On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) said that no one knows why President Joe Biden had such a bad debate performance and it’s “speculation” to wonder if it was a condition or if it could happen again, but Biden has been honest and people saw “the real President Joe Biden” during his speech in Detroit earlier in the day.
While discussing the Detroit speech, Lee said, “I believe that people really are seeing the real President Joe Biden. He did not sugarcoat the debate. He was very clear about the problems and the difficulties with that debate. And we’ve known President Biden, and I’ve known him for many years and worked with him, he’s known to make gaffes, okay, well. But look at who he is and what he has done, 15 million jobs, insulin capped at $35, when you look at negotiating prescription drugs, when you look at the economy and how the inflation rates are beginning to come down. And he’s fought for people each and every day, ordinary people, working men and women, people of color. And so, it’s not just about what he’s done and what he’s delivered, but it’s about the roadmap to the future, and what he has done is an indicator of what he intends to do.”
Host Anderson Cooper then asked, “I’ve spoken to a number of pretty big donors over the last couple of days, who all, obviously, support President Biden, but are deeply concerned, because you said the debate, it was clear what went wrong, but it’s not really clear why it went wrong and jetlag has been one thing, his campaign said he had a cold, it was just a bad night. Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) had suggested, was this just a one-off or is this a condition and could this happen again and could this happen if there is another debate just a month or two before the election?”
Lee answered, “Who knows why? That’s speculation. … It’s important for people to understand what took place and important for him to be honest, and I believe that he has been honest.”
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