{"id":2285733,"date":"2024-06-29T09:52:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-29T13:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-campaign-embraces-his-age-as-debate-performance-excuse-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-06-29T09:56:10","modified_gmt":"2024-06-29T13:56:10","slug":"biden-campaign-embraces-his-age-as-debate-performance-excuse-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-campaign-embraces-his-age-as-debate-performance-excuse-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden campaign embraces his age as debate performance excuse &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-campaign-embraces-his-age-as-debate-performance-excuse-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2285733&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In the 2024\u200c general election\u200b opening\u200b debate, watched by over 51 million \u200bpeople, President Joe Biden&#8217;s performance\u2064 has sparked debate within the \u200dDemocratic Party regarding \u200chis\u200b fitness to continue as their nominee. Despite \u2063initially asserting\u200b he had performed\u2064 well at \u200ca post-debate stop in a Waffle House, Biden later\u2062 conceded at a rally in North Carolina that his \u200dage was impacting his debating skills. This acknowledgement marks a rhetorical\u2064 shift from Biden and his \u200dcampaign, as he admitted to physical challenges\u2064 and communication issues.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic officials, including DNC Chairman \u200dJaime Harrison and First Lady Jill Biden, rallied to project confidence in Biden\u2019s capabilities, focusing on his \u2064resilience and truthfulness. Despite this narrative, doubts persist\u2063 within the party, as evidenced by a DNC call and discussions \u200damong members about possibly seeking\u200c another candidate. Biden \u2064himself reaffirmed his commitment to\u200c the presidency, stating he believed he could still effectively \u200cperform the role.<\/p>\n<p>The debate&#8217;s reception was mixed, with a significant percentage\u2064 of viewers \u2064and Democratic voters questioning Biden&#8217;s suitability due to his\u200b age. Poll\u200d results after the debate showed Biden and Trump closely matched, reflecting ongoing \u200cpublic uncertainty.\u200c The \u200cBiden campaign and\u2063 its strategists have acknowledged the challenging \u200cperception and are attempting to address these concerns transparently and strategically.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>ATLANTA &mdash;<\/strong> When asked about his age and the rigors of the presidency, President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a> has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-trump-please-create-an-executive-order-and-have-2020-ballots-and-images-audited-in-select-states-using-jovan-pulitzer-method\/\" title=\"President Trump PLEASE CREATE AN EXECUTIVE ORDER and Have 2020 Ballots and Images Audited in Select States Using Jovan Pulitzer Method\">repeatedly told<\/a> the public to watch him.<\/p>\n<p>During the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/debates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-republicans-call-on-biden-administration-to-investigate-cdcs-alleged-collusion-with-massive-teachers-union\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Republicans Call On Biden Administration To Investigate CDC\u2019s Alleged \u2018Collusion\u2019 With Massive Teachers Union\">opening debate<\/a><\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2024-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>2024 general election<\/a>, more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3063751\/bidens-nightmare-48-million-viewers-25-million-fewer-first-matchup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>51 million people<\/a> did that and what they saw has rattled the Democratic Party, regardless of the spin from Biden, the Biden campaign, and his supporters.<\/p>\n<p>Biden, himself, told reporters after the debate during a stop at a Waffle House, where he bought campaign aides dinner, that he thought &ldquo;did well.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to debate a liar,&rdquo; he said, adding he had &ldquo;a sore throat.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>However, with Democrats uncertain regarding whether Biden should even be their nominee two months before the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-national-convention\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Democratic National Convention<\/a> and five months before the election, the president conceded his performance was not good during a post-debate rally in North Carolina, specifically citing his age.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Folks, I don&rsquo;t walk as easy as I used to,&rdquo; Biden read from a teleprompter Friday during his 20-minute prepared remarks, compared to his 90-minute debate the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/protests-largely-peaceful-in-minneapolis-after-secondary-fence-erects-outside-brooklyn-center-police-department\/\" title=\"Protests Largely Peaceful In Minneapolis After Secondary Fence Erects Outside Brooklyn Center Police Department\">previous night<\/a> without notes. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don&rsquo;t debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And&nbsp;I&nbsp;know&nbsp;like millions of Americans&nbsp;know: When you get knocked down, you get back up,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>That talking point that is more accepting of his age as a weakness has been amplified by Biden campaign aides and supporters, including first lady <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jill-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Jill Biden<\/a> at a New York City fundraiser.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As Joe said earlier today, he&rsquo;s not a young man,&rdquo; the first lady told donors Friday night. <\/p>\n<p>The rhetorical shift can be contrasted to earlier in the day when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-national-committee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Democratic National Committee<\/a> Chairman Jaime Harrison told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that Democrats are &ldquo;notoriously&rdquo; known for hand-wringing when asked about party members advocating another standard-bearer. Harrison has notified card-carrying DNC members of a rare, last-minute call on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not time to wring hands; it&rsquo;s about rolling up your sleeves to do the work,&rdquo; Harrison said during a Biden campaign press conference in Atlanta. &ldquo;This election was always going to be close, and it&rsquo;s going to be close. That means we got to put in the hard work and the efforts to make sure that we win this.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>To underscore his point, Joe Biden told other donors during his own fundraiser Friday night in New York City that he would not be seeking reelection if he &ldquo;did not believe with all my heart and soul that I can do this job.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>For Democratic strategist Stefan Hankin, the Biden campaign&rsquo;s original communications strategy was &ldquo;not really clear&rdquo; after it organized for supporters, such as Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gavin-newsom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Gavin Newsom<\/a>&nbsp;(D-CA), to be in the spin room to take a couple of questions before leaving, a departure from the tradition, under which surrogates tend to stay and engage with reporters as long as they have questions. He also criticized the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>White House<\/a> and Biden campaign for telling reporters the president had a cold during and not before the debate.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Any time something goes poorly, whether it&rsquo;s a company, an organization, a campaign, the best thing to do is you&rsquo;ve got to get the most senior person out there, claim responsibility for it, and then lay out how you&rsquo;re going to fix it,&rdquo; Hankin told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;It feels like it should be better than, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m not as good as I used to be.&#8217;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hankin contended that Biden&rsquo;s debate problem could be partly attributable to overpreparation, expressing exasperation since the president had &ldquo;one job&rdquo; and that was &ldquo;to not look old.&rdquo; He downplayed the likelihood of Biden being replaced as the ballot because of &ldquo;logistics&rdquo; and that it would have to be a decision the president makes.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to wait until next week to find out if this moved any voters or if this is just causing the usual bedwetting in the campaign world,&rdquo; the strategist said. &ldquo;I would expect we&rsquo;re going to see Biden&rsquo;s numbers drop a little over the next five, six days, not to Trump necessarily, but probably more towards third party going up a little bit and undecided going up a little bit.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/pro.morningconsult.com\/analysis\/biden-trump-debate-poll-june-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Morning Consult post-debate poll<\/a> published Friday found that Biden has not ceded immediate ground to Trump, with 45% supporting Biden and 44% Trump. But a 47% plurality of Democrats agreed Biden should step down as the party&rsquo;s standard-bearer, in addition to 78% of debate watchers who perceived Biden as &ldquo;too old,&rdquo; in comparison to 64% of all respondents who were of the same opinion days before the head-to-head matchup.<\/p>\n<p>Aboard Air Force One en route to New York City from North Carolina, Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler tried to tamp down speculation concerning &ldquo;conversations&rdquo; with the president about stepping aside, that there would be any personnel changes within the campaign, and whether he was reconsidering the second debate in September. The campaign had an all-staff meeting Friday afternoon, but it was reportedly largely focused on improving morale. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The president would not cite his sore throat as an excuse for the debate performance. He had a bad night,&rdquo; Tyler said. &ldquo;The strategy doesn&rsquo;t change at all. Our strategy, as I just said, moving forward is to relentlessly communicate directly with the American people between June 28th and November.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The president himself has said it&rsquo;s fair for the American people to consider age,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s clear is that age is not going to be the contrast in this race. Joe Biden is 81 years old. Donald Trump is 78 years old.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But battleground Democrats, like Georgia state Sen. Sonya Halpern, are dealing with the consequences before an election in which Biden&rsquo;s greatest opponents may be voter apathy and a lack of enthusiasm.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The age piece, it is something that we just, we cannot change on either one,&rdquo; Halpern told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;No matter what your political affiliation, that is not inspiring people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Politics, to some extent, is an elite sport,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We forget for people who are just going about their business every day, it doesn&rsquo;t seem to involve politics. It takes a lot more work in order for them to pay attention. So how do we take advantage of this period of time between now and November to really get them paying attention and really thinking about the differences between the candidates?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ATLANTA \u2014 President Joe Biden, addressing concerns about his age and presidential duties, urged the public to observe his performance. Over 51 million viewers watched him in the first 2024 general election debate, leaving the Democratic Party unsettled, despite attempts to spin the narrative positively<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":2285734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/biden-stonewall-scaled-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[8808,3620,4087,3896,32076],"class_list":["post-2285733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-age","tag-biden","tag-campaign","tag-debate","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/biden-stonewall-scaled-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2285733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2652"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2285733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2285733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2285734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2285733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2285733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2285733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}