President Biden sought to quell panic among some Democrats on Friday about his ability to lead the party in November after a calamitous debate performance the night before, delivering a more forceful speech in North Carolina in which he acknowledged some of his deficiencies.
“Guys, I don’t walk as easily as I used to. I don’t speak as well as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden said at a campaign rally in Raleigh.
“But I know what I know,” he continued. “I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this work. I know how to do things. And I know what millions of Americans know: When you get knocked down, you get back up.”
Biden faced Trump on the debate stage Thursday night in what turned out to be a disastrous performance. His struggles have sparked debate among some Democratic lawmakers about whether he should resign, and even some of his former aides and fiercest allies have acknowledged it was not a good performance.
The president appeared to acknowledge those concerns head-on during Friday’s rally, when White House and campaign officials ended talks about him dropping out of the race, as some Democrats began suggesting Thursday night.
“I give you my word as Biden: I wouldn’t be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul that I can do this job,” Biden said in Raleigh. “Because, frankly, the risks are too high. The stakes are very high.”
Biden repeatedly attacked Trump on Friday for his frequent falsehoods and misleading statements during the debate on a range of issues.
“Guys, I don’t know what you did last night. But I spent 90 minutes on stage debating the guy who has the morals of an alley cat,” Biden said, reiterating a term he used the night before. “Did you see Trump last night? My guess is he set — I mean this sincerely — a new record for the most lies told in a single debate.”
Biden criticized Trump for claiming he created the “greatest economy” in history, for praising his crime record even though it has declined since he left office, and for downplaying the severity of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The president criticized his predecessor for his numerous legal problems and his conviction for a crime in New York City, calling Trump a “one-man crime wave”.
The energized version of Biden during Friday’s scripted speech was a far cry from the candidate who was on stage Thursday night.
The president’s voice was often hoarse, his speech was frequently interrupted and he sometimes lost his train of thought or struggled to make his point clear. The White House said shortly after the debate began that Biden had a cold.
The debate was seen as an opportunity for Biden to turn things around for his campaign, as he is trailing Trump in the polls in several swing states that will decide the November race, and the candidates are neck and neck in other Michigan battlegrounds. , Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
Biden’s campaign hopes to flip North Carolina into its column after losing it in 2020 by fewer than 100,000 votes. He has traveled to the state several times this year in an effort to potentially turn it blue.
“I’m here in North Carolina for a reason,” Biden said Friday. “Because I intend to win this state in November. I think we will. We won here and we won the election.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
