Biden spent the weekend rallying Democrats and retreating with family after poor debate performance

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden had the kind of weekend on which history pivots — trying to stabilize his campaign after a disastrous and demoralizing debate against former President Donald Trump, then gathering with family as previously planned at a secluded mountain retreat where they discussed the path forward.

The 81-year-old Democrat went into the Thursday night debate hoping to banish questions about his advanced age. But his meandering and at times incoherent answers only generated new fears that Democrats were stumbling toward a brutal loss in November’s election and led to talk that he should bow out of the race.

The weekend had a frantic urgency, with Biden promising donors he would simply be “fighting harder.” The Democratic National Committee hosted a call with party leaders that had such an upbeat tone that it left some supporters feeling gaslighted. Major media outlets such as The New York Times and The New Yorker publicly called for Biden to withdraw.

Biden’s cleanup effort

Biden and his team spent the weekend characterizing his debate performance as an outlier, arguing one bad night should not define him nor jeopardize the election.

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