Biden is combative after weak performance in TV debate
Biden, at 81 years old, the oldest President in US history, spoke hoarsely and became tangled in his statements during the CNN TV debate with his challenger Donald Trump on Thursday evening. He also left several sentences incomplete and stammered.
At an appearance in North Carolina, the US President attempted to refute the criticism. "I don't go easy anymore like I used to, I don't speak as fluently as I used to, I don't debate as well as I used to, but I know how to tell the truth," he said to supporters of the Democrats in the city of Raleigh.
"I give you my word. I would not be running again if I didn't believe in my heart and soul that I could do this job," he assured.
Referencing his opponent Trump, Biden criticized the numerous false claims Trump made during the TV debate. "I respect that he set a new record for the most lies in a single debate," the 81-year-old said and called his challenger "literally a threat to everything America stands for."
The "New York Times" called on the US President to withdraw his candidacy following his weak performance. "The greatest service Biden could now render to the country would be the announcement that he will not be a candidate," the so-called Editorial Board, a group of opinion journalists who work separately from the editorial department, wrote in an editorial.
However, Biden received support from former President Obama. "Bad debate performances happen," Obama wrote in a post on Biden's online service X. The election, he wrote, was "still a choice between someone who has spent his entire life fighting for the working class, and someone who only cares about himself."
Another debate between the two presidential candidates is scheduled for September 20.
Trump, who was much more energetic and focused during the confrontation, criticized Biden again during a campaign rally in Virginia: "It's not his age, it's his competence," said the 78-year-old former President. The question should not be whether Biden can survive a 90-minute TV debate, he added, but whether America could survive another four-year term.
Trump, according to his own statements, considered a Biden concession unlikely: "I don't believe that, because he's leading in the polls better than any of the other Democrats they're talking about," he said.
A CNN survey after the debate found that 67 percent of viewers saw Trump as the winner, causing unrest among the Democrats. According to a report in the "New York Times," there are even discussions within the party about whether it is too late to replace Biden with a younger candidate or a candidate of color four months before the presidential election.
No leading party representative has publicly called on Biden to withdraw. "I will never turn my back on President Biden," said California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is high on the list of potential replacement candidates. Vice President Kamala Harris also stood behind Biden after the debate.
Another debate between the two presidential candidates is scheduled for September 20.
A change for the democratic presidential candidate would be politically complicated. Biden himself would have to decide to withdraw in order to make room for another candidate before the upcoming party convention next month. The incumbent had won the democratic primaries with an overwhelming majority, amassing a total of 3,900 delegates bound to him. If Biden steps down, they would need to determine a replacement.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) expressed concern regarding a possible return of Trump to the White House. "When we think back to Trump's last term in office, one of the greatest challenges was his unpredictability," she said on a podium of the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, NDR, and "Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung" on Friday. "In these times, trust and reliability are more important than ever before."
- Despite his stammering during the TV debate in North Carolina, Joe Biden received support from former President Obama.
- In Raleigh, North Carolina, Donald Trump defended his performance in the CNN debate and assured his supporters that he could still tell the truth.
- Following Biden's stuttering and incomplete sentences during the TV debate, the "New York Times" editorial board urged Biden to withdraw his candidacy for the US President.
- A CNN survey after the debate indicated that 67% of viewers saw Donald Trump as the winner, sparking unrest among the Democrats in North Carolina.
- NBC News reported that some Democrats are discussing the possibility of replacing Biden with a younger candidate or a candidate of color, four months before the presidential election.
- Despite these discussions, no leading party representative has publicly called on Biden to withdraw, with California Governor Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris publicly supporting the Democratic presidential candidate.
