Disappointed Democrats stick with Biden after rough debate performance

The opinions are in on the primary presidential debate between President Biden and former President Donald Trump.  

“It wasn’t Biden’s best night,” Illinois Rep. Robin Kelly conceded to CBS News. 

“It pains me to say the president’s performance was bad,” opined Pennsylvania Rep. Madeleine Dean. “He had a bad debate. There’s no two ways about that.” 

“Look, it was a terrible debate,” stated Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig, who instructed reporters she’s nonetheless “processing” what occurred. 

But for all of the handwringing and Friday-morning quarterbacking about President Biden’s raspy delivery, verbal stumbles and incomplete ideas, many congressional Democrats aren’t prepared to surrender on him, regardless of some reported calls inside occasion ranks to think about one other nominee. 

“That was strike one,” longtime Biden ally Rep. Jim Clyburn, of South Carolina instructed CBS News. “If this were a ball game, he’s got two more swings.” 

Clyburn’s message to nervous Democrats: “Stay the course.” 

Clyburn, whose 2020 endorsement of then-candidate Biden propelled him to victory in the presidential primary and nomination, stated he deliberate to talk with the president and is campaigning on his behalf this weekend in Florida and Wisconsin.

“We should focus on the Biden record,” stated the veteran Democrat, who chalked up Biden’s performance to “stylistic” difficulties. “Focus on substance. We have a workhorse on behalf of the American people. We’ve got a show horse that’s trying to get him out of office.” 

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi concurred when requested about her impressions of President Biden’s first matchup in opposition to former President Trump.   

“Compared to a person who was lying the whole time, we saw integrity on one side and dishonesty on the other. That’s how I saw it,” Pelosi instructed CBS News. 

Former President Obama additionally weighed in with the same message on social media. 

“Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know,” Obama posted. “But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November.”

Some Democrats have been much less forgiving. 

“That’s beyond my pay grade,” Rep. Tom Suozzi, who gained a New York swing district this 12 months, instructed reporters when requested if President Biden ought to step apart. 

Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, in an interview with WBUR declined to instantly reply a query about whether or not Mr. Biden was match to serve one other time period. Like different Democratic lawmakers, she stated he had a “really bad night,” however not like them, she expressed some uncertainty about what lies forward.

“I’ve had a chance to work with him over the last three and a half years,” she instructed WBUR. “He’s gotten a lot done for the country. That’s made a difference, and I think there will be assessments going forward about what happens next. But I can’t answer that for you today.”

“I think there are going to be a lot of discussions about what happens next. I think we’re going to have to see President Biden again and see what happens,” she additionally stated, including, “He had a really bad night last night. So the question is is that going to disqualify him for the next 4 years? I think that’s going to be determined.”

Other lawmakers tried to tamp down considerations in regards to the 81-year-old president’s influence on the prime of the ticket on down-ballot races.

“I am not part of the drama of this town that immediately demands because somebody had a bad night we’re in crisis,” stated Rep. Debbie Dingell, of Michigan, who acknowledged “the purple state” shall be aggressive. “Let’s see what happens. I’m going home and talking to the people in my district.” 

“Voters aren’t going to make a decision because someone had a sore throat,” stated Rep. Robert Garcia, of California, who traveled to Atlanta as a marketing campaign surrogate and insisted Mr. Biden will “100%” be the nominee.”

The White House confirmed the president was suffering from a cold during the debate, describing it as “nothing uncommon.” The Biden campaign held an all-staff call Friday. Communications director Michael Tyler told reporters the campaign has no plans to switch its strategy and insisted have been “no conversations” about Mr. Biden stepping aside.

Speaking to a North Carolina crowd Friday afternoon amid alternating chants of “Joe” and “4 extra years,” Mr.  Biden admitted his missteps. 

“I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” the 81-year-old stated at a marketing campaign rally in Raleigh. “Folks, I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know — I know how to tell the truth.”

Nikole Killion

Nikole Killion is a CBS News congressional correspondent primarily based in Washington D.C. As a correspondent, Killion performed a key position within the Network’s 2020 political and election protection, reporting from across the nation in the course of the last stretch of the marketing campaign and all through the Biden transition.