Seventy-two hours after last week's debate in Atlanta, President Biden and his entourage have resorted to the same strategy police officers use to drive bystanders away from a car accident: « There's nothing to see here. »
According to repeated comments by the president's aides and surrogates, the debate was the 90-minute break in a long campaign. As he told donors on Saturday, Mr. Biden didn't have « a great night, » but fundraising is going strong and he's already back.
Aides have been pushing a similar message for more than a year, as polls show voters worry about the president's age. Former President Donald J. They have brushed off such concerns little more than the media supporting Trump's campaign and the creation of the MAGA movement.
Jen O'Malley Dillon, the president's chief campaign strategist, said on Saturday that any dip in the polls would be the result of « excessive media narratives. » Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, dismissed concerns about the president's performance, saying on « Fox News Sunday » that « it's like a debate. »
And yet, like a bystander in a car accident, Mr. Voters don't need to be told what happened face-to-face with Trump. They saw it with their own eyes.
Ben Rhodes, a top foreign policy adviser to President Barack Obama, wrote on social media an hour after Thursday's debate.
The president is not trying to convince voters that he won the debate or that his performance is proud. But he downplayed its impact over the past three days, saying Mr. He blamed the media for failing to report Trump's lies, insisting voters thought his rival had done worse.
At fundraisers, speeches and other appearances, Mr. Biden used teleprompters — something he can't use during debates — and his aides often shielded him from reporters. On Sunday, he was quarantined at Camp David, the president's retreat in the mountains of Maryland, for a visit that had been planned for months with his family and top aides.
« After the debate, the polls showed a little bit of movement, and we actually picked ourselves up, » Mr. Trump said at a fundraiser in the Hamptons on Saturday night. Biden told donors. The president told a packed room of supporters that all the journalists are making a mistake by talking about his activities.
Mr. Referring to Trump, Mr. Biden said. « People remember how bad things were when he was president and how much they didn't like him. »
Quentin Fulks, Mr. Biden's deputy campaign manager was even more direct during the staff's weekly conference call.
« Fundamentally nothing changed in this election last night, » he insisted.
That may turn out to be true, although it may take some time to determine a quality poll. But meanwhile, critics of the approach, which Mr. They say the president and his campaign risk appearing out of touch — and dismissive — to the voters they need to woo to defeat Trump.
Tommy Wheater, Mr. A communications alumnus of the Obama administration and one of the hosts of the popular « Pot Save America » podcast, he said the campaign can't get away with it.
« You can't say the future of American democracy is at stake and then tell those who are concerned about last night's debate to stop wetting their beds or grow a spine, » he wrote on social media. He added an insult, calling it « an insult to people who care deeply about the country and know how much is at stake. »
In the next few days Mr. The challenge for Biden's team members is to convince Democrats that the campaign's version of reality is true. They will try to stop him from calling for Mr Biden to step aside, as many have already done. And he is making plans for an even more radical agenda than his first term.
Ultimately, voters must decide what they believe. While Thursday's debate was lower than in previous years, 51.3 million viewers still tuned in to watch the president's performance — the largest audience for any event of the campaign so far.
David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, Wrote over the weekend Mr. Biden « went to pieces on CNN in front of tens of thousands of his compatriots. » Persisting as the Democratic nominee, he wrote, « would be not only an act of self-delusion, but a national danger. »
« Watching Thursday's debate was a harrowing experience, watching Biden ramble on and on about the stage, » Mr. Remnick said, « It will destroy forever all the vague and qualified descriptions from White House insiders about good days and bad days. »
