Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., on Sunday defended President Joe Biden after his dismal performance during the first general election debate against former President Donald Trump, echoing statements other top campaign aides and Democrats have made over the past three days.
“Bad debates happen, as [former] President [Barack] Obama has said,” Warnock said during an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” adding: “And this was 90 minutes. But let me tell you about that 90 minutes. Donald Trump lied the entire 90 minutes.”
In the aftermath of the debate, some Democrats have scrambled to defend the president, while others considered whether to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee.
NBC News reported Saturday that some top Democrats including Reps. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Nancy Pelosi of California have all privately expressed concerns about the president’s viability even as they’ve publicly backed him.
But Warnock’s remarks on Sunday echoed the president’s own defense of his debate performance.
At a Saturday fundraiser in East Hampton, New York, Biden told attendees, “I understand the concern about the debate — I get it.”
He added, “I didn’t have a great night, [but] voters had a different reaction. Since the debate, the polls show a little movement, moved us up actually.”
Warnock also attacked Trump, calling the former president “a pathological liar” and “a malignant narcissist.”
“Our country is better than that,” Warnock added.
The senator’s comments come after the editorial board of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a leading Georgia newspaper, on Sunday joined the editorial board of The New York Times in calling for Biden to step aside.
Warnock, like other Democrats, consistently downplayed concerns that Biden wasn’t fit for another term, saying, “I think the American people sitting around their kitchen tables this morning are asking, ‘Who cares? Who’s thinking about me?’ And we have no proof that Donald Trump has ever thought about anybody other than himself.”
At the fundraiser on Saturday, Biden also downplayed concerns about the New York Times editorial piece, saying, “And by the way, the Times had their editorial and guess what? They also point out [Trump] lied 28 times in a matter of 90 minutes. It’s pretty good. The big takeaway were his lies.”
Moderator Kristen Welker also asked Warnock about the calls for Biden to step aside, potentially creating a path for Vice President Kamala Harris to run for president.
“I have great respect for Vice President Harris, whom I spent a great deal of time with, but Joe Biden is the nominee,” Warnock said, adding, “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure we elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”
