Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) has raised questions over how Russia and China may view the United States after President Biden’s debate performance – even speculating about whether the 25th Amendment should be invoked to remove him from office.
Meanwhile, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and former House Majority Whip Representative James Clyburn (D-SC) have continued rallying behind President Biden despite his debate performance, saying he should remain in the race.
The two lawmakers made their separate remarks in interviews on CNN’s “State of the Union,” during which they acknowledged that Biden had a “bad night” beginning Thursday, but pushed back against mounting calls for him to quit.
Pelosi weighed in on the Trump “lies” and Clyburn cited what he called “preparation overload.”
However, a new poll shows that 72% of Americans now believe Biden is no longer mentally capable of holding office.
“Well, what do they think about the other guy?” Pelosi asked of voters. “Do they think that he has the integrity to be president after that performance? Let us not make a judgment about a presidency based on one debate.”
“The fact is, the reaction to the lies of Donald Trump is something that… people are focusing on, and to have a debate where you have to spend half your time negating what he said because he knows nothing about the truth,” she added. “On one side of the screen you have integrity and on one side you have dishonesty.”
Bash also interviewed Clyburn, who used to be the House assistant Democratic leader until last year. On the debate, he commented, “I do not believe that Joe Biden has a problem leading for the next four years, because he’s done a great job of leading for the past three years. Joe Biden should continue to run on his record.”
While Clyburn recognized Biden’s “bad performance” Thursday, he also defended it.
“I’ve been around these things. I’ve been a part of debate preparation before, and I know when I see what I call preparation overload,” he said. “That’s exactly what was going on the other night. I saw Joe Biden grappling for words and phrases and even numbers that he was loaded up with. But today he arrived in North Carolina, he was freewheeling and he captivated the audience.”
In light of these outside forces, Democrats in Congress and beyond are sticking with Biden when it comes to his presidential run – among them Pelosi and Clyburn.
