President Biden is "not dropping out" of the 2024 race, a campaign official said following a shaky debate performance late Thursday that spurred talk among some Democrats of whether he should be replaced atop the ticket.
"Of course he's not dropping out," Biden campaign spokesperson Seth Schuster said in a text message.
The president himself brushed off talk over whether he should bow out during a stop at a Waffle House following the debate.
“No. It’s hard to debate a liar. The New York Times pointed out he lied 26 times,” he said, referring to former President Trump.
Biden’s performance in Thursday night's debate with Trump was largely panned by Democrats, some of whom have acknowledged it will stoke conversations about whether the president should be replaced atop the Democratic ticket before August’s convention.
The president’s voice was often raspy, which the White House later attributed to a cold, and he at times lost his train of thought or struggled to make his point clearly.
“The chatter is very distracting, and it’s going to be very consuming for the campaign,” former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki said on MSNBC. “Should he be replaced? They’re going to be answering that question instead of breaking through on attacking Trump.”
A CNN flash poll of debate watchers found 67 percent of those surveyed said Trump won the debate.
Biden's campaign noted it had a record-setting grassroots fundraising day and cited Trump's dozens of lies and his refusal to commit to accepting the 2024 election results as signs the debate did not go well for the Republican, either.
