Joe’s performance in the debate was horrendous. Now he’s made a groundbreaking decision.
And the Biden campaign made an announcement that left everyone’s jaws on the ground.
President Biden remains determined to participate in a second debate against Donald Trump despite his dismal performance on Thursday night.
Biden, 81, will return to the debate stage in September, CNN senior White House correspondent Kayla Tausche reported Friday morning, citing an adviser.
Despite growing concerns within his own party, Biden is not considering dropping out of the race.
The elderly president repeatedly froze and misspoke during Thursday’s debate, raising serious doubts about his mental and physical fitness even among his most optimistic supporters.
He also spoke in a soft, scratchy voice, which anonymous aides attributed to a cold.
“This was a disaster for Biden. Many Democrats are looking for a new candidate after this debate,” Doug Muzzio, a retired public affairs professor at Baruch College, told the New York Post.
“Biden was tentative, rambling, and sometimes incoherent,” he said.
“Trump, on the other hand, was clear and relatively coherent. He looked like he knew what he was talking about. Even though he repeatedly lied, he lies in an articulate way.”
At one point early in the debate, Biden appeared to lose his train of thought for a painfully long nine seconds — only to finally look up and say that he “finally beat Medicare.”
The apparent gaffe gave Trump, 78, the perfect opening.
“Well, he’s right. He did beat Medicare. He beat it to death and he’s destroying Medicare because all of these people who are coming in, they’re putting them on Medicare,” Trump retorted.
“If I knew nothing about Donald Trump before that debate and judged him solely on that performance, I’d vote for him,” one Democratic source told the New York Post.
With less than two months to go before the Democratic National Convention, another well-placed Democrat told the New York Post it was “TBD” whether Biden would still be the party’s nominee.
“Biden misspoke. He saved Medicare. But now someone needs to save Biden,” the source said.
At the end of the debate, first lady Jill Biden swooped in to help her husband off the stage — a move some viewers saw as a nail in the coffin for the Biden administration.
The couple then greeted supporters at an Atlanta watch party, where the fawning first lady tried to buoy her husband’s ego.
“Joe, you did such a great job. You answered every question,” she gushed. “You knew all the facts.”
Over half of debate watchers, however, left with no confidence in Biden’s ability to lead the country compared to his opponent, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
Sixty-seven percent of those polled said Trump performed better than Biden, with a mere 33% still believing the incumbent would be the clear winner in November.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
