Amid growing concerns about President Biden’s fitness to serve another term, one Democratic lawmaker defended Biden, suggesting he may have been “over-prepared” for last month’s debate.
Biden spoke huskily and appeared to lose his train of thought throughout the debate, but the president blamed a “bad night” on a cold and recent international travel.
“The confluence of circumstances that led to this – not being 100% healthy, the distraction of the former president being there heckling and causing mayhem, and perhaps even over-preparedness – all of this should have led to us being better prepared,” Rep. Troy Carter, a Louisiana Democrat, told CNN in defense of the president’s performance.
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Rep. Troy Carter exits the U.S. Capitol after speaking with lawmakers about Black entrepreneurship on June 5, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla)
Carter said the focus should be on how Biden appeared at events in the days following the debate, rather than on debate night itself.
“You’re going to see the Joe Biden that you saw the next day, and the Joe Biden that you’ve seen every day since that debate: energetic, coherent, purposeful, and understanding of the policies he’s worked so hard to deliver,” Carter said.
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The Democrat said he supports the president’s reelection despite the performance.
President Biden addresses supporters during a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School on July 5, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“If you think back to the day the president got his color back, he was in good spirits, he was able to talk, he acknowledged that he had a bad day, that he performed poorly. Nobody can run from that,” Carter told the outlet. “This president is ready. We are with him.”
Biden spent a week preparing for the debate at Camp David, surrounded by more than a dozen aides helping organize the event.
Carter’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this article.
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Democrats in the House and Senate have expressed concerns about the strength of Biden’s candidacy since the debate, but Biden has said he has no plans to withdraw from the race.
