Anita Dunna senior adviser to the president Joe Bidensaid Saturday that there was no discussion about the president dropping out of the presidential race after his lackluster performance in the first presidential debate against former President Donald Trump.
“No, the conversation we had was, ‘Okay, what do we do now?’” Dunn said during a panel on MSNBC’s “The Weekend,” where she appeared in a personal capacity.
“The president is very focused on, ‘What do we do now? What do I do?’” Dunn said.
She also spoke about the enthusiasm Biden’s supporters continue to show for his campaign, noting that the campaign has raised $27 million since the debate.
“The reality is I think voters experienced this debate a little differently than maybe some insiders,” Dunn said, adding, “We looked at a lot of research. Other people also looked at ongoing research during the debate, and voters are targeting actually focuses on issues that are important to them.”
Her comments came after Biden’s performance during Thursday night’s debate unsettled Democrats, with some even calling for Biden to step aside and let someone younger take the stage.
On Friday, The New York Times editorial board joined those calls, urging Democrats to “create a process to select someone more capable of winning the election.” [Biden’s] place to defeat Mr. Trump in November.”
Dunn also pointed to Biden’s post-debate campaign event in North Carolina on Friday, where the president appeared energized and motivated as he spoke to a crowd that interrupted his speech to drown out protesters with chants of “four more years!”
‘I know I’m not a young man. I no longer walk as easily as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to,” Biden told the crowd on Friday. “I don’t debate as well as I used to, but I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth!”
Despite coughing several times during the rally, Biden launched attacks on Trump, at one point calling the former president a “one-man crime spree.”
Dunn argued that voters and supporters preferred Biden’s focus on the issues in the debate over Trump’s rhetoric and personality.
“[Trump] showed exactly who he was, and this — you know, the bullying, the yelling, the bragging, all of that was on full display during this debate. And I think the president … came across as someone who cares about issues,” she added.
“The president will continue to be there,” Dunn said Saturday, adding, “And he will make his case for why Donald Trump is a threat to this country, and why there is a better path for Americans.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
