President Biden argued that his disastrous debate performance actually converted more voters to his side than former President Trump.
Biden made the claim while surrounded by donors during a Saturday fundraiser at the home of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. The president reportedly acknowledged that his performance at the debate left much to be desired, but he argued that polling was on his side.
"I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to be fighting harder," Biden told the several dozen people at the party, according to NJ.com.
"Research during the debate shows us converting more undecided voters than Trump did, in large part because of his conduct on Jan. 6," he added. "People remember the bad things during his presidency."
Biden's attempt to spin his embarrassing Thursday night performance comes after multiple major newspapers called on him to drop out of the race. The New York Times editorial board argued that him staying in the race would be a "reckless gamble." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial board made a similar argument, calling on Biden to drop out "for the good of the nation."
So far, the formal pressure on Biden to drop out has all been external, however. Top Democrats in Congress and across the country remain publicly supportive of his presidential bid, despite rumblings of internal panic.
Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Jaime Harrison attempted to put rumors of Biden's replacement to bed on Saturday.
BIDEN'S INNER CIRCLE SILENT AS PARTY REELS FOLLOWING ‘EMBARRASSING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE
Harrison told MSNBC host Al Sharpton that the people are still strongly supporting President Biden, saying that the "hand-wringing" is coming from the media.
"You hear the hand-wringing coming from pundits, Rev, and from op-eds like the New York Times, but you don't hear from the people," he said.
"What I have seen is that galvanization, particularly in the Black community," he said. "I'm a Black man. I've seen the galvanization of support for Joe Biden because, you know, in the Black community, in your family, you can say all that you want to say about a member of your family, but don't let somebody else."
The DNC chairman said that people have Biden's back because he has "always had our back."
"That's what I've seen in terms of support of Joe Biden, because for us, Joe Biden has always had our back, and we're going to have his," he said.
Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
