President Biden on Sunday enraged voters during a series of campaign rallies in Pennsylvania, seeking to allay concerns among some Democrats that he might not seek a second term in office.
“Dirk Brandon is back,” he jokingly replied to a supporter in Harrisburg who asked about the meme, which has blossomed into a rallying force to dispel concerns about Biden’s age early in his campaign.
His poor performance in last month’s debate has sparked calls from lawmakers for him to withdraw from the campaign trail, but Biden said he doesn’t see a similar reaction from voters.
“We’ve had big crowds since the debate. I’m not kidding, we had big crowds the night of the debate and afterwards,” Biden said.
“I have John Fetterman. I don’t need anything else,” he added, downplaying his critics on Capitol Hill. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), who campaigned with the president on Sunday and has been one of his most vocal supporters in recent weeks.
Biden has stressed that he will continue to campaign despite his precarious position. Discuss Announcing Biden’s campaign on Sunday, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said he plans to meet with Senate Democrats about urging Biden not to seek reelection.
At a campaign event at a Philadelphia church on Sunday morning, the president laughed off concerns about his age, joking that “I know I look 40,” but “I’ve been doing this a long time.”
“I honestly have never been more optimistic about the future of America if we come together,” he said.
