(Al Jazeera Media Network) US President Joe Biden sought to project an image of confidence during a rally in North Carolina after a woeful performance in a debate with Donald Trump exacerbated concerns about his age and mental acuity.
In remarks on Friday, Biden seemed to brush aside suggestions he should step down to make room for a younger candidate to take on Trump in the high-stakes November election.
“I intend to win this election. When you get knocked down, you get back up,” Biden said, alluding to his debate performance the day earlier.
The lively crowd loudly chanted, “four more years, four more years” and “USA, USA, USA”.
The speech comes following what many political observers called a disastrous performance by Biden during Thursday’s debate against Trump, who pushed false claims and inflammatory rhetoric but was overshadowed by responses from Biden that at times appeared rambling and incoherent.
Trump, meanwhile, slammed Biden’s performance and leaned into the foreboding rhetoric that has come to define his style of politics in remarks at a political rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Friday.
“We have to take it back from that party [the Democrats]. That’s an evil party,” he said. “Despite the fact that crooked Joe Biden spent the entire week at Camp David [a presidential retreat] resting, working, studying. He studied very hard, he studied so hard he didn’t know what the hell he was doing.”
Trump later added: “Joe Biden’s problem is not his age, it’s his competence.”
Many voters before the debate expressed concerns about Biden’s age, and the wobbly performance led to a wave of calls for him to step down and make room for a replacement candidate.
It remains unclear how potential voters will respond to Biden’s debate performance, but media reports painted a picture of panic among Democratic Party officials. Concerns about Biden’s age have been seen as a political vulnerability for years.
“I’m scared they are going to replace him [Biden] and put up somebody more competitive,” said Mike Boatman, a Trump supporter, before the Virginia rally on Friday.
Biden campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler said there are no conversations taking place about that possibility. “We’d rather have one bad night than a candidate with a bad vision for where he wants to take the country,” he told reporters.
Seeking to regain his composure and reassure supporters, Biden went on the offensive against Trump in fiery remarks at his rally on Friday.
“I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” Biden said. “I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul that I could do this job. The stakes are too high.”
