Today is Saturday, June 29, 2024. It’s only two days since the disastrous presidential debate between the former liar-in-chief and the sitting president, Joe Biden, caused shockwaves throughout the land, mostly for Biden’s less-than-stellar performance in the first of two debates, the last one occurring – if it does – sometime in September. In the meantime, President Biden is pressing on with an East Coast swing of fundraisers today as his campaign works behind the scenes to contain the fallout of a poor performance in the CNN presidential debate.

At a rally in North Carolina on Friday, Biden appeared defiant and energized, in contrast to his sagging delivery in Atlanta on Thursday. The debate prompted waves of panic within the Democratic Party and unleashed some calls for a last-minute change in candidate. What was galling is that the former insurrectionist was taking a victory lap after the debate, even though he said nothing of substance or even approached anything resembling the truth in the entire ninety minutes of the debacle. He resorted to dodging and deflecting while responding to critical questions regarding the January 6th insurrection that he fomented, refused to respond to whether he would accept the results of the election if he loses, and refused to condemn the rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

In an evening edition of the Daily News, Biden conceded that he had a bad night but publicly declared his commitment to defend democracy against the existential threat known as Donald J. Trump. The Associated Press article was written by Zeke Miller, Steve Peoples, Darlene Superville, and Michelle L. Price, and it’s entitled “Biden concedes debate fumbles but declares he will defend democracy.”

Thus Biden attempted to quell Democratic anxieties over his unsteady showing in his debate with the Orange Turd, as elected members of his party closed ranks around him in an effort to shut down talk of replacing him atop the ticket.

Acknowledging his poor performance on Thursday, Biden said, “I don’t debate as well as I used to,” adding, “I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done.” Biden made these comments at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, in which he spoke for 18 minutes and appeared far more animated and forceful than during his showing the night before. He excoriated Trump for his “lies” and for his campaign aimed at only “revenge and retribution.”

Even before the debate, Biden’s age had become a liability among voters, and Thursday’s shouting match appeared to reinforce the public’s deep-seated concerns before perhaps the largest audience he will garner in the four months until Election Day.

Privately, his campaign had spent the previous hours working to mitigate concerns and keep donors and surrogates on board. Democratic lawmakers did acknowledge Biden’s poor showing on Friday, but tried to stop talk of replacing him as their standard-bearer and instead tried to shift the focus onto Dump’s attacks and falsehoods that they hoped would remind voters of the daily maelstrom of his presidency.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper told The Associated Press on Friday, hours before he introduced the president in Raleigh, “We cannot send Donald Trump back to the White House. He’s an existential threat to our nation.”

Even former President Barack Obama voiced his support for his former vice president, posting on X, formerly Twitter, that “Bad debate nights happen.” Alluding to his own lackluster showing in the first debate of his reelection campaign in 2012, Obama continued, “Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself.”

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries answered with a flat “no” when asked Friday if Biden should step aside.

In the aftermath of the debate, Biden’s campaign announced that it raised $14 million on debate day and the morning after, while Trump’s campaign said it raised more than $8 million from the start of the debate through the end of the night.

Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) said he could hardly sleep because of the number of telephone calls he got after Biden performed “horribly” in the showdown.

“People were just concerned. And I told everybody being concerned is healthy, overreacting is dangerous.” He added, “And I think I wouldn’t advise anybody to make rash decisions right now.”

Rep. James Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat who was formerly a longterm fixture in House Democratic leadership, said he would likely speak to Biden later Friday, and his message would be simple: “Stay the course.”

Even if the party were thinking of replacing Biden with a younger, more vibrant alternative, under current Democratic rules, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to replace Biden as the party’s nominee without his cooperation or without party officials being willing to rewrite the rules at the August national convention.

As elected Democrats united behind Biden publicly, donors and party operatives shared panicked text messages and phone calls Thursday night and into Friday expressing their concern that Biden’s performance was so bad that he may be unelectable this fall.

It’s incumbent upon Biden that if it ever gets to the point where it is imperative that for the good of the country, it becomes imperative to drop out in order to defeat an unholy opponent in Dump, Biden should have the courage to do so and not remain as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg did when she was obviously in declining, physical condition and unable to carry out the obligations of her role on the Supreme Court – which sadly led to the appointment of a third Drumpf appointee, Amy Coney Barrett, upon her death in office.

So, maybe, as one of my content deliverers said on TikTok, let’s take a deep breath and stop panicking and get behind our candidate for president of the United States, Joseph R. Biden. Let’s concentrate on defeating Drumpf at the ballot box in November and all extreme Republicans as well.

Before retiring, I forgot to mention that yesterday marked the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall Riot in Greenwich Village, on June 28, 1969, and tomorrow is the Pride March in the Village and I hope to attend – without Elliot – if it doesn’t rain.

Have a great Sunday.

Stay safe and be well.

Here is a darling picture of Atticus sitting on our bed. Notice his intense look, so it seems.

This is another colorful picture of Atticus, taken by our fabulous cat sitter, “Laura.”

Here is Atticus fascinated with the faucet in the bathroom sink.