US President Joe Biden has hit back at criticism about his age, telling supporters in a fiery speech that he will win re-election in November after a poor debate performance sparked raised new concerns about his physical health.
“I know I’m not a young man, to be clear,” he said at a rally in the battleground state of North Carolina on Friday, a day after he struggled in a televised showdown. with Republican opponent Donald Trump.
“I don’t walk as easily as I used to… I don’t argue as well as I used to,” he admitted. “But I know what I know, I know how to tell the truth.[and]I know how to do this job.”
“I would not run again if I did not believe with all my heart that I could do this job,” Mr Biden, 81, added, as the cheering crowd in Raleigh chanted “four more years”.
Meanwhile, Trump held his own rally in Virginia just hours later, where he hailed a “big win” in the debate, which CNN said was watched by 48 million people on television and millions more online.
“Joe Biden’s problem is not his age,” the 78-year-old Trump said. “That’s his ability. He’s completely incompetent.”
The former president dismissed speculation that Biden would withdraw from the race, saying he was “doing better in the polls” than other Democrats, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and Vice President President Kamala Harris.
While questions about Mr. Biden’s age are not new, his shaky performance on the debate stage — marked by empty sentences, a hoarse voice and some difficult-to-follow answers — has sparked panic among some Democrats, who have raised new questions about his candidacy.
Democratic officials, political activists and people close to the president spoke to the BBC’s Katty Kay and painted a picture of a party worried about the strength of their candidate.
Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic House speaker, said “it wasn’t a great performance.” Other Democrats, such as Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s former communications director, called it a “really disappointing debate performance.”
Democratic donors who spoke anonymously to various media outlets were more blunt, with one calling the performance “disqualifying.” “The only way it could be more dire is if he falls off the stage. Big donors are saying… he has to go,” a Democratic staffer told the Financial Times.
But publicly, many senior Democrats and Biden allies defended his performance as they sought to allay concerns on Friday. Among Mr Biden’s supporters was former President Barack Obama, who tweeted that “bad debate nights have happened”.
“This election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary people all his life and someone who only cares about himself,” Mr. Obama wrote, adding that Mr. Trump is “a liar to the teeth.” for my own benefit”.
Mr Biden and his campaign were quick to dismiss calls for him to step down as candidate. “President Biden is the only person who has ever beaten Donald Trump. He will do it again,” said one campaign adviser. “This election will never be won or lost in one rally, one conversation or one debate.”
Biden’s campaign also said the president had raised $14 million in fundraising efforts in recent days, in an apparent effort to show that they were maintaining momentum. Mr. Biden is expected to meet with donors on Friday and Saturday, including at events in wealthy Manhattan and the Hamptons.
