President Biden ignored calls from Democratic Party insiders and pundits that he should step down as his party’s nominee after his panned debate performance and vowed at a rally on Friday to win North Carolina and the White House.
Democrats and liberal media figures were reportedly “panic” after Biden stumbled, stared into the television cameras and appeared exhausted during Thursday’s presidential debate on CNN. But Biden ignored his critics and focused his attacks on former President Trump in front of an enthusiastic audience in Raleigh the following day.
“I know I’m not young … I can’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden told the crowd, “but I know what I know: I know how to tell the truth.”
“I set a new record for the most lies told in a single debate,” he claimed, launching an energetic and forceful attack on Mr Trump’s record, which had been modest on stage Thursday night in Atlanta.
After the debate, Trump and Biden will hold rival rallies in these key states as they seek to expand the electoral district in 2024.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden walk off stage after a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on June 28, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden said Trump lied about the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic, veterans’ health care and his handling of crime.
“Since I took office, violent crime has been at a 50-year low,” Biden said, “and I pointed out last night on stage that the only convicted felon is Donald Trump. I thought about how he was convicted of 34 felonies, sexually assaulting a woman in public, fined $400 million for business fraud, and more.”
“I thought to myself, Donald Trump is not just a convicted criminal. Donald Trump is a wave of criminals,” he added. The crowd began chanting passionately, pointing at Trump, “Send him to jail!”
After going head-to-head with Trump in Atlanta, the 81-year-old Biden sought to reassure voters and party members that he is capable of being president amid growing concerns about his age.
Biden surrogate admits he had ‘bad night’ at presidential debate: ‘It certainly wasn’t my best time’
Biden speaks at a post-debate campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on June 28, 2024. Last night, President Biden and Republican presidential candidate, former US President Donald Trump, faced off in the first debate of the 2024 presidential election. (Alison Joyce/Getty Images)
Experts declared Trump the winner of the debate based not on the strength of Trump’s answers, but rather on the relative weakness of Biden. Biden, the incumbent president, spoke haltingly and at times appeared to lose his train of thought as he traded blows with Trump on issues including the economy, inflation, immigration and border security, abortion and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
“Excuse me, we’re dealing with it,” Biden said when answering a question about the economy, before concluding as time expired: “We finally defeated Medicare.”
Trump quickly fired back: “That’s right. He’s defeated Medicaid. He’s defeated it big time. And he’s destroying Medicare.”
Another notable moment came minutes later, when Trump criticized his opponent for his incoherent speech after Biden gave a rambling response on immigration.
Fetterman urges Democrats to “calm down” about Biden, saying Biden is proof that “fierce debates” won’t decide the outcome.
Biden gave no indication he would step down as the Democratic presidential nominee after critics panned his debate performance. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
“I have no idea what he said on this matter, and I don’t think he knows what he said,” Trump said.
The situation has prompted a full-scale condemnation from pro-Democratic media, with reporters from a range of outlets reporting on dozens of senior Democratic officials who say Biden should consider declining the party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.
Biden gave no indication he would do so at a rally in Raleigh, where he insisted he has the ability to beat Trump.
“Frankly, I can do this job because the risks are too great,” Biden said. “Donald Trump is a real threat to our country.”
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Biden has about four months to make his case against Trump before the nation heads to the polls in November, and the second debate, hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10. Undaunted by his critics, Biden asserted in Raleigh that he will win both North Carolina and the White House.
“I know, as millions of Americans know, that when you get knocked down, you can get back up,” he said.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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