Former President Barack Obama offered public support for the president Joe Biden after a raucous debate on Thursday that prompted some Democrats to question whether the incumbent has what it takes to defeat Donald Trump.
“Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know,” Obama said in a post on X, a reference to his own first debate with 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney, which was widely seen as a victory for the Republican.
But the former president pointed to broader divisions between Biden and Trump, committing to a strategy that other Democrats have employed since Thursday’s debate.
“But this election is still a choice between someone who has spent his life fighting for ordinary people and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it honestly to the American people — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own gain,” Obama said. “Last night didn’t change that, and that’s why the stakes are so high in November.”
Prominent Democrats moved quickly to support Biden on Friday after a disastrous debate in which Biden stumbled over his words at key moments and failed to articulate key differences with Trump, even on issues like abortion rights that should benefit his party. Influential Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Friday morning that he would tell Biden to “stay the course.”
It is unlikely that this will completely alleviate the panic among Democrats, who made it clear during and immediately after the debate that Biden had done nothing to assuage voters’ concerns about his age.
Even before the debate ended, some Democratic strategists and donors were already thinking about how Biden could be replaced at the top of the ticket. On Friday morning, a handful of liberal columnists joined calls for Biden to step aside.
Some congressional Democrats said Friday they would prefer not to see Biden debate again after the performance, though they stopped short of calling for the party to replace him as the nominee.
Biden also acknowledged the challenge at a rally on Friday, saying he doesn’t debate as well as he used to but that he knows “how to do this job.”
