President Joe Biden has conceded that he “screwed up” his debate against former President Donald Trump, but still insists that “we’re gonna win this election.”
“I had a bad night,” Biden told Wisconsin radio host Earl Ingram in a pre-recorded interview that came out Thursday.
WATCH — Kristol: After Debate Performance “It’s Crazy” Biden Has Not Seen a Doctor:
“I screwed up. I made a mistake. But I learned from my father, when you get knocked down, just get back up,” he continued. “And you know, we’re gonna win this election. We’re gonna just beat Donald Trump as much as we did in 2020.”
Listen:
Arguing that voters should pay attention to his presidential track record rather than his botched performance, Biden said, “I didn’t have a good debate. That’s 90 minutes on stage. Look at what I’ve done in 3 1/2 years.”
The 81-year-old went on to slam Trump’s use of the phrase “black jobs” when referring to employment opportunities being taken by illegal immigrants.
“You know what he’s doing, it’s shameful,” Biden said.
“He’s talking about black jobs meaning only things blacks can do, manual labor, menial labor. That’s what he’s doing and that’s how he looks at it,” he continued, before posing to Ingram, “Name me something he’s done to help the black community, give people a shot like I’ve gone with college and education and home-buying and a whole range of things.”
WATCH — CNN’s Enten: Donald Trump’s Performance with Black Voters “Historic”:
He added that Trump “is a guy who questioned George Floyd’s humanity, led the birther movement against Barack Obama… He’s falsely accused the Central Park Five.”
Continuing to argue that he is the better candidate for black voters, Biden said, “Who’s going to represent you except folks like me? And we’re not gonna be able to represent you if you’re not showing up to vote.”
Biden’s debate performance raised eyebrows not only on the right side of the political aisle, but also amongst his own party after he mumbled and said nonsensical things on several occasions.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told reporter Jake Sherman last Friday that she “admit[ted] that from a performance standpoint [the debate] wasn’t great, but from a values standpoint he far outshone the other guy.”
🚨NEW — PELOSI on Biden
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) June 28, 2024
- she hasn’t spoken to the president.
- she said that the party doesn’t need a new nominee
- she said Biden’s speech today will “admit that from a performance standpoint [the debate] wasn’t great but from a values standpoint he far outshone the other…
On Friday’s broadcast of CNBC’s Squawk Box, Biden campaign co-chair Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) acknowledged he got “lots” of panicked reactions from “long-time friends and supporters” about the debate.
Mainstream media outlets including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, and the Financial Times have all published opinion pieces explicitly telling Biden that it is either time to drop out of the race, or that it is not too late to do so.
