United States President Joe Biden has admitted to an ally that his campaign is in jeopardy if he doesn’t improve public perception following a poor debate performance.
According to the New York Times, Biden’s ally said: “He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place by the end of the weekend.”
The report described the ally as “key” but did not name the person.
After the article was published, Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said it was “absolutely false” and that the White House had not been given enough time to respond.
Last Friday, Biden’s allies scrambled to contain the fallout from his faltering performance at the first 2024 U.S. presidential debate after he struggled to stem a barrage of attacks and false claims from his Republican rival Donald Trump.
The Biden campaign had hoped that a strong debate would quell concerns among voters that the 81-year-old Democratic incumbent is too old to serve a second four-year term.
Instead, a hoarse-sounding Biden stumbled over his words at times, especially in the early stages of the debate.
One Biden donor, who asked for anonymity to speak freely about the president, called his performance “disqualifying” and predicted that some Democrats would revisit calls for Biden to step aside in favor of another candidate ahead of the party’s national convention in August.
Panicking Democrats exchanged messages wondering whether Biden would consider stepping down.
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