RED BANK, N.J. (AP) 鈥� looked to and reassured donors at a Saturday fundraiser that he is fully up to the challenge of beating .
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have a great night, but I鈥檓 going to be fighting harder,鈥� Biden told attendees at the home of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. 鈥淒onald Trump is a genuine threat to the nation,鈥� he emphasized, saying that his predecessor if returned to the White House and his economic ideas would worsen inflation.
The 81-year-old's at the first presidential debate Thursday rattled many Democrats, who see Trump as a continuing danger after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Biden's meandering answers and struggles to respond to Trump prompted The New York Times editorial board to declare Friday that he should exit the race and that staying in would be a 鈥渞eckless gamble.鈥�
A White House official said Saturday that Biden had preplanned time at Camp David on Sunday and Monday for a family photo, disputing the premise of an NBC News report suggesting that Biden would be discussing the future of his reelection campaign with his family. The official insisted on anonymity to discuss Biden family matters.
Biden was seen talking by phone with Jon Meacham, the historian, on his way Saturday night to Camp David.
Biden and his wife, Jill, earlier attended an afternoon campaign event in East Hampton, New York, the Long Island beach town where the real estate firm Zillow prices the median home at $1.9 million. Based on public records, the event that was closed to the news media was at the home of Avram Glazer, an owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team.
The couple then went to a second event in East Hampton at the home of investor Barry Rosenstein, whose wife, Lizanne, said the president was 鈥渁 role model for what it is to get knocked down over and over and over again and get up.鈥�
鈥淲e can waste time comparing debate nights,鈥� she continued. 鈥淏ut you know what? It鈥檚 more meaningful to compare presidencies.鈥�
Addressing the gathering, Biden tore into Trump over his presidential record including his treatment of veterans and pointed to Trump's own poor performance on Thursday night.
Biden contended that the polling he鈥檚 seen shows that Democrats moved up after the debate, saying of Trump: 鈥淭he big takeaway was his lies."
In the aftermath of that debate, Biden in speeches in North Carolina and New York on Friday, saying he believes with 鈥渁ll my heart and soul鈥� that he can do the job of the presidency.
The Biden campaign said it has raised more than $27 million on Thursday and Friday, including $3 million at a New York City fundraiser focused on the LGBTQ+ community.
Jill Biden told supporters Friday that he said to her after the debate, 鈥淵ou know, Jill, I don鈥檛 know what happened. I didn鈥檛 feel that great.鈥� The first lady then said she responded to him, 鈥淟ook, Joe, we are not going to let 90 minutes define the four years that you鈥檝e been president.鈥�
The Democratic president still needs to allay the fears stirred by the debate as it seeped into the public conscience with clips and memes spreading on the internet and public pressure for him to bow out of the race.
Democratic donors across New York, 麻豆传媒AVern California and Silicon Valley privately expressed deep concerns about the viability of Biden鈥檚 campaign in the wake of his debate performance.
In a series of text message chains and private conversations, they discussed the short list of possible replacements, a group that included Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris.
But on Friday, there was no formal push to pressure Biden to step aside and some suspected there never would be given the logistical challenges associated with replacing the presumptive nominee just four months before Election Day.
Some donors noted they were going to pause their personal giving. They said receipts from Biden鈥檚 weekend fundraiser would almost certainly be strong because the tickets were sold and paid for before the debate.
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Peoples reported from New York.
Josh Boak And Steve Peoples, The Associated Press
