President Biden on Friday acknowledged his poor performance in his debate against former President Donald Trump but insisted he wouldn’t be running for reelection if he couldn’t handle the job.
In his first campaign rally since his widely criticized and shaky performance on the debate stage, Mr. Biden told a crowd in Durham, North Carolina, that the years have taken a toll on him.
“I don’t walk as easily as I used to. I don’t talk as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know. I know how to tell the Truth,” the 81-year-old commander-in-chief said. “I know how to get things done.”
To reassure skeptical voters that he has the physical and mental stamina to handle for more years, he declared he was fit to lead.
“I give you my word as a Biden, I would not be running again if I did not believe with all my heart and soul that I could do this job, because, quite frankly, the stakes are too high,” Mr. Biden said.
The raucous crowd responded with a loud chorus of, “Yes, you can!” after Mr. Biden said he could do this job.
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The rally in North Carolina was partly aimed at limiting the fallout from the debate, which cemented voters’ doubts about his fitness for office. Mr. Biden repeatedly froze, misspoke and trailed off during the 90-minute face-off on CNN.
He was much steadier at the rally. The raspy, barely audible voice he displayed during the debate had disappeared with Mr. Biden yelling some of his lines to pump up the North Carolina crowd. However, his cough did persist during his rally.
Aided by teleprompters and a speech rife with one-liners attacking Mr. Trump, the president revisited several themes that he muddled through on the debate stage.
In a far more animated performance at the rally, Mr. Biden tore into Mr. Trump’s legal woes. He ticked the litany of court dramas for the former president ranging from his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records to criminal charges filed over his efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 election.
“Donald Trump isn’t just a convicted felon. Donald Trump is a one-man crime wave,” Mr. Biden said.
White House officials have blamed a lingering cold for his low energy, weak voice and coughing while on stage against Mr. Trump in a CNN studio in Atlanta.
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Ahead of Mr. Biden’s remarks, first lady Jill Biden and Eric Fitts, a Raleigh, North Carolina education, who introduced the president rally, gave him positive marks for his debate performance.
Mr. Fitts said he “watched with pride as President Biden won the debate.”
Ms. Biden said the president showed “integrity and character” on the debate stage and “Donald Trump told lie after lie after lie.”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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