The head of President Joe Biden‘s campaign made a strident claim in defending her boss’s health in a call with about 500 donors on Monday, according to a new report.
Jen O’Malley Dillon, the chairwoman of Biden’s re-election effort, sought to offer reassurances after the president rattled Democrats with his shaky performance in his debate last week against former President Donald Trump.
“He’s probably in better health than most of us,” Dillon said, participants on the call told CNN.
Dillon also reportedly said her team is “clear-eyed, not pollyannish [sic]” about Biden’s showing in the debate and pointed to the White House physician’s report earlier this year that deemed him fit to serve.
The news outlet noted that one person on the call “said the comments were offensive and dismissive of the real concerns about Biden in the wake of his debate performance.”
The report pointed out that a member of the campaign’s National Finance Committee “said it was disappointing that the top Biden official sought to downplay the concerns, rather than hear them.”
Several journalists, pundits, and others responded to the report on social media saying the Biden team’s post-debate defense strategy was ineffective.
“‘He’s probably in better health than most of us.’ Just imagine saying that out loud and expecting to be taken seriously,” National Review senior editor Charles C.W. Cooke said in a post to X.
“Again, their position is untenable. They can’t tell the truth, that their candidate is well below the threshold of someone who should be president for another 4 years, so they tell obvious lies that nobody but the dumbest partisans will buy,” said pollster Nate Silver.
He added, “Maybe nominate Kamala [Harris], Biden’s hand-chosen VP, so you can at least be truthful with the American public? That’s the adult and responsible thing to do. Instead, these selfish staffers will take down the party brand with them.”
Many Democrats are reportedly panicking about the upcoming election after 81-year-old Biden’s halting debate presentation. There is growing pressure on Biden to drop out, including from donors and The New York Times editorial board, and give the party the opportunity to pick another person to be selected as the nominee at its convention in August.
Post-debate polling from CBS News and YouGov found that 41% of Democratic registered voters and 72% of registered voters overall do not believe Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve as president. Half of the respondents said the same of Trump, who is 78.
Biden sought to assuage concerns at a campaign rally in North Carolina on Friday, acknowledging to supporters that he is no longer a young man. “I don’t debate as well as I used to,” he also said, adding later, “but I know how to do this job.”
Members of Biden’s family urged the president to stay in the race during a weekend gathering at Camp David, sources told The New York Times.
First lady Jill Biden told Vogue for its August cover story she “will not let those 90 minutes” from the debate define her husband’s presidency. “We will continue to fight,” she said, adding that President Biden “will always do what’s best for the country.”
Trump, in a post to his Truth Social account late Monday, said Biden’s disastrous performance has put “a BIG GAP” between the two candidates for the Democrat to “make up, and with his mind and memory completely shot, and marbles in his mouth, it’s not going to happen!”
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[[{“value”:”
The head of President Joe Biden‘s campaign made a strident claim in defending her boss’s health in a call with about 500 donors on Monday, according to a new report.
Jen O’Malley Dillon, the chairwoman of Biden’s re-election effort, sought to offer reassurances after the president rattled Democrats with his shaky performance in his debate last week against former President Donald Trump.
“He’s probably in better health than most of us,” Dillon said, participants on the call told CNN.
Dillon also reportedly said her team is “clear-eyed, not pollyannish [sic]” about Biden’s showing in the debate and pointed to the White House physician’s report earlier this year that deemed him fit to serve.
The news outlet noted that one person on the call “said the comments were offensive and dismissive of the real concerns about Biden in the wake of his debate performance.”
The report pointed out that a member of the campaign’s National Finance Committee “said it was disappointing that the top Biden official sought to downplay the concerns, rather than hear them.”
Several journalists, pundits, and others responded to the report on social media saying the Biden team’s post-debate defense strategy was ineffective.
“‘He’s probably in better health than most of us.’ Just imagine saying that out loud and expecting to be taken seriously,” National Review senior editor Charles C.W. Cooke said in a post to X.
“Again, their position is untenable. They can’t tell the truth, that their candidate is well below the threshold of someone who should be president for another 4 years, so they tell obvious lies that nobody but the dumbest partisans will buy,” said pollster Nate Silver.
He added, “Maybe nominate Kamala [Harris], Biden’s hand-chosen VP, so you can at least be truthful with the American public? That’s the adult and responsible thing to do. Instead, these selfish staffers will take down the party brand with them.”
Many Democrats are reportedly panicking about the upcoming election after 81-year-old Biden’s halting debate presentation. There is growing pressure on Biden to drop out, including from donors and The New York Times editorial board, and give the party the opportunity to pick another person to be selected as the nominee at its convention in August.
Post-debate polling from CBS News and YouGov found that 41% of Democratic registered voters and 72% of registered voters overall do not believe Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve as president. Half of the respondents said the same of Trump, who is 78.
Biden sought to assuage concerns at a campaign rally in North Carolina on Friday, acknowledging to supporters that he is no longer a young man. “I don’t debate as well as I used to,” he also said, adding later, “but I know how to do this job.”
Members of Biden’s family urged the president to stay in the race during a weekend gathering at Camp David, sources told The New York Times.
First lady Jill Biden told Vogue for its August cover story she “will not let those 90 minutes” from the debate define her husband’s presidency. “We will continue to fight,” she said, adding that President Biden “will always do what’s best for the country.”
Trump, in a post to his Truth Social account late Monday, said Biden’s disastrous performance has put “a BIG GAP” between the two candidates for the Democrat to “make up, and with his mind and memory completely shot, and marbles in his mouth, it’s not going to happen!”
“}]]
