Biden tries to turn the page on an unstable debate: From the Department of Politics

Welcome to the online version of From the Policy Deska nightly newsletter that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News politics team on the campaign, the White House and Capitol Hill.

In today’s edition, senior political editor Mark Murray looks at how Democrats’ efforts to downplay concerns about Joe Biden’s age have come back to bite them. In addition, we analyze all the consequences of Thursday’s debate and another day of important Supreme Court decisions.

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Biden’s allies have spent a year dismissing concerns about his age. That was a mistake.

By Mark Murray

After Thursday’s debate, there is a separate storyline to consider beyond President Joe Biden’s shaky performance and former President Donald Trump’s lies and misleading statements.

That storyline: the year-long Democratic campaign to discredit concerns about Biden’s age, physical condition and ability to defeat Trump in a non-Covid presidential campaign – especially with polls showing that a supermajority of voters care at Biden’s age.

Biden’s liberal allies and commentators mocked Rep. Dean Phillips’ call last summer for someone, anyone, to challenge Biden in the primary to prove he is up to the task in a race against Trump. (That someone turned out to be Phillips himself, a Democrat from Minnesota.)

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“He is essentially completely torpedoing his career and destroying any goodwill he has within the Democratic Party,” one House Democrat told NBC News of Phillips’ challenge to Biden.

They attacked special counsel Robert Hur after his report this year referred to Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory.”

“Petty shooting” and “playing politics” was how Biden’s allies reacted to Hur.

They ridiculed news organizations (like The Wall Street Journal) and prominent commentators (such as Ezra Klein It is David Inácio) that has raised doubts about Biden’s fitness in recent months.

And they launched a campaign against “fake and cheap” videos that portrayed Biden’s age, mannerisms and gait in the public eye – sometimes misleadingly, sometimes not.

But after last night’s debate, who was more right than wrong – those who raised the concerns about Biden or those who dismissed and discredited them?

It’s important to ask this question now that Democrats are in complete panic about Biden as their presidential choice after last night’s debate.

The White House, the Democratic Party and their allies have spent an entire year dismissing concerns about Biden’s age and physical condition. And now there are less than two months until the party officially selects its presidential candidate.

Biden tries to recover: ‘I don’t debate as well as I used to’

Biden sought to turn his disappointing debate performance into a rallying cry for his supporters at a campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, presenting himself as depressed but not excluded as some in his party whisper about replacing it at the top of the plate.

“I know I’m not a young man. 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, but I know what I know – I know how to tell the truth!” said an energetic Biden, nodding to the criticism he received after the debate while also comparing it to assessments of the accuracy of several of Trump’s statements.

“When you get knocked down, you get back up,” Biden shouted, to a cheering crowd.

How Democrats are reacting: Privately, many Democrats — including some lawmakers — said they were worried about Biden’s electoral chances. But publicly, they are putting on a brave face and downplaying the impact of a single debate.

On Capitol Hill, Democrats acknowledged that Biden performed poorly on Thursday night, but did not agree with those who called for him to drop out of the presidential race.

“I thought he performed poorly,” said Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., a former House majority leader and an influential figure within the party who is considered a crucial part of Biden’s victory in the 2020 Democratic primary. .

But he said it’s a long road until the November elections and “a debate doesn’t make a campaign.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said, “He’s off to a bad start. I thought he did well on the questions later.

Democrats running in key Senate and House races this fall remained silent or avoided questions about Biden’s debate performance.

But perhaps most critical is the fact that Biden received support from his former boss. “Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know,” former President Barack Obama posted on X. “But this election is still a choice between someone who fought for ordinary people his entire life and someone who only cares about himself.”

How Trump is reacting: Trump mocked Biden during a rally in Virginia on Friday, saying the president “didn’t know what the hell he was doing.”

“It’s not your age, it’s your competence,” Trump said. “He is not respected anywhere in the world.”

Stay up to date on the latest debate reactions and 2024 election news with our live blog →

A big day at the Supreme Court – with another on Monday

In addition to all the consequences of the debate, Friday also presented a series of important decisions from the Supreme Court.

1. The court ruled in favor of a former police officer who is trying to dismiss an obstruction charge for joining the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. The 6-3 vote on non-ideological lines gave the victory to defendant Joseph Fischer, who is among hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants — including Trump — who have been accused of obstructing an official proceeding over the effort to stop Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory.

two. The court also overturned a 40-year-old precedent that has been targeted by the right because it is seen as reinforcing the power of “deep state” bureaucrats, dealing a blow to federal agencies. In a decision involving a challenge to a fishing regulation, the court relegated to history a 1984 decision called Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. That ruling said that judges should defer to federal agencies in interpreting the law when the language of a law is ambiguous, thus giving regulatory flexibility to bureaucrats.

3. And the court rejected a constitutional challenge to ordinances enacted by a small town in Oregon that punish homeless people for sleeping on public property when they have nowhere to go.

4. In addition to opinions issued by the judge on Friday morning, the high court rejected a last-minute bid by former Trump aide Steve Bannon to avoid his four-month prison sentence for defying subpoenas from the 6 of January. Bannon must report to prison by Monday.

All of this sets the stage for the Supreme Court’s most high-profile ruling on the mandate on Monday: whether Trump has broad presidential immunity that would protect him from prosecution for trying to overturn the 2020 election.

That’s all from the Department of Politics for now. If you have feedback – like or dislike – send us an email at newsletter@nbcuni.com

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