Biden campaign chair tells freaked out donors president is ‘probably in better health than most of us’

Biden Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said on a Zoom call with around 500 donors on Monday that President Joe Biden is “probably in better health than most of us” as the campaign tried to quash concerns about the 81-year-old’s age and fitness following his terrible debate performance.

O’Malley Dillon told members of the Biden campaign’s National Finance Committee that the team is “clear-eyed, not pollyannish” regarding the less than stellar debate performance, according to CNN.

The campaign chair went on to defend Biden’s health and gave no sign that he was reconsidering his run for re-election in November. The Zoom meeting on Monday was organized to answer questions from top Democrats after Biden’s poor debate performance opened the floodgates to speculation that Biden could be replaced at the top of the ticket.

O’Malley Dillon cited Biden’s health report from earlier this year.

“He’s probably in better health than most of us,” she told the donors. One of the call participants told CNN that the comments were dismissive and offensive toward the legitimate worries many have following the debate.

A National Finance Committee member said it was disappointing that O’Malley Dillon attempted to downplay the concerns about Biden’s age and health instead of hearing them out.

While questions were asked during the call, they were read out by members of staff and not asked by the donors themselves.

During the call, O’Malley Dillon was asked how Biden would improve his performance for the next debate and what the campaign’s plan of action is if Biden sinks in the polls, a call participant told CNN. The donor told the network that the campaign acknowledged that the first debate was bad but that Biden will be more prepared to