Democrats are playing the blame game in the wake of the crisis Joe Biden‘s gloomy debate.
Party leaders aren’t denying that the president had a bad night. But they’re increasingly pointing to factors beyond Biden’s age or cognitive ability to argue that the president isn’t to blame for his debate debacle — including that he was overprepared, that CNN moderators didn’t do enough fact-checking. Donald Trump and that his top aides and advisers are responsible for his poor performance.
“I’ve seen things like this happen. I’ve been in debate prep before and I know when I see what I call prep overload,” Rep. said. Jim Clyburn (DS.C.) told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “And that was exactly what happened the other night.”
Blame for Biden’s other issues was shifted almost immediately after Thursday’s debate began, when his campaign blamed the president’s hoarse voice and disappointing start on a cold. But in the days that followed, Democrats continued to find more talking points to distract from Biden — including that the president’s accomplishments shouldn’t be overshadowed by a 90-minute debate and that Trump’s performance, while stronger, was riddled with lies and misrepresentations.
Whether they can effectively counter widespread concerns among Democrats about Biden’s cognitive abilities remains to be seen. Since the debate, some donors have expressed concern that Biden is not sufficiently competitive with Trump, and at least one donor has called for the president to drop out. The New York Times editorial board argued that he should step aside for the good of the country.
A new CBS News poll found that 72 percent of registered voters do not think Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve as president after the debate. Among registered Democrats, 41 percent of respondents said Biden does not have the mental rigor to be president — up from 29 percent in early June.
Clyburn, who helped save Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, is not the first Democrat to blame those preparing Biden for the debate. Democratic commentator and former South Carolina lawmaker Bakari Sellers named other Biden allies and advisers who should take the blame: Anita Dunn, Ron Klain, Jen O’Malley Dillon. “They need to do the reflection this morning because what they did in preparation and leading up to that evening was a disservice to the president,” Sellers told CNN a day after the debate.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi was keen to highlight Trump’s lack of fact-checking. Speaking on MSNBC, she acknowledged that Biden had not had a good night. But she said it would be nearly impossible to competently debate someone like Trump, who, according to CNN, lied more than two dozen times during the debate. Biden did, however, agree to the terms of the debate.
“How can you have a legitimate debate when someone is totally lying – you have to completely dispel their untruths,” she said.
Since Thursday’s debate, the Biden team has been trying to convince Democrats and donors that the president can and will continue to campaign. On Friday, Biden held a rally in North Carolina, where he told supporters that he may not be as physically agile as he once was, and that he may not debate as well as he once was. But he insisted that he is still up to the task.
And on Saturday, at a fundraiser with major donors at Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s home, he said: “I understand the concern after the debate… I get it. I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to fight harder.”
Biden will meet with his family at Camp David on Sunday and is expected to discuss the future of his campaign.
“Like [Democrats] If they didn’t engage in a little hand-wringing, they wouldn’t be Democrats,” Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock said on “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
For their part, Republicans reiterated Sunday that Biden’s performance Thursday night underscored the need to elect Trump and exposed the president’s shortcomings.
“I’m not concerned about their debate performance,” said Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who is on Trump’s short list for vice president. “I’m concerned about what these guys look like on the world stage. What did they look like in private meetings with world leaders? And Donald Trump is clearly showing that he can represent our country well in that form and Joe Biden showed that he can’t could.”
