried to stand up for her husband in Raleigh. "There is no one I would rather have sitting in the Oval Office right now than my husband," she said on stage in front of party supporters. She was wearing an eye-catching dress. The word "Vote" was written on it several times in large white letters. She emphasized that a president with integrity and character had stood on the TV stage: "His strength is unshakeable, his hope is unshakeable."
Biden appeared much fitter during the campaign appearance than during the TV debate the previous evening. Unlike in the TV studio during the exchange of blows, however, the 81-year-old read from the teleprompter in front of his supporters. His voice also sounded less raspy and he was not as quiet.
Biden had said after the debate that he had a sore throat. His age is a constant topic in the election campaign. His political opponent Trump is only around three years younger. However, Biden's slips of the tongue and his stiff gait regularly make the headlines and raise the question of whether he could really govern for another four years in the White House after a possible election victory.
Biden's performance overshadows Trump's statements
Biden's failure in the debate left many Democrats in need of an explanation and brought possible alternatives to the 81-year-old into focus. The governor of the US state of California, Gavin Newsom, who is said to have presidential ambitions himself, publicly backed Biden. "I will never turn my back on President Biden," he said. The unpopular Vice President Kamala Harris was grilled about Biden's performance in a TV interview - and finally admitted that her boss had had a "bumpy start".
Trump's team, on the other hand, celebrated the Republican for his performance. The 78-year-old once again put into perspective his role in the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, when the Republican had stirred up his supporters because he did not want to accept his election defeat. They then stormed the US Congress. The Republican also refused to commit to whether he would accept the outcome of the election in November. However, all of this was overshadowed by Biden's performance.
