President Biden remains keen for a second debate with Donald Trump, despite his disastrous performance in Thursday night’s debate.
Biden, 81, is expected to return to the debate stage in September, CNN’s senior White House correspondent Kayla Touche reported Friday morning, citing advisers.
Biden also has no plans to drop out of the race, despite concerns from members of his own party.
Trump, who is in his 80s, froze up and made repeated gaffes during Thursday’s debate, leaving even the most expectant viewers to question his mental and physical health.
He also spoke in a soft, husky voice, which an anonymous aide claimed was due to a cold.
“This was a disaster for Biden, and many Democrats are looking for a new candidate after this debate,” Doug Muzzio, a retired public policy professor at Baruch College, told The Post.
“Biden was hesitant, rambling and incoherent at times,” he said.
“Trump, on the other hand, was articulate and relatively coherent. He appeared to know what he was talking about. He lied repeatedly, but his lies were clearly articulated.”
Early in the debate, the sitting president appeared to lose his train of thought for nine seconds, then finally looked up and said, “We finally defeated Medicare.”
The apparent gaffe handed the 78-year-old Trump a flawless victory.
“Yeah, he’s right. He’s defeated Medicare. He’s defeated it like crazy, and he’s destroying Medicare because they’re putting everybody who comes in on Medicare,” Trump retorted.
“If I knew nothing about Donald Trump before the debate and was judging him solely on that performance, I would have voted for him,” one Democratic source told The Washington Post.
With less than two months to go until the Democratic National Convention, another leading Democrat told The Washington Post it’s “undecided” whether Biden will still be the party’s nominee.
“Biden screwed up. He saved Medicare, but now someone has to save Biden,” the source said.
At the end of the debate, First Lady Jill Biden ran to escort her husband off the stage, a move that some viewers took to signal the end of the Biden administration.
Afterwards, the couple greeted supporters at a viewing party in Atlanta, with the sycophantic first lady trying to boost her husband’s ego.
“Joe, you did a great job. You answered all my questions,” she said, impressed. “You knew all the facts.”
However, a CNN poll conducted by SSRS found that more than half of debate viewers had less confidence in Biden’s ability to lead the country than his opponents.
While 67% of those surveyed said Trump has performed better than Biden, only 33% think the incumbent president will win a clear victory in November’s election.
