Donald Trump gave a scathing critique of Joe Biden’s performance in last week’s presidential debate, referring to the president as a “broken-down pile of crap” and suggesting he is on the verge of “quitting the race” in a video obtained by The Daily Beast.
“He just quit, you know—he’s quitting the race,” Trump says, sitting in a golf cart. “I got him out of the—and that means we have Kamala.”
In the video, Trump praises Chinese President Xi Jinping, calling him “a fierce man, very tough guy” and questioning Biden’s ability to handle him.
Trump asks the person holding the camera for their opinion on his debate performance. After being told he did “fantastic” and “amazing,” Trump says, “Look at that old, broken down pile of crap. It’s a bad guy,” seemingly referring to Biden. Trump continues, suggesting that Kamala Harris would be a better opponent: “She’s so bad. She’s so pathetic. She’s so fucking bad.”
Trump also questions Biden’s capability in dealing with global leaders like Putin and Xi Jinping, calling Xi a “fierce person” and a “very tough guy.”
Before driving off, Trump reiterates, “But they just announced he’s probably quitting. Just keep knocking him out, huh?”
When asked for comment, Trump campaign spokesperson Stephen Cheung referred to a statement issued earlier about the “total collapse” of the Democratic Party. The statement, attributed to campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, criticized Biden and Harris and asserted Trump’s ability to win the upcoming election.
The Biden campaign responded later on Wednesday, dismissing Trump’s claims. “No, Donald. What is bad is taking away women’s rights, what is bad is losing an election and encouraging a violent mob to attack the Capitol, what is bad is assaulting women, what is bad is not paying your taxes, what is bad is rooting for our economy to fail…” the statement said.
Biden’s team has denied he is stepping down. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday that the president is “absolutely not” considering it. Despite this, Biden has reportedly confided to key allies that his performance in the coming days will be crucial for his campaign’s future.
On Wednesday night, Biden met with 24 Democratic governors to address their concerns. He has scheduled campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the coming days.
“He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place by the end of the week,” a Biden ally told The New York Times, referring to Biden’s debate performance.
Biden’s debate performance, marked by stumbling and incoherence, has sparked concerns among Democrats about his ability to lead and win the election. New polls reflect growing doubt about his candidacy. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that one in three Democrats think he should quit, while a CNN survey showed Trump leading Biden by six percentage points.
By Wednesday, Democratic Representatives Raúl Grijalva (AZ) and Lloyd Doggett (TX) had publicly called for Biden to drop out. Prominent Biden donors have also expressed doubts about his viability.
With concerns about Biden’s mental and physical acuity mounting, attention has shifted to Vice President Kamala Harris. Post-debate polling shows increasing support for Harris, with 81 percent of Democratic respondents viewing her favorably compared to 78 percent for Biden in the Reuters survey. The CNN poll showed Harris trailing Trump by a narrower margin than Biden.
Harris has defended Biden both publicly and privately since the debate. On Wednesday, she reportedly told staffers, “We will not back down. We will follow our president’s lead.”