Biden Campaign: If the Polls Dip After Debate, It’s the Haters’ Fault

A flurry of talking points and memos centers on the idea that critics are the problem, not the debate.

APTOPIX Election 2024 Biden
Biden’s campaign told allies to emphasize that the president was “strong and forceful” in his post-debate campaign stop in North Carolina. Matt Kelley/AP

In messaging memos sent to key supporters this weekend, the Biden campaign laid out a stark post-debate choice for Democrats: You’re either with us, or you’re not a serious person.

NOTUS obtained talking points the Biden campaign circulated to Democratic mayors after the president’s campaign stop in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday. The takeaway is that Biden’s team is far from acknowledging the president’s Thursday night debate performance as a severe existential problem for his reelection campaign.

“President Biden was strong, and forceful this afternoon in North Carolina with a fired up crowd,” read the bulleted list of “key points” originally for mayors that eventually made their way to other elected Democrats in Washington. “As the president said: he doesn’t debate as well as he used to, but when he gets knocked down, he gets back up.”