Joe Biden Gave the Performance Democrats Wanted From the Debate … a Day Later

“It’s going to take more performances like this to repair the damage done last night,” a North Carolina Democratic operative said.

President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally, Friday, June 28, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C.

Evan Vucci/AP

President Joe Biden delivered a forceful rebuttal to former President Donald Trump’s debate comments — it was just 16 hours too late.

The president’s campaign rally in North Carolina on Friday was a clear effort to assuage Democrats’ concerns about his debate performance, which included fumbling over lines, slurring words and playing directly into the party’s fears beforehand.

And Democratic sources in North Carolina told NOTUS afterward that they think it did the job, at least in part. But they said it will ultimately take consistent vigorous appearances to overshadow Biden’s past performance mishaps.