The Rev. Al Sharpton acknowledged Friday that scrutiny of President Biden’s debate performance is “not going anywhere,” but he largely ignored calls for Biden to resign.
Sharpton Participated MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace discusses the political fallout from Thursday night’s debate and the anxiety that spread among Democrats after Biden stumbled over his words and seemed listless onstage.
Since the debate, people on both sides of the aisle, and even in the media, have called for Biden to drop out of the race and field another candidate to challenge former President Trump in November. The White House and Biden’s campaign have blasted those calls, signaling that the incumbent president is in for a long fight.
Biden campaigned in North Carolina on Friday, trying to quell panic within his party. During his time in Raleigh, he argued he is a politician who knows how to “get back up” after being knocked down.
“That’s the Joe Biden story,” Sharpton said in an interview Friday.
“I’ve been taking calls all night and I will continue to take calls. This situation is not going to go away for a long time,” he added, referring to the debate’s aftermath.
Still, if anyone knows how to turn things around, it’s Biden, the former Delaware senator, Sharpton noted.
“He’s been hurt a few times before and he’s still winning, so I think that’s his selling point,” the commentator said.
As calls grow for a new candidate to step forward, Sharpton questioned who, if anyone, could challenge and beat Trump.
“What I say to people talking about a brokered convention and whether Trump should withdraw is, one, that’s up to Trump. But two, who can replace him and beat Donald Trump?,” he said. “As far as I know, the only person who could beat Trump is Joe Biden.”
