US President Joe Biden is still engaged in damage control following last week’s disastrous debate in Atlanta against Donald Trump. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said on Thursday at the White House’s Fourth of July Independence Day party. He had two important appointments on Friday before leaving for the weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware. First, a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, and then the recording of an interview that was broadcast on Friday in prime time. At the rally, he was clear: “I’m running and I’m going to win again,” he said. “I’m still in the race, I’m going to beat Trump,” he added.
The Madison rally was relatively low-key, with just a few hundred attendees — far from the mass gatherings that typically attend Donald Trump rallies, but also fewer people than his speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, last week. Attendees repeated the slogan “four more years.” It was a slow-paced event, with gaps between speeches and delays until the president arrived.
When Biden appeared on the scene, he went to greet some of the attendees, trying to show a spontaneity that seemed somewhat feigned. Then, he read his speech at the teleprompterthe screens with the text, an aid that has proven to be key lately for the president to link his speech. He has been energetic and on the attack, although it is unlikely that this will be enough to combat the impression installed in the electorate that he is too old to opt for a second term.
The president has repeated some of his attacks on Trump: he has called him a “convicted felon,” adding: “It’s a one-man crime wave.” He has repeated that he has the moral character of an alley cat and has insisted that he poses a threat to democracy. He has criticized his role in the assault on the Capitol in January 2021: “You can’t be pro-insurrectionist and pro-American at the same time; you can’t love your country only when you win,” he told his opponent. He has also criticized the job losses (actually due to the pandemic) during his predecessor’s presidency.
But Biden’s goal, beyond attacking Trump, was to show that he is in good shape. Perhaps that is why he gave a speech that was somewhat longer than usual at rallies. And he insisted again and again on the results of his administration and that he will run in the elections. “When you are knocked down, you get up. I am not going to let a 90-minute debate ruin three and a half years of work,” he repeated.
The president has joked about his age (“I look 40,” he said), but he has also taken it seriously.[Tras el debate]There’s been a lot of speculation: ‘What are you going to do? Are you going to stay in the race? Are you going to drop out? What are you going to do?’ Well, this is my answer. I’m running and I’m going to win again,” he said.
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A small lapse
He then launched into a series of rhetorical questions about whether he is too old to create jobs, to take on big pharmaceuticals or to promote stricter gun legislation, to which the audience responded with a negative. “Do you think I am too old to beat Donald Trump?” he concluded the series. The chorus of responses was obvious.
Biden has also had a lapse, one of those that is especially affecting him right now. “I am the candidate of the Democratic Party. You voted for me to be your nominee, not anyone else. I will win again.” [a Trump] in 2020,” he said, confusing the year.
The president concluded his speech with an aggressive phrase: “Let us remain united, let us win this election and exile Donald Trump, politically,” he concluded his rally.
Biden is aware that he is living through decisive days and that he needs to dispel doubts about his mental acuity. On Wednesday, at a meeting with Democratic governors at the White House, he allowed himself to joke about it. He said that he was in good health, that what was failing him was his brain. The president also acknowledged at that meeting that he needs to sleep more and limit nighttime activities so that he can go to bed earlier and be rested for work, according to US media reports.
The president gave an interview in Wisconsin today to George Stephanopoulos, a former Democratic strategist and consultant turned star anchor of ABC News, which will air this Friday in prime time. On Sunday he travels to Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) for another campaign event. Next week he is the host of the NATO summit, which is being held in Washington and which celebrates the 75th anniversary of its founding. At this summit, he will hold a press conference open to all kinds of questions.
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