US President Joe Biden has assured Democrat donors that he can still win November’s presidential election against Donald Trump, after a poor debate performance fuelled concern about his candidacy.
The president, 81, attended a series of fundraising events in New York and New Jersey on Saturday, and defended his performance in CNN’s Presidential Debate.
Speaking at one event, Mr Biden admitted, “I didn’t have a great night, but neither did Trump” on Thursday.
Mr Biden’s debate performance was marked by hard-to-follow and shaky answers – raising fresh fears among some Democrats over whether he is the right candidate to contest this high-stakes election.
Former Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi said Mr Biden’s debate performance “wasn’t great” – while his former communications director, Kate Bedingfield, called it “really disappointing”.
The president said he understood the concern, but pledged to fight harder.
New Jersey’s Democratic governor Phil Murphy attended the fundraiser alongside Mr Biden and the First Lady – and told Mr Biden that “we are all with you 1,000%”.
The Biden campaign accepted that the debate had not gone as they had hoped, but said he would not step aside for another nominee.
Campaign chairwoman Jennifer O’Malley Dillon said on Saturday that internal post-debate polling showed “voters’ opinions were not changed”.
Former President Barack Obama, a close friend of Mr Biden, said on social media that “bad debate nights happen”.
A prominent editorial in the New York Times described his determination to run again as a “reckless gamble”, and urged him to do some soul-searching this weekend.
It said Democrats should “acknowledge that Mr Biden can’t continue his race, and create a process to select someone more capable to stand in his place”.
Voters across the United States have also expressed concerns over voting for either candidate following Thursday’s debate.
Long-time Democrat Lori Gregory told the BBC that she “could not handle” watching the debate, and asked, “is this the best our country can do?”
Republican Crystal Myers-Barber said it was “painful to watch”, but added that she thought “Trump came across very level-headed and presidential and Biden came across very weak.”
Democrat Shana Ziolko said she was “frustrated” watching the debate, and thought there was no clear winner.
A post-debate poll by liberal pollster Data for Progress found that 62% of likely voters who watched or read about the debate found Trump won. Only 30% of those polled said Mr Biden won the debate.
Until further polling is conducted, fundraising could be another indication of continued enthusiasm for Mr Biden’s candidacy.
In a memo, chairwoman Jennifer O’Malley Dillon said the campaign had raised more than $27m (£21.3m) from the Thursday debate to Friday evening.
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