After the first US election TV debate last Thursday, Biden's "disastrous" debate performance has sparked widespread controversy.

Due to Biden's weak and hesitant voice in the debate, a poll showed that more than 70% of Americans questioned his ability to be president after the debate. It is not just the Republicans who continue to exert pressure. There are even reports of voices within the Democratic Party calling for a change in the presidential candidate.

However, according to reports, most core members of the Democratic Party still support Biden's reelection campaign. Meanwhile, Biden's campaign team emphasized that the results of the poll and the negativity of some experts cannot reflect the general will of the American people. They insist that after this election debate, there are still many people who support Biden's bid for the presidency.

Nearly 70% of people doubt Biden's abilities

According to a poll released on Sunday in the Eastern United States, after the TV debate, voters are increasingly skeptical of Biden's health.

A public opinion poll conducted by the Columbia Broadcasting Company News Channel (CBS News) showed that about 72% of people believe that Biden's mental and cognitive health condition is not suitable for being president, and only 27% believe that the president's mental and cognitive health condition is good. The proportion of those who believed that Biden's mental and cognitive health was good was 35% in early June.

The poll was conducted from Friday to Saturday (June 28th to 29th Eastern Time), with a total of 1130 participants and a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

Biden's poor debate performance has obviously caused waves within the Democratic Party. Delaware Democratic Senator and co-chair of Biden's campaign team, Chris Coons, said:"I understand that there is a lot of despair, concern, and hope... frankly, this was expected."

Democratic allies still firmly support

However, despite the continuous external doubts, many core members within the Democratic Party still express their support for Biden in public.

Last weekend, many of Biden's allies within the party appeared on political talk shows, emphasizing their support for Biden and attempting to shift public opinion to focus on attacks on Trump, such as criticizing his "30-plus lies" during the debate.

Jim Clyburn, a Democratic congressman from South Carolina, is an important ally of Biden's. During the 2020 campaign, Clyburn helped turn the tide for Biden. After this debate, he once again supported Biden, saying that although some congressmen were "somewhat uneasy" after the debate, Biden should continue to campaign based on his record.

"He should continue to campaign," Clyburn said on the TV show," he should continue to demonstrate his ability to lead the country."

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said:"Let's not judge the presidency based on one debate. Let's continue. This is all an opportunity."

Jamie Raskin, a influential Democratic congressman from Maryland, said that Biden's debate performance was "a big problem," and that various levels of the party were having very honest, serious, and rigorous discussions about what to do. But he also stressed that it should be up to Biden himself to decide whether "he is the candidate or someone else is the candidate."

Maryland Governor and Democrat Wes Moore said that Biden should be respected and trusted by the Democratic Party:"Biden will not drop out of this campaign, and he should not drop out."

Biden's campaign team refutes negative voices

Biden's campaign team also issued a series of public counterattacks last weekend, refuting the negative voices that belittled Biden's poor debate performance. They claimed that these concerns originate from experts who are far from the voices of ordinary American people and cannot reflect the real public opinion. They also accused those who called for a change in the presidential candidate, thinking that this idea would only cause chaos and internal fighting within the Democratic Party.

They firmly stated that Biden will be the Democratic presidential candidate in 2024. If there is a decline in Biden's support in subsequent polls, it is only a temporary effect brought about by incessant "reactionary" reports.

Jen O'Malley Dillon, chairman of the Biden campaign team, said that internal data shows that the debate "has not changed the way Americans view the campaign".

They also emphasized that the ratings show that this year's election debate only attracted 51 million viewers, much less than previous elections, which is encouraging.

After the debate ended last Thursday, Biden and First Lady Jill Biden immediately launched a two-day campaign and fundraising event. On Sunday Eastern Time, Biden's campaign team stated that since last Thursday, the Biden team has raised more than $33 million, of which $26 million came from grassroots donations. According to the campaign team, Thursday was the day with the largest fundraising since they began campaigning, and Friday was the second largest.

Biden: I will still continue to run for election.

Compared with busy party allies and team members who speak publicly, Biden himself has fewer public appearances.

On Sunday Eastern Time (June 30), Biden and his family stayed at the David Eisenhower Presidential Resort near Washington. He also stayed in this resort for a week before last Thursday's debate, "retreating" to prepare for the TV debate.

Last Saturday Eastern Time, Biden said in a fundraising event, "I understand people's concerns about this debate. I understand it. I didn't have a good night."

Biden acknowledges that voters may be concerned about his age, but he still vows to continue to run for president.

One of his key campaign pillars, First Lady Jill Biden, said last Friday that she told her husband,"We won't let 90 minutes define your four-year presidency."

According to the rules of the Democratic Party, as long as Biden himself insists on participating in the campaign, it is almost impossible for others to force him to withdraw from the campaign. Moreover, President Biden and his allies have decades of connections in Washington, including Biden establishing personal friendships with many senior Democratic senators, so despite his debate performance being a "disaster," he still has a high probability of maintaining his position as a presidential candidate.

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