President Joe Biden reportedly does not plan to step aside in the 2024 presidential race after his controversial debate performance on Thursday night.
via People:
According to reports, Biden, 81, plans to continue his bid for reelection and is also committed to debating with presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump again in September.
“NEW, as just reported on @CNN: Not only does @POTUS not plan to drop out, Biden remains committed to a second debate in September, an adviser tells me,” CNN’s Senior White House correspondent Kayle Tausche posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, June 28.
The update comes one morning after the first presidential debate for the 2024 election, where Biden had a muffled voice and struggled to keep up with his competitor’s fast-talking.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment about speculation that he could drop out.
Biden’s debate with Trump, 78, on Thursday, June 27, sparked concerns in the Democratic Party, with some political pundits and strategists quickly questioning whether a last-minute change of their nominee is possible before the Democratic National Convention in August.
The president appeared out of sorts at times, and a source familiar told PEOPLE that Biden had a cold, offering an explanation for why his voice sounded hoarse.
There were also moments where he was hard to understand, and his sentences seemed to run on without him fully hitting home the points he wanted to make. When he had the chance to confront Trump, he often failed to do so with clarity, reinforcing fears about his age.
Trump, meanwhile, spouted many debunked lies about the hot-button issues raised, and deflected responsibility for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, prior to which he told his supporters to “fight like hell” to take the country back.
“On Jan. 6, we were respected all over the world. All over the world we were respected. And then [Biden] comes in, and we got laughed at,” Trump claimed.
Biden responded that Trump “encouraged those folks to go to Capitol Hill” and had “sat there for three hours watching” while he was asked to intervene and stop the attacks.
Trump also insinuated he wouldn’t accept the outcome of the 2024 election unless it is fair and legal by his standards. He then claimed without evidence that the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden, wasn’t fair.
The second presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 10, airing on ABC with David Muir and Linsey Davis moderating.
Let’s just face the music — right now, there’s only one choice to make in November. You’re not just voting for the President, but you’re voting for his administration.
