President Biden brushed off concerns about his debate performance against former President Trump Thursday despite widespread panic among Democrats about how the night played out.
The president and first lady Jill Biden stopped at a Waffle House in Atlanta following the debate, and he took a few questions from reporters after placing their order.
“I think we did well,” Biden said.
Asked about calls from some Democrats for him to drop out of the race or whether he had any concerns about his performance, Biden said he did not.
“No. It’s hard to debate a liar. The New York Times pointed out he lied 26 times,” he said, while also acknowledging he had a sore throat.
Biden’s performance on Thursday was largely panned by Democrats, some of whom have acknowledged it will stoke conversations about whether he should be replaced atop the Democratic ticket before August’s convention.
“The chatter is very distracting, and it’s going to be very consuming for the campaign,” former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki said on MSNBC. “Should he be replaced? They’re going to be answering that question instead of breaking through on attacking Trump.”
The president’s voice was often raspy, which the White House later attributed to a cold, and he at times lost his train of thought or struggled to make his point clearly.
A CNN flash poll of debate watchers found 67 percent of those surveyed said Trump won the debate, compared to 33 percent who said Biden won.
Vice President Harris defended Biden’s debate performance during a round of interviews on Thursday night, even as she conceded he had a “slow start.”
“Yes, there was a slow start, but it was a strong finish,” she said on CNN. “And what became very clear through the course of the night is that Joe Biden is fighting on behalf of the American people.”