Biden wages desperate bid to save his reelection campaign after debate debacle

CNN —

President Joe Biden waged an intense weekend battle to save his reelection bid following his disastrous debate performance but has been unable to dismiss existential questions about his candidacy that are more glaring than ever.

Biden is secluded with his family at Camp David following several events at which he tried to ease panic among Democratic voters, officials and donors after the debate multiplied concerns that he’s too old to beat former President Donald Trump or to serve a second term. His weak and incoherent demeanor during Thursday night’s event on CNN created an extraordinary twist in the campaign and left him facing calls to cede the stage to a younger candidate just over four months from Election Day.

Biden’s allies spent the weekend lashing out at critics in the media calling for him to step aside and insisting that early data showed that Biden’s calamitous showing had not altered the fundamental shape of the race. Democratic Party grandees, meanwhile, crowded onto Sunday talk shows to try to put the spotlight back on Trump.

“Let us not make a judgment about a presidency on one debate,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” “Let’s talk about what it means to people in their lives … the difference between Joe Biden and the former president is so clear.” South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, a longtime Biden supporter, admitted to Bash that his friend had a “bad” debate but put the blame on Biden being overloaded with facts by staffers.

The president’s family, who would be critical in any decisions on the campaign’s future, currently believes Biden should stay in the race and keep fighting as they await polling data while braced for some erosion of his