Joe Biden attacked Donald Trump at a rally a day after the president’s “shocking” performance in a head-to-head debate.
“I don’t walk as easily as 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 what I know,” President Biden said. “I know how to tell the truth.”
His performance in the debate against Trump on Thursday night was described as an “absolute disaster” by some in his own party after he paused and stumbled his path, prompting calls for him to resign.
“I give you my word as Biden, I would not run again if I didn’t believe, with all my heart and soul, that I could do this job,” he said at a rally in North Carolina.
Biden attacked the former president’s criminal record and called Donald Trump a “one-man crime spree.”
“I think he set a new record for most lies told in a single debate,” he added, telling the crowd that he spent “90 minutes on stage debating a guy with the morals of a stray cat.”
Barack Obama tweeted his support for President Biden, saying, “Bad debate nights happen. Believe me, I know.”
Friday night’s rally took place in Raleigh, North Carolina, a state considered pivotal for Democrats in the election.
Donald Trump beat Biden there by less than 1.3 percentage points in 2020, and is currently favored to win again by a slightly larger margin.
After the event, some remained unconvinced that Joe Biden should run for president.
Joe Biden seems to stall during the debate
“I don’t think President Joe Biden can be the standard bearer of the Democratic Party in 2024,” former White House director of global engagement Brett Bruen told Sky News’ Yalda Hakim.
“Last night’s performance was shockingly bad. You can’t just be loud with the teleprompter,” he said.
But Anthony Scaramucci, former White House communications director, attributed the president’s poor performance to his preparation.
“He was not well prepared for that debate. He is an older man,” Scaramucci told Yalda Hakim.
“You don’t fill your head with facts and figures you’ll never remember.”
Biden vs. Trump: What you need to know
There have been repeated calls for President Biden to resign.
It is “time to talk about an open convention and a new Democratic candidate,” a Democratic politician told the US network NBC News, a Sky partner.
Read more from Sky News:
Joe Biden: Could Democrats replace him as a candidate in the US elections?
Biden’s performance against Trump was one of the worst in presidential history
Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern told reporters, “I’d be lying to you if I told you I thought it was a great debate.”
Asked if it was time for the party to consider another candidate, he replied: “I haven’t come to any conclusions yet.”
Kamala Harris says Biden got off to a “slow start” but “pushed facts” while Donald Trump “pushed lies.”
However, while Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged that President Joe Biden got off to a “slow start” in the debate, she insisted that he finished “strong.”
The Trump campaign released a video on Friday highlighting Biden’s missteps. “Last night the world saw who he is. He is not fit to serve,” said spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
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At a Waffle House restaurant in Atlanta after the debate, Biden told reporters he had no concerns about his performance. “It’s hard to debate a liar,” he said.
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