(Oceanport) U.S. President Joe Biden attended three campaign fundraisers on Saturday and tried to reassure top donors that he could win the presidential election despite his chaotic debate performance against predecessor Donald Trump.
Published at 10:48 p.m.
Mandel Ngan, with Daniel Stublen in Washington
France Media Agency
“I didn’t have a good night, but neither did Trump,” the Democratic candidate said during one of the fundraisers held in the states of New York and New Jersey, in the northeastern United States.
“I promise you that we will win this election,” he added.
Jill Biden forcefully defended her 81-year-old husband in the face of calls to withdraw his candidacy, saying “Joe is not only the right person for the job, he is the only person for the job.”
Both traveled to New Jersey on Saturday for a fundraiser in which the state’s Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, was also attending.
“I understand your concern after the debate,” the American president said, adding: “I will fight harder.”
Joe Biden’s candidacy has been the subject of doubts, since his disastrous performance during the debate against former President Donald Trump, Thursday evening, between swallowed words, unfinished sentences and haggard expression, a poor performance which shook his supporters and caused the media to react.
In an editorial, the prestigious American daily New York Times portrayed Mr Biden as a “shadow of a leader” after he “failed his own test” in the televised duel.
“The greatest public service Mr. Biden could perform today would be to announce that he will not seek reelection,” the editorial board wrote, adding, however, that he has been “an admirable president.”
No Democratic Party figure has yet joined the call for him to step down. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton reiterated their support for Joe Biden on Friday.
According to a public memo from Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, head of the Democratic candidate’s campaign team, an internal poll after the debate concluded that “voters’ opinions (had) not changed.”
Jennifer O’Malley Dillon also says support grew during the debate and after it, with $27 million raised by Friday night, she said.
