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Democrats think Jill Biden could be the only person who can convince us Joe Biden to fall off.
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After Biden’s performance at the debate, some Democrats are questioning his ability to beat Trump.
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But the first lady doesn’t give up. And neither does the president.
By most accounts, Joe Biden’s performance at last week’s debate was a disaster.
But First Lady Jill Biden — perhaps the only person who could convince the president to stop — stands by him.
Since the president botched the debate against Trump on Thursday, some prominent Democrats and Biden supporters have expressed doubts about Biden’s viability as a candidate, with some even calling for him to withdraw from the race.
Biden’s close friend and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote in a Times article the morning after the debate: “Joe Biden, a good man and a good president, has no business being re-elected.”
RT Rybak, former DNC vice chair and former mayor of Minneapolis, called on his party members in a Facebook post to pressure Biden to resign.
However, Politico reported, based on a call from Democrats close to Biden, that the only person who could convince him to step down is the first lady.
Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic political adviser, agreed, telling The Guardian: “The most logical person to advise Biden not to do this for his own health and for the good of the country is Jill Biden.”
But so far, the first lady has vowed to fight on.
Jill Biden acknowledged her husband’s lackluster performance at the debate at a Manhattan fundraiser on Friday. According to The Washington Post , she told a group of supporters, “As Joe said earlier today, he’s not a young man anymore.”
“After the debate last night, he said, ‘You know, Jill, I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t feeling great,’” Jill Biden continued, according to the Post.
But, she added, “What my husband knows how to do is tell the truth,” the outlet reported. “If he gets knocked down, Joe gets back up, and that’s what we’re doing today.”
Jill Biden reiterated this stance to Vogue on Sunday, telling the media that the Biden family “is not going to let those 90 minutes define his four years as president.”
“We will keep fighting,” she added, according to Vogue.
And she’s not the only Biden standing firm. At a gathering at Camp David this weekend, other Biden family members, including his son Hunter Bidenurged the president to stay the course, a report by The New York Times said.
Jill Biden and the rest of the family believe the president should be defined by his successes in the White House, not by a single performance during a debate.
But even some Biden supporters argue that his lackluster debate performance has already sealed his fate: He is an aging candidate who can no longer beat Trump in November.
Unless Jill Biden changes her tune or Joe Biden is given a dignified exit, it seems unlikely the president will back down. But with the Democratic National Convention — where Biden is expected to receive the party’s formal nomination — not until August, there’s still time for a major campaign shakeup.
Read the original article on Business Insider
