Fired Up Biden Says 'I Know I'm Not a Young Man' at Rally After Debate Fail: 'When You Get Knocked Down, You Get Back Up'
June 28 2024, Published 4:30 p.m. ET
President Joe Biden isn't letting last night's disastrous debate against former president Donald Trump deter his campaign from pushing forward full steam ahead — and if anything, he seems more energized than ever, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Biden appeared fired up and defiant at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday, declaring, "I am here in North Carolina for one reason: because I intend to win this state in November. I think we are. We win here, we win the election."
Biden addressed the widespread criticism of his performance in the debate head-on. "I know I'm not a young man, to state the obvious," he told the audience. "Well, I know. Folks, I don't walk as easy as I used to. I don't speak as smoothly as I used to. I don't debate as well as I used to."
"But I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth!" he continued to roars of approval from the crowd. "I know right from wrong! And I know how to do this job! I know how to get this done! And I know, like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down you get back up!"
"The choice in this election is simple. Donald Trump will destroy our democracy. I will defend it," Biden said, adding that "Donald Trump isn't just a convicted felon. Donald Trump is a one-man crime wave."
"I spent 90 minutes on stage debating a guy with the morals of an alley cat," Biden said of their CNN-hosted face-off on Thursday night. "I think he set a new record for the number of lies told at a debate."
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Despite reports of "panic among Democrats" and calls from within the party for Biden to step aside in favor of a different candidate, the 81-year-old incumbent has brushed aside suggestions that he drop out of the race and vowed to return for the next presidential debate in September.
"Even though he has faced unimaginable tragedies, his optimism is undaunted, his strength is unshakable, his hope is undeterred," first lady Jill Biden said. "What you saw last night on the debate stage was Joe Biden, a president with integrity and character who told the truth. And Donald Trump told lie after lie after lie."