President Joe Biden appeared reinvigorated at a fundraiser on Saturday, seeking to reassure donors he is fully prepared for the challenge of defeating President Donald Trump.
Biden, 81, put up an uneasy performance in the first presidential debate on Thursday that unnerved many Democrats who see Trump as an existential threat to American democracy following the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Biden's incoherent answers and struggle to deal with Trump led The New York Times editorial board to declare on Friday that Biden should withdraw from the race and that staying would be a “reckless gamble.”
Biden and his wife, Jill, attended an afternoon campaign event in East Hampton, New York, a beach town on Long Island where real estate firm Zillow puts the median home price at $1.9 million. The event, which was closed to the press, took place at the home of Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Avram Glazer, according to public records.
The couple then attended a second event at the East Hampton home of financier Barry Rosenstein, whose wife, Lizanne, said the president was “an example of someone who gets knocked down time and time again and still gets back up.”
“Comparing debate nights is a waste of time,” she continued, “but I think comparing presidencies makes more sense.”
Speaking at the rally, Biden sharply criticized Trump's record as president, including his treatment of veterans, and said of Thursday night's debate “it was not a great night for me, but then again, it wasn't a great night for Trump.”
Biden argued that polls he had seen showed Democrats gained support after the debate, and said of Trump, “the big lesson was he lied.”
An evening fundraiser was scheduled to follow in Red Bank, New Jersey.
In the afterglow of Thursday night's debate, Biden struck an even more energetic tone on Friday while speaking in North Carolina and New York, saying he believed he could run the presidency “with all his heart and soul.”
The Biden campaign announced it raised more than $27 million on Thursday and Friday, including $3 million at a fundraiser in New York City focused on the LGBTQ+ community.
Jill Biden told supporters on Friday that the president told her after the debate, “Look, Jill, I don't know what happened. I wasn't feeling very good.” She responded, “Look, Joe, we're not going to define your four years as president in 90 minutes.”
The Democratic president still needs to assuage the fears stirred by the debate, which has seeped into the national conscience thanks to viral videos, memes and public pressure for him to drop out of the race.
Democratic donors in New York, Southern California and Silicon Valley privately expressed deep concern about the viability of Biden's campaign following his performance in the debate.
In a series of text messages and private conversations, they discussed a short list of potential successors, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris.
But there was no formal pressure on Biden to step down on Friday, and some doubted there ever would be any given the logistical challenges involved in replacing a presumptive nominee just four months before Election Day.
Some donors have said they plan to suspend personal contributions, saying Biden's weekend fundraisers will almost certainly bring in more revenue because tickets were sold and paid for before the debate.
