“Morals of an Alley Cat” Biden Hits Back at Trump After Debate
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
After a disastrous debate, President Joe Biden presented a vastly different picture at a campaign rally in North Carolina. On June 28, a day after the debate, he acknowledged his poor performance in the war of words against Republican front-runner Donald Trump. This acknowledgment was swiftly turned into a political jab against his opponent.
During the debate, the 81-year-old had appeared lethargic, with many Democrats expressing alarm over his raspy, harsh voice. Biden struggled, stuttering, freezing completely at times, and seemed to lose his train of thought, as per The Guardian.
Subsequently, Biden supporters called on the incumbent to step down in favor of a younger candidate. The rally was held in Raleigh, North Carolina, a state that hasn’t supported a Democrat in a presidential election since Barack Obama in 2008.
“I spent 90 minutes on the stage and debated the guy who has the morals of an alley cat,” Biden said to the audience with newfound vigor. His Friday remarks energized the audience despite his occasional coughing. Without holding back, Biden criticized Trump harshly, calling him a “one-man crime wave” and highlighting his legal issues and moral failings.
Biden emphasized, “The only convicted criminal on stage last night was Donald Trump. When I thought about his 34 felony convictions, his sexual assault on a woman in a public place, and his being fined $400 million for business fraud, I thought to myself, Donald Trump isn’t just a convicted felon. Donald Trump is a one-man crime wave.” The rally chant was reminiscent of the 2016 election when Trump supporters chanted, “Lock her up,” against Hillary Clinton.
Additionally, Biden admitted, “I know I’m not a young man. I don’t walk as easily 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 accepted the criticism he had received and compared Trump’s apparent lies with his own honesty. “When you get knocked down, you get back up,” Biden exclaimed, rallying the crowd. “I intend to win this state in November. We win here, we win the election.”
According to a top Biden advisor, the president’s concluding statements regarding the debate in Raleigh were drafted in close consultation with the campaign staff on Friday morning, NBC News reported. The advisor clarified that it was not a reaction to unfavorable press or the mounting demands inside the party for him to consider resigning. Instead, they claimed that Biden was well aware that he failed to deliver the performance that was required of him and hence chose to confront the matter immediately on Friday.
