NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden is looking to recapture his mojo and reassure donors at a fundraiser Saturday that he is fully up to the challenge of defeating Donald Trump.
The 81-year-old’s unsettling performance during the first presidential debate on Thursday unsettled many Democrats, who see Trump as an existential threat to American democracy in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Biden’s meandering answers and struggle to respond to Trump prompted the New York Times editorial board to declare Friday that he should drop out of the race and that staying in would be a “reckless gamble.”
Biden and his wife Jill planned to attend an afternoon campaign rally in East Hampton, New York, the beach town on Long Island where real estate company Zillow prices the average home at $1.9 million. Later, an evening fundraiser was planned in Red Bank, New Jersey.
After Thursday night’s debate, Biden appeared even more energetic in speeches in North Carolina and New York on Friday, saying he believes with “all his heart and soul” that he is up to the job of president.
The Biden campaign said it raised more 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 supporters on Friday that he told her after the debate, “You know, Jill, I don’t know what happened. I didn’t feel great.” The first lady then said she told him, “Look, Joe, we’re not going to let 90 minutes define your four years as president.”
The Democratic president has yet to allay the fears stoked by the debate, which seeped into the public conscience with clips and memes spreading online and public pressure for him to drop out of the race.
Democratic donors in New York, Southern California and Silicon Valley privately expressed deep concerns about the viability of Biden’s campaign after his performance at the debate.
In a series of text messages and private conversations, they discussed the short list of potential replacements, a group that included Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris.
But on Friday there was no formal pressure on Biden to step aside. Some even suspected that would never happen either, given the logistical challenges of replacing the presumptive nominee just four months before Election Day.
Some donors noted that they would pause their personal donations, saying that revenue from Biden’s weekend fundraiser would almost certainly be strong because tickets had already been sold and paid for before the debate.
