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 the rounds of the media circuit Sunday, trying to reshape perceptions of President Joe Biden after he delivered a faltering performance that left him behind voters crushed and company in a damage control frenzy.
“Yes, it was a poor performance,” said the South Carolina Democratic representative. Jim Clyburn, a close Biden ally, told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I know when I see what I call prep overload. And that’s exactly what was happening the other night.”
The South Carolina Democrat followed the post-debate spin formula that emerged from Biden supporters after Thursday’s showdown: Acknowledge the bullshit, then turn to criticisms of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump.
“Joe Biden should continue to run on his record. I think we’ll find him versus Trump’s four-year record to be exactly what we need going forward,” Clyburn said.
Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton followed that structure in similar arguments on 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 came to Biden’s defense at Sunday’s media briefing.
Despite the press coverage, Biden’s performance in Thursday’s debate, marked by numerous instances where he stumbled over his words or fell off mid-answer, only fueled voters’ concerns about his age and ability to mount a second presidential run. service.
A new CBS News/YouGov poll conducted between June 28 and 29 showed 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 ability to serve as president, up 7% from June 9.
A poll taken so soon after a major event like Thursday’s debate represents a knee-jerk reaction. A more accurate snapshot of public sentiment may emerge as the initial hype dies down and voters have more time to process. The CBS News poll polled 1,130 registered voters and had a margin of error of +/- 4.2 percent.
But these new numbers come in direct tension with Biden’s argument that voters aren’t as disappointed in his debate gaffes as political pundits.
“I understand the concern about the conversation. I do. I didn’t have a good night. But here’s what [is] I’m not saying: The voters had a different reaction than the pundits,” the president said at a campaign event Saturday in East Hampton, New York. “Since the debate, the polls are showing a little bit of movement, and we’re actually up.”
Biden and Trump are scheduled for a second debate on Sept. 10, though it’s unclear whether either candidate will continue.
Ultimately, the debate has sparked a Democratic reckoning over whether Biden should remain the presumptive nominee.
Some Democratic strategists, along with newspaper editorial boards across the country, have suggested he should step down and forfeit his delegates before the Democratic National Convention in August to allow someone else to take on Trump in November.
Biden is in Camp David on Sunday with his family, where they are expected to discuss his re-election campaign, according to NBC News.
Meanwhile, the Biden campaign has been on a major fundraising spree in the wake of the debate. As of Sunday morning, the campaign had grown 33 million dollars as of Thursday, $26 million of which came from grassroots donors, according to Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz.
Munoz added that nearly half of that grassroots funding came from donors who gave money to the campaign for the first time this election season.
