US President Joe Biden attended three fundraisers for his campaign on Saturday and tried to reassure the most generous donors, claiming to be able to win the presidential election despite his chaotic performance during the debate against his predecessor Donald Trump. “I didn’t have a good evening but neither did Trump,” said the Democratic candidate during one of the rallies organized in the states of New York and New Jersey, in the northeast of the United States. “I promise you that we will win this election,” he added.
Jill Biden has strongly defended her 81-year-old husband against calls to withdraw his candidacy, saying that “Joe is not only the right person for the job, he is the only person for the job.” The two traveled to New Jersey on Saturday for a fundraiser that was also attended by the state’s Democratic governor, Phil Murphy.
“I understand your concern after the debate,” the American president said, launching: “I will fight more.” Joe Biden’s candidacy has been the subject of doubts, since his calamitous performance during the debate against former President Donald Trump, Thursday evening, between swallowed words, unfinished sentences and haggard expression, a poor performance that shook his supporters and caused the media to react.
In an editorial, the prestigious American daily New York Times portrayed Joe 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 figure in the Democratic Party has yet rallied the voices calling 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.
