Biden at Post-Debate Fundraisers: 'I Didn't Have a Great Night' and 'I Would Not Be Running Again' (June 29, 2024)

Two days after his debate with Donald Trump, President Joe Biden flew to the Hamptons and New Jersey to reassure donors. On the tarmac at Gabreski Airport on Long Island, “He waved to the press and did not respond to a question about whether he would drop out of the race. It is unclear whether he heard the question,” the White House pool reported [3].

Inside a home in East Hampton, Biden addressed it. “Second, but I understand the concern about the debate. I get it. I didn’t have a great night,” he said [1].

The video above shows Biden’s arrival on June 29, 2024. Quotes are from the official transcripts and pool reports published by the American Presidency Project [1][2][3].

”Voters Had a Different Reaction Than the Pundits”

Biden told donors the polls were moving his way. “But here’s what I—not getting reported: Voters had a different reaction than the pundits. Since the debate, polls show a little movement, and we’ve moved us up, actually,” he said in East Hampton [1].

That evening in Middletown, New Jersey, he went further. “Since the debate, the polls show little movement and even have me up a couple points since the debate,” Biden said [2].

The Fox News Poll taken after the debate found the opposite. “Biden was ahead by 2 points last month (50-48%), and now Trump is ahead by 1 point,” Fox News reported. The same survey found that “71% think the White House has been dishonest about Biden’s mental state” [4].

”As Barack Points Out”

In New Jersey, Biden invoked his old boss. “Today, we announced, since the debate—which wasn’t my best debate ever, as Barack points out; and he had the same thing the first debate—that we’ve raised $27 million—$27 million, the strongest stretch since we’ve began this campaign,” he said [2].

He also cited a newspaper’s count of Trump’s statements, saying it found that “he lied 28 times in a matter of 90 minutes” [1]. Two nights earlier at a Waffle House in Atlanta, Biden had put the count at “26 times” [5].

”Italy [France; White House Correction]”

Biden retold a debate exchange about a World War I cemetery, and the White House transcript had to move it. He placed the cemetery “in Italy [France; White House correction]” [1]. He acknowledged that Trump denied the remarks Biden attributed to him: “He tried to deny it” [1].

In New Jersey that evening, he got the location right, describing “a World War I cemetery outside of Paris” [2].

In East Hampton, Biden also brought up his son. “Well, our son was one of those people—not in Italy [France; White House correction], but in Iraq—and he died,” he said [1].

Beau Biden “passed away from glioblastoma in May 2015 at Walter Reed military hospital in Bethesda, Maryland,” after serving “a tour in Iraq from 2008 to 2009,” Fox News has reported [6]. For the same claim a year earlier, see HYGO News’ page on Rocky Mount.

”25 Years Younger Than I Am”

Biden opened in East Hampton with a joke about his wife. “By the way, she was 25, and I was—I was—just so you know, I was—I was under 35,” he said, to laughter. “Now she’s 25 years younger than I am. I don’t know how that happened” [1].

”Where Is Howard?”

Biden spotted a celebrity guest, then lost him. “It’s great to see Howard Stern here. Where is Howard? How could I miss Howard? Anyway, he was here a moment ago,” Biden said. “And I had a great time on his show. And I’m actually going to take a chance in going back” [1].

In New Jersey, he joked with Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J. “We both married way above our station,” Biden said. “That’s true. That is so true,” Murphy answered, according to the transcript [2].

”I Would Not Be Running Again”

He closed with a promise. “Third, I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul I can do this job. I know I don’t walk as easy I used to, I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden said [1].

By the Numbers

$27 million: raised since the debate, per Biden [1][2].
28, then 26: the two counts Biden gave of Trump’s debate statements [1][5].
1 point: Trump’s lead in the post-debate Fox News Poll [4].
71%: voters who said the White House had been dishonest about Biden’s mental state [4].
22 days: from the fundraisers to Biden’s exit from the race [7].

What Happened Next

He quit the race. On July 21, 2024, Biden wrote: “And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term” [7].

For the debate itself, see HYGO News’ page on “we finally beat Medicare”.