EAST HAMPTON, NY — President Joe Biden seeks find his mojo again and to guarantee donors at a fundraiser on Saturday that he’s as much as the challenge, Donald Trump.
The 81-year-old disturbing performance at the primary presidential debate on Thursday shocked many Democrats who saw Trump because the existential threat to US democracyBiden's rambling answers and his hesitation to reply to Trump prompted the New York Times editorial board to declare on Friday that Biden should drop out of the race, saying remaining within the race can be a “reckless gamble.”
Biden and his wife, Jill, attended a campaign rally within the afternoon in East Hampton, New York, a beach town on Long Island where real estate company Zillow puts the typical price of a house at $1.9 million. According to official records, the event, which was closed to the media, was held at the house of Avram Glazer, an owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team.
The couple then attended a second event in East Hampton at the house of investor Barry Rosenstein, whose wife Lizanne said the president was “a role model of what it means to get knocked down over and over again and get back up again.”
“We can waste our time comparing debate nights,” she continued. “But you know what? It makes more sense to compare presidencies.”
In his speech to those in attendance, Biden immediately attacked Trump for his record as president, including his treatment of veterans, and said of Thursday night's debate: “I did not have a good night, but neither did Trump.”
Biden claimed that the polls he had seen showed that Democrats had caught up after the talk and said of Trump, “The most important thing was his lies.”
An evening fundraiser was planned for a later date in Red Bank, New Jersey.
Following the talk on Thursday evening, Biden said flashed more power In speeches in North Carolina and New York on Friday, he said he believed “with all his heart and soul” that he could do the job of president.
The Biden team said it raised greater 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 her supporters on Friday that he told her after the talk, “You know, Jill, I don't know what happened. I wasn't feeling so good.” The first lady then said she responded to him, “Listen, Joe, we're not going to let 90 minutes define the four years you spent as president.”
The Democratic president has yet to allay the fears sparked by the talk, which entered the general public consciousness as clips and memes spread online and public pressure put him out of the race.
Democratic donors in New York, Southern California and Silicon Valley privately expressed deep concern about Biden's campaign's prospects for fulfillment following Biden's performance in the talk.
In a series of text message chains and personal conversations, they discussed a shortlist of possible successors, which included Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Some donors said they’d pause their personal donations, saying proceeds from Biden's weekend fundraiser would almost definitely be high because tickets were sold and paid for before the talk.
Peoples reported from New York.
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