US President Joe Biden responded to the criticism he was receiving on social media on Friday, citing his advanced age and poor performance in the first presidential debate. Speaking at a rally in North Carolina, Biden declared he knew how to do his job effectively and promised to defeat Republican opponent Donald Trump.
“I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” he replied.
“I can’t walk as comfortably as I once could.My debating skills have declined with time.However, Biden asserted, “I know what I do know—I know how to tell the truth and how to perform this job.”
Overall, Biden’s performance in the 2024 presidential debate was unimpressive. His voice was raspy and his stream of thought faltered as he answered the questions. In addition to drawing criticism from within his own party, the debate debacle has caused supporters of Biden to express fears about the future.
Trump, on the other hand, declared the first debate to be a “big victory”. “Biden’s age is not the issue…Speaking at a rally in Virginia, Trump referred to him as “grossly incompetent.”
“The question every voter should be asking themselves today is not whether Joe Biden can survive a 90-minute debate performance, but whether America can survive four more years of crooked Joe Biden in the White House,” Trump stated.
There were also whispers that Biden may withdraw from the contest, which worried the Democrats about the strength of their candidate. But party officials shot it down and brushed off such accusations.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House, previously stated that “from a performance standpoint it wasn’t great.” Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s former director of communications, described it as “a really disappointing debate performance.”
Senior Democrats and Biden’s allies, however, backed him and justified his performance. Barack Obama, the former president, stated on X that “bad debate nights happen.”
“This election is still a choice between someone who fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself,” Obama stated.
The Biden team claimed to have raised $14 million on Thursday and Friday following the debate night, demonstrating their confidence in the path ahead. On Thursday night during the debate, Trump managed to raise $8 million.
