Biden Defends Debate Fail at Friday Rally: ‘I Don’t Speak as Smoothly as I Used to … But I Know How to Tell the Truth’

President Biden fights back at critics and insists he is not standing down at North Carolina event

President Joe Biden on Friday
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – JUNE 28: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at a post-debate campaign rally on June 28, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Last night President Biden and Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump faced off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign. (Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images)

President Joe Biden faced down his doubters at a forceful speech on Friday, saying, “I know I’m not a young man … I don’t debate as well as I used to,” but insisting he’s still up to the job in the White House.

Biden sought to reassure supporters just hours after his halting debate performance Thursday night, as panicked Democrat discussions began to potentially replace him as the party leader and presidential candidate.

“I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to,” he said to cheers from the crowd in a Raleigh, N.C., hanger. “But I know what I do know.

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