A Colorado Democrat said his party "gaslit" him and others on a private call about President Joe Biden on Saturday after his dismal presidential debate performance.
Amid mounting concerns about Biden's age and mental acuity, Democrats hoped for a youthful and energetic performance when the president took the CNN debate stage in Atlanta on Thursday night against former President Donald Trump.
However, that hope quickly turned into panic when the 81-year-old rambled through his administration's current accomplishments and goals with a hoarse voice. A Biden aide, meanwhile, told Newsweek late Thursday night that the president was battling a cold during the debate.
On Saturday afternoon, DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison and Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez held a call with dozens of Democratic National Committee (DNC) members from across the country.
Elected DNC member Joe Salazar told the Associated Press on Saturday, "I was hoping for more of a substantive conversation instead of, 'Hey, let's go out there and just be cheerleaders,' without actually addressing a very serious issue that unfolded on American television for millions of people to see."
Salazar continued: "There were a number of things that could have been said in addressing the situation. But we didn't get that. We were being gaslit."
Multiple DNC members who were on the call told AP that they felt as if they were being asked to ignore the severity of Biden's dismal debate performance. Harrison and Rodriguez ignored the issues of Biden's performance and its fallout, according to the publication. Meanwhile, the chat function on the call was disabled and no questioned were allowed. The committee members who spoke with AP said the call may have worsened the panic felt among the president's allies in this race.
DNC spokesperson Hannah Muldavin told Newsweek via email on Sunday that the call was part of a regularly hosted meeting held quarterly.
"On the call, Chair Harrison provided updates on the latest fundraising numbers and recapped the week," which included, "the debate on Thursday, when President Biden outlined a positive vision to drive progress and Donald Trump lied through his teeth and refused to accept the results of the election," Muldavin said.
During Thursday night's debate, moderator Dana Bash asked Trump after he repeatedly dodged the question, "Will you accept the results of the election regardless of who wins?" Trump responded: "If it's a fair and legal and good election—absolutely."
Meanwhile, Salazar wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday night, "Gotta say, our presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee shouldn't be in a close contest with a multi-felon, lying Republican bastard. It should be a bludgeoning."
Trump was found guilty last month on 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels alleged she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, which he denies. The former president has maintained his innocence, and his legal team intends to appeal the verdict.
Salazar told AP that Republicans are "the ones who should be looking for a new nominee, not us. And unfortunately for us, because of our president's performance on Thursday night, that is now an open discussion."
Newsweek reached out to Salazar via social media direct message for comment.
Meanwhile, there have been calls for Biden to drop out of the race among some Democrats, and The New York Times editorial board.
Biden has said that he has the best chance of defeating Trump because he did it in 2020. However, The Times' editorial board wrote in an article published Friday, titled, "To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race," that voters "cannot be expected to ignore what was instead plain to see: Mr. Biden is not the man he was four years ago." The article added that Biden appeared "as the shadow of a great public servant," on the debate stage.
Meanwhile, during an appearance on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat and Biden ally, defended the president after his debate performance, calling it "a bad night."
"It's not about performance, in terms of a debate, it's about performance in a presidency," the congresswoman told host Dana Bash. "The reaction to the lies of Donald Trump is something that maybe TV isn't focusing on, but people are. And to have a debate where you have to spend half your time negating what he said because he knows nothing about the truth. On one side of the screen you have integrity, the other side you have dishonesty."
While there were misleading statements from both sides, Trump made more than Biden. CNN counted over 30 false statements made by the former president while the network said Biden made at least nine false or misleading statements during the debate.
Update 6/30/24, 5:17 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from the DNC and additional information.
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Amid mounting concerns about Biden's age and mental acuity, Democrats hoped for a youthful and energetic performance when the president took the CNN debate stage in Atlanta on Thursday night against former President Donald Trump.
However, that hope quickly turned into panic when the 81-year-old rambled through his administration's current accomplishments and goals with a hoarse voice. A Biden aide, meanwhile, told Newsweek late Thursday night that the president was battling a cold during the debate.
On Saturday afternoon, DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison and Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez held a call with dozens of Democratic National Committee (DNC) members from across the country.
Elected DNC member Joe Salazar told the Associated Press on Saturday, "I was hoping for more of a substantive conversation instead of, 'Hey, let's go out there and just be cheerleaders,' without actually addressing a very serious issue that unfolded on American television for millions of people to see."
Salazar continued: "There were a number of things that could have been said in addressing the situation. But we didn't get that. We were being gaslit."
Multiple DNC members who were on the call told AP that they felt as if they were being asked to ignore the severity of Biden's dismal debate performance. Harrison and Rodriguez ignored the issues of Biden's performance and its fallout, according to the publication. Meanwhile, the chat function on the call was disabled and no questioned were allowed. The committee members who spoke with AP said the call may have worsened the panic felt among the president's allies in this race.
DNC spokesperson Hannah Muldavin told Newsweek via email on Sunday that the call was part of a regularly hosted meeting held quarterly.
"On the call, Chair Harrison provided updates on the latest fundraising numbers and recapped the week," which included, "the debate on Thursday, when President Biden outlined a positive vision to drive progress and Donald Trump lied through his teeth and refused to accept the results of the election," Muldavin said.
During Thursday night's debate, moderator Dana Bash asked Trump after he repeatedly dodged the question, "Will you accept the results of the election regardless of who wins?" Trump responded: "If it's a fair and legal and good election—absolutely."
Meanwhile, Salazar wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday night, "Gotta say, our presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee shouldn't be in a close contest with a multi-felon, lying Republican bastard. It should be a bludgeoning."
Trump was found guilty last month on 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels alleged she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, which he denies. The former president has maintained his innocence, and his legal team intends to appeal the verdict.
Salazar told AP that Republicans are "the ones who should be looking for a new nominee, not us. And unfortunately for us, because of our president's performance on Thursday night, that is now an open discussion."
Newsweek reached out to Salazar via social media direct message for comment.
Meanwhile, there have been calls for Biden to drop out of the race among some Democrats, and The New York Times editorial board.
Biden has said that he has the best chance of defeating Trump because he did it in 2020. However, The Times' editorial board wrote in an article published Friday, titled, "To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race," that voters "cannot be expected to ignore what was instead plain to see: Mr. Biden is not the man he was four years ago." The article added that Biden appeared "as the shadow of a great public servant," on the debate stage.
Meanwhile, during an appearance on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat and Biden ally, defended the president after his debate performance, calling it "a bad night."
"It's not about performance, in terms of a debate, it's about performance in a presidency," the congresswoman told host Dana Bash. "The reaction to the lies of Donald Trump is something that maybe TV isn't focusing on, but people are. And to have a debate where you have to spend half your time negating what he said because he knows nothing about the truth. On one side of the screen you have integrity, the other side you have dishonesty."
While there were misleading statements from both sides, Trump made more than Biden. CNN counted over 30 false statements made by the former president while the network said Biden made at least nine false or misleading statements during the debate.
Update 6/30/24, 5:17 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from the DNC and additional information.
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