Former Penn professor of practice and current U.S. President Joe Biden sent shockwaves throughout the Democratic Party following his uneasy debate performance on Thursday.
Credit: Abhiram JuvvadiSeveral of Pennsylvania’s elected officials reaffirmed their support for former Benjamin Franklin Professor of Presidential Practice and President Joe Biden after voters and political pundits walked away from last week’s presidential debate with concerns over Biden’s mental and physical fitness.
On June 28, Biden debated 1968 Wharton graduate and former President Donald Trump for 90 minutes in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election. Despite calls from some in the party for Biden to step down as the Democratic nominee, Democratic officials in Pennsylvania have continued to offer their support for Biden's candidacy.
Democratic National Convention delegate Gianni Hill, a 2023 College graduate and student at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, told The Daily Pennsylvanian that while the president’s performance on the debate stage was an “anomaly” and an “off night,” he is doubtful that the debate will have a large impact on Biden’s prospects in November.
“My sense is that for the average person, last night did not do a damn thing to change anybody’s mind about anything. I think a lot of the reaction is among people who are in a political bubble, to be honest,” Hill said.
Hill also addressed the calls for an alternate candidate, pointing to what he sees as the “unfortunate history and almost dependence” of Democrats on worry. “And that’s exactly what this is,” Hill added.
In an interview with Fox News, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) highlighted parallels between his debate performance during his 2022 Senate campaign and Biden’s recent appearance.
“That whole abandoned Biden thing — that’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard,” he told Fox News.
Philadelphia City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier — who graduated from the Stuart Weitzman School of Design in 2004 with a master’s in city planning — underscored Biden’s first-term accomplishments in a statement to the DP.
She pointed to Biden's “strong record of lowering prescription drug prices, increasing funding for HBCUs, and passing the largest climate change law in history.” She also emphasized the contrast between the two candidates.
“Trump spent last night lying and dodging questions. He wouldn’t even distance himself from his disastrous handling of COVID-19, his Neo-Nazi supporters in Charlottesville, and his efforts to overturn our democracy with the Big Lie and the January 6th riot,” Gauthier wrote.
CNN reported that Trump made more than 30 false claims during the debate.
“Our choice is clear,” Gauthier added. “On the one hand, we have an accomplished President, and on the other, we have a racist, fascist criminal who brags about taking away women’s rights and oppressing Black and brown people in cities like ours.”
In a statement to the DP, Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Phila.) also offered his support for Biden. Evans wrote that Biden “fought through a cold [Thursday] night because he’s a fighter” and highlighted his actions in defending student debt relief, abortion access, and raising taxes for wealthy Americans.
“I’m a longtime supporter of President Biden, and I know he’s working every day to move America forward, continuing to clean up the messes and chaos that Trump left for him,” Evans wrote.
The Pennsylvania Democratic Party also distributed a press release the evening of the debate to reaffirm its support for Biden.
“President Biden demonstrated how he delivers on the issues that matter to us — creating over 500,000 new jobs in Pennsylvania, protecting our freedoms, and defending democracy,” the group wrote. “This election is a choice between Joe Biden, who believes we all deserve a fair shot, and Trump, who vowed to be a dictator on 'day one’ and failed us as president, including killing 275,000 jobs in the Commonwealth.”
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