A Maryland Democratic lawmaker says he was taken aback by President Joe Biden's bumbling performance at the debate, and acknowledged that the party is having many of the same conversations as voters.
Rep. Jamie Raskin was asked Wednesday on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" — with a guest host filling in — about whether House Democrats agree with their unnamed colleagues' comments that "it's over" for the Biden campaign.
Raskin shrugged off the question, saying he doesn't know and "hasn't taken any sort of formal poll" on the topic. He defended the president noting Biden won the nomination and over 95 percent of delegates.
"Right now, he is the presumptive nominee of our party," said Raskin.
Raskin then brought up the debate — which has led to a mountain of questions over Biden's age and cognitive health from pundits and lawmakers.
"The debate obviously shook a lot of people up," he said. "The president has recognized the problem —"
Read also: ProPublica releases unedited interview with Joe Biden in wake of debate
Prompting an interjection from the CNN host, who pointed at Raskin and asked: "And it shook you up?"
"It shook me up, it shook up anybody who is a supporter and a friend of Joe Biden," he said.
Those shaken by the raspy and self-described sleepy performance from Biden were acting out of a sense of "compassion and love" for the 81-year-old.
"The way that he reacts towards us," said Raskin, who noted Biden was among the first people to call and cheer him up when he was diagnosed with lymphoma.
"We want the best for him, we want the best for the country and we want the best for our party," he said.
Raskin later acknowledged the debate "set people back for a week."
"It would be ridiculous not to acknowledge that," he said.
Raskin, asked to help TV viewers understand the conversations happening in the Democratic Party, he provided a surprisingly candid answer.
"Look the conversations that are happening in the Democratic Party are the same conversations we're seeing people have on TV and have, you know, in restaurants, and," he shrugged, "across the country."
Raskin said people are weighing a "constellation of factors" such as Biden's successes in advancing progressive values such as action on climate change, defending women's rights and the LGBTQ community, as well as a formidable foe in Donald Trump and the lackluster debate performance.
"We have a nominee for a reason. We trust Joe Biden and we're going to trust him to make the right decision about the crossroads that we're at right now," he said.
The Supreme Court's immunity ruling moved the U.S. closer to a constitutional monarchy than a constitutional democracy, Raskin warned.
While Biden has a "heavy decision to make," he won the delegates and he gets to make that decision, he added, noting Democrats don't have a lot of time.
"We wish him Godspeed in his deliberations; meantime, we are up against the forces of true monarchy and authoritarianism," said Raskin.
When pressed whether he believes Biden will defeat former President Donald Trump, he said Democrats and most independents know the stakes.
