(Headline USA) Vice President Kamala Harris tried to downplay President Joe Biden’s embarrassing debate performance on Thursday night, arguing he had a “slow start” but a “strong finish.”
Biden’s rambling answers and frail appearance caused widespread panic in the Democratic Party after the debate ended, with several prominent pundits calling on him to drop out of the race and let the Democratic establishment choose someone else to head the 2024 ticket.
“Some within your own party are wondering if President Biden should even step aside. What do you say to that?” CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Harris on Thursday night.
“What we saw tonight was the president making a very clear contrast with Donald Trump on all the issues that matter to the American people. It was a slow start, but it was a strong finish,” she replied. “Joe Biden is extraordinarily strong.”
Harris claimed people shouldn’t just focus on “a one and a half hour debate tonight,” but on Biden’s “three and a half years of performance and work that has been historic.”
Biden has also tried for a post-debate reset, telling reporters on Friday, “I don’t debate as well as I used to,” but “I know how to do this job.”
Biden and Harris’s response to criticism of his debate performance suggests both would be unwilling to step aside voluntarily as some on the Left are demanding.
Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt even addressed these demands head-on, saying Friday, “Of course he’s not dropping out. Let’s keep going.”
David Plouffe, former campaign manager and senior adviser to former President Barack Obama, confirmed the unlikeliness of Biden willingly stepping aside.
“There’s really only two scenarios,” he told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. “One, which is not going to happen, would be Joe Biden decides to step down, and we have a fascinating seven-week campaign to get the supportive delegates in Chicago. The only other option is somehow to right the ship here.”
