‘Preparation overload’: Democrats defend Biden after debate flop as voter support flinches

Democrats
are
making
the
rounds
on
the
Sunday
media
circuit
working
to
reshape
perceptions
about

President
Joe
Biden
after
he
delivered
a
stumbling

debate
performance
that
left
his

voters
cringing
and
his
party
in
a
damage-control
frenzy.

“Yes,
it
was
a
bad
performance,”
South
Carolina’s
Democratic
Rep.

Jim
Clyburn,
a
close
Biden
ally,
said
on
CNN’s
“State
of
the
Union.”
“I
know
when
I
see
what
I
call
preparation
overload.
And
that’s
exactly
what
was
going
on
the
other
night.”

The
South
Carolina
Democrat
followed
the
post-debate
spin
formula
that
has
emerged
from
Biden
supporters
since
the
Thursday
showdown:
Acknowledge
the
fumble
and
then
pivot
to
critiques
of
the
presumptive
Republican
presidential
nominee,
former
President
Donald
Trump.

“Joe
Biden
should
continue
to
run
on
his
record.
I
do
believe
that
we
will
find
him
when
contrasted
with
the
record
of
the
four
years
of
Trump
to
be
exactly
what
we
need
going
forward,”
Clyburn
said.

Former
presidents

Barack
Obama
and

Bill
Clinton
followed
that
structure
in
similar
arguments
on
Friday.

House
Democratic
Leader
Hakeem
Jeffries,
Sen.
Chris
Coons,
D-Del.,
Sen.
Raphael
Warnock,
D-Ga.
and
former
House
Speaker Nancy
Pelosi,
D-Calif.,
also
jumped
to
Biden’s
defense
on
the
Sunday
media
junket.

Despite
the
full-court
press,
Biden’s
Thursday
debate
performance,
marked
by
several
instances
where
he
tripped
over
his
words
or
trailed
off
mid-answer,
has
only
amplified
voter
concerns
about
his
age
and
fitness
to
carry
out
a
second
presidential
term.

A
new

CBS
News/YouGov
poll
taken
between
June
28
and
June
29
found
that
72%
of
registered
voters
surveyed
do
not
think
Biden
should
run
for
president,
up
from
63%
in
February.
The
poll
also
found
that
72%
of
the
respondents
do
not
think
that
Biden
has
the
mental
and
cognitive
ability
to
serve
as
president,
a
seven
percent
increase
since
June
9.

A
poll
taken
so
shortly
after
a
major
event
like
Thursday’s
debate
represents
a
knee-jerk
reaction.
A
more
accurate
snapshot
of
public
sentiment
may
emerge
as
the
initial
hype
dies
down
and
voters
have
more
time
to
process.
The
CBS
News
poll
surveyed
1,130
registered
voters
and
had
a
margin
of
error
of
+/-
4.2%.

But
those
new
numbers
come
in
direct
tension
with
Biden’s
argument
that
voters
are
not
as
down
on
his
debate
blunders
as
much
as
political
pundits.

“I
understand
the
concern
about
the
debate.
I
get
it.
I
didn’t
have
a
great
night.
But
here’s
what
[is]
not
getting
reported:
Voters
had
a
different
reaction
than
the
pundits,”
the
president
said
at
a
Saturday
campaign
event
in
East
Hampton,
N.Y.
“Since
the
debate,
polls
show
a
little
movement,
and
we’ve
moved
us
up,
actually.”

Biden
and
Trump
are
scheduled
for
a

second
debate
on
Sept.
10,
though
it
is
unclear
whether
both
candidates
will
follow
through.

Ultimately,
the
debate
has
triggered
a
Democratic
reckoning
over
whether
Biden
should
remain
the
presumptive
nominee.

Some
Democratic
strategists,
along
with
newspaper
editorial
boards
across
the
country
have
suggested
he
should
step
down
and
forfeit
his
delegates
ahead
of
August’s
Democratic
National
Convention
to
allow
someone
else
to
take
on
Trump
in
November.

Biden
is
at

Camp
David
on
Sunday,
joined
by
his
family
where
he
is
expected
to
discuss
the
path
forward
of
his
reelection
bid,
according
to
NBC
News.

In
the
meantime,
the

Biden
campaign
has
been
raking
in
large
fundraising
hauls
in
the
wake
of
the
debate.
As
of
Sunday
morning,
the
campaign
had
raised

$33
million
since
Thursday,
$26
million
of
which
came
from
grassroots
donors,
according
to
Biden
campaign
spokesperson
Kevin
Munoz.

Munoz
added
that
nearly
half
of
that
grassroots
funding
came
from
donors
giving
money
to
the
campaign
for
the
first
time
this
election
season.