Biden vows to return for second debate against Trump after disastrous performance
President Biden is still committed to a second debate against Donald Trump despite his abysmal showing on Thursday night.
Biden, 81, will return to the debate stage in September, CNN senior White House correspondent Kayla Tausche reported Friday morning, citing an adviser.
Biden is also not considering dropping out of the race — despite concerns from members of his own party.
The octogenarian repeatedly froze and misspoke during the Thursday debate, which left doubts in the minds of even the most hopeful viewers about his mental and physical fitness.
He also spoke in a soft, scratchy voice, which anonymous aides claimed was the result of a cold.
“This was a disaster for Biden. Many Democrats are looking for a new candidate after this debate,” Doug Muzzio, a retired public affairs professor at Baruch College, told The Post.
“Biden was tentative, rambling and sometimes incoherent,” he said.
“Trump, on the other hand, was clear and relatively coherent. He looked like he knew what he was talking about. Even though he repeatedly lied, he lies in an articulate way.”
At one point early in the debate, the incumbent appeared to lose his train of thought for a glacial nine seconds — only to finally look up and say that he “finally beat Medicare.”
The apparent gaffe gave Trump, 78, the perfect in.
“Well, he’s right. He did beat Medicare. He beat it to death and he’s destroying Medicare because all of these people who are coming in, they’re putting them on Medicare,” Trump retorted.
“If I knew nothing about Donald Trump before that debate and judged him solely on that performance, I’d vote for him,” one Democratic source told The Post.
With less than two months to go before the Democratic National Convention, another well-placed Democrat told The Post it was “TBD” whether Biden was still going to be the party’s nominee.
“Biden misspoke. He saved Medicare. But now someone needs to save Biden,” the source said.
At the end of the debate, first lady Jill Biden did sweep in to help her husband off the stage — a move that some viewers took as a nail in the Biden administration’s coffin.
The couple then greeted supporters at an Atlanta watch party, where the fawning first lady tried to buoy her husband’s ego.
“Joe, you did such a great job. You answered every question,” she gushed. “You knew all the facts.”
Over half of debate watchers, however, came away with no confidence in Biden’s ability to lead the country as compared to his opponent, per a CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
Sixty-seven percent of those polled said Trump performed better than Biden — with a measly 33% still thinking the incumbent would be the clear winner in November.
