Senator from Georgia. Rafael Warnocka Democrat, defended the president on Sunday Joe Biden after his poor performance in the first general election debate against the former president Donald Trumpwhich is consistent with statements made by other key campaign staff and Democrats over the past three days.
“Bad debates happen, like [former] President [Barack] Obama said,” Warnock said during an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” adding, “And this was 90 minutes. But let me tell you about those 90 minutes. Donald Trump lied for the entire 90 minutes.”
In the aftermath of the debate, some Democrats scrambled to defend the president, while others considered whether to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee.
NBC News reported Saturday that a number of top Democrats, including Reps. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Nancy Pelosi of California, have all privately expressed concerns about the president’s viability even as they have publicly supported him.
But Warnock’s comments on Sunday echoed the president’s own defense of his debate performance.
At a fundraiser on Saturday in East Hampton, New York, Biden told attendees, “I understand the concerns about the debate — I understand it.”
He added: ‘I didn’t have a great night, [but] voters reacted differently. Since the debate, the polls have shown a small movement, which has actually pushed us up.”
Warnock also attacked Trump, calling the former president “a pathological liar” and “a malignant narcissist.”
“Our country is better than that,” Warnock added.
The senator’s comments come after the editorial board of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a leading Georgia newspaper, joined the editorial board of The New York Times on Sunday in calling on Biden to step aside.
Warnock, like other Democrats, consistently downplayed concerns that Biden was unfit for another term, saying, “I think the American people sitting at their kitchen tables this morning are asking themselves, ‘Who cares? Who’s thinking about me?’ And we have no evidence that Donald Trump has ever thought about anyone but himself.”
During the fundraiser on Saturday, Biden also downplayed concerns about the New York Times editorial, saying, “And by the way, the Times had their editorial and guess what? They also point out [Trump] Lied 28 times in 90 minutes. It’s pretty good. The big lesson was his lies.”
Moderator Kristen Welker also asked Warnock about calls for Biden to step aside, potentially creating a path for Vice President Kamala Harris to run for president.
“I have great respect for Vice President Harris, who I have spent a lot of time with, but Joe Biden is the nominee,” Warnock said, adding: “I am going to do everything I can to make sure we get Joe Biden and Kamala Elect Harris.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
