Democratic candidate, U.S. President Joe Biden, and Republican candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump, attend a presidential debate in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., June 27, 2024.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
Democrats are making their rounds in the media on Sunday to change perceptions of President Joe Biden after he delivered a stumbling debate performance that left his voters cringing and his party in a frenzy to limit the damage.
“Yes, it was a poor performance,” the South Carolina Democratic representative said. Jim Clyburna close Biden ally, said on CNN's “State of the Union.” “I know when I see what I call prep overload. And that's exactly what happened last night.”
The South Carolina Democrat followed the post-debate formula that has emerged among Biden supporters since Thursday's confrontation: Acknowledge the awkwardness and then focus on criticizing the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump.
“Joe Biden must continue to deliver on his record. I really believe that compared to the record of four years of Trump, we will find him to be exactly what we need going forward,” Clyburn said.
Former Presidents Barack Obama And Bill Clinton followed that structure in similar arguments Friday.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also defended Biden during Sunday's media briefing.
Despite the massive attention, Biden’s performance during Thursday’s debate, in which he repeatedly stumbled over his words or stalled mid-answer, only heightened concerns among voters about his age and fitness for a second term.
A new CBS News/YouGov A poll conducted June 28-29 found that 72% of registered voters surveyed do not think Biden should run for president, up from 63% in February. The poll also found that 72% of respondents do not believe Biden has the mental and cognitive capacity to serve as president, a seven point increase since June 9.
A poll conducted so soon after an important event like Thursday's debate is a knee-jerk reaction. A more accurate snapshot of public sentiment may emerge once the initial hype dies down and voters have more time to process it. The CBS News poll surveyed 1,130 registered voters and had a margin of error of +/- 4.2%.
But those new numbers are in direct tension with Biden's argument that voters are not as downhearted about his debate blunders as political pundits are.
“I understand the concerns about the debate. I understand. I didn't have a great night. But here's something [is] “Not reported: Voters responded differently than the pundits,” the president said at a campaign event Saturday in East Hampton, N.Y. “The polls have been showing a little bit of movement since the debate, and we’ve actually moved a step further.”
Biden and Trump are scheduled for a second debate on September 10, but it is still unclear whether either candidate will actually do so.
Ultimately, the debate led to a Democratic assessment of whether Biden should remain the presumptive nominee.
Some Democratic strategists, along with newspaper editorial boards across the country, have suggested that he resign and forfeit his delegates before the Democratic National Convention in August so that someone else can run against Trump in November.
Biden is there Camp David Sunday, along with his family, to discuss the further progress of his re-election campaign, NBC News reported.
Meanwhile, the Biden campaign has raked in major fundraisers in the aftermath of the debate. As of Sunday morning, the campaign was up $33 million Since Thursday, $26 million has come from grassroots donors, Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said.
Munoz added that nearly half of the local funding came from donors who gave to the campaign for the first time this election season.
