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The re-election campaign for President Biden says it has raised a whopping $27 million since his rocky debate performance against former President Trump.
From the day of the debate through Friday evening, the Biden-Harris campaign told Fox News that it had raised $27 million.
The updated figure comes after the campaign said on Friday that it raised $14 million in “a sign of strength of our grassroots support” on debate day and the morning after.
The campaign also noted Friday that 11 p.m. to 12 p.m. on Thursday – the first hour after the debate – was the single best hour of fundraising since the campaign’s launch in April 2023.
BIDEN AIMS TO CHANGE NEGATIVE NARRATIVE AFTER ROUGH DEBATE WITH TRUMP
The large sums of cash come as Biden’s campaign seeks to address Democratic Party panic over whether he is mentally fit to serve as president following his disastrous faceoff with Trump in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday.
“I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” Biden, who at 81 is the oldest president in the nation’s history, told cheering supporters at a Friday afternoon rally in the crucial battleground state of North Carolina.
“Folks, I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden acknowledged. “But I know what I do know. I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done. And I know, like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down you get back up.”
The president, pointing to his 2024 rematch with Trump, emphasized, “I would not be running again if I did not believe with all my heart and soul that I can do this job.”
Struggling with a raspy voice and delivering rambling answers, Biden struggled during portions of the debate. Several political analysts noted, however, that the president sharpened his answers as the debate progressed.
HERITAGE FOUNDATION WORKING ON ELECTION LEGAL CHALLENGES IN CASE BIDEN PULLED FROM DNC NOMINATION
Biden’s uneven and, at times, halting performance grabbed the vast majority of headlines from the debate and sparked a new round of calls from political pundits, publications and some Democrats for the president to step aside as the party’s standard-bearer.
Top Biden allies have pushed back against such talk as they defended the president and targeted Trump for “lying” throughout the debate.
Two Democratic sources confirmed to Fox News that top Biden campaign officials worked to calm concerns and fears as they huddled privately on Friday at a previously scheduled meeting with top party donors.
“Biden‘s record grassroots fundraising from the day of the debate is critical. It helps blunt the criticism from Biden’s performance,” veteran political strategist and Democratic National Committee member Maria Cardona told Fox News.
Cardona, a top Biden supporter, said spotlighting the fundraising “reminds Democrats that there is enthusiasm for the president and urgency to make sure that the liar and criminal Donald Trump doesn’t get close to the Oval Office.”
Another Democratic strategist and presidential campaign veteran said that team Biden’s focus on fundraising “is their best and maybe their only card to play.”
Trump campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes discounted the Biden fundraising.
“As of last week, the Biden campaign has spent $100 million on cable, TV and radio. They’ve spent money on a bloated organization. Yet President Trump’s lead has grown in battleground states, and now we see polling and enthusiasm on the ground putting Virginia and Minnesota in play for the GOP nominee for the first time in many election cycles,” Hughes told Fox News.
The Trump campaign – enjoying the post-debate narrative – had no need to immediately emphasize its own fundraising, but told Fox News Friday afternoon it brought in $8 million the day of the debate.
Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report described President Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” — and numerous political analysts said that was exactly the impression that the president left on viewers of the debate on Thursday.
In the February report, which noted that Biden’s “memory also appeared to have significant limitations,” Hur said he would bring no criminal charges against the president after a months-long investigation into his improper retention of classified documents related to national security.
“Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone from whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt,” the report stated. “It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him — by then a former president well into his eighties — of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.”
During and after Biden’s debate against former President Donald Trump this week, several political analysts took to social media to suggest that Hur, who faced criticism from Democrats and liberal media figures over the report’s comments about Biden’s memory and judgment, had been “vindicated” and “deserves an apology.”
HOUSE GOP WILL SUE DOJ NEXT WEEK TO GET BIDEN-HUR AUDIO TAPES, JOHNSON SAYS
“You know who’s looking really vindicated tonight? Special counsel Robert Hur,” Jim Geraghty, National Review’s senior political correspondent and a Washington Post contributing columnist, said amid Biden’s performance.
Echoing Geraghty, Charles C.W. Cooke, a British-born American journalist and a senior writer at National Review Online, wrote in a post to X, “Robert Hur deserves an apology.”
Former Trump-era White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany also weighed in on Biden’s performance by referencing Hur.
“Biden is worse than anyone knew. Robert Hur must have been truly shocked. Now the country is,” McEnany, the co-host of Fox News’ “Outnumbered,” said in a post to social media.
During the interview with Hur, Biden, according to the report, “did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended (‘if it was 2013 — when did I stop being Vice President?’), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (‘in 2009, am I still Vice President?’)”
“He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died. And his memory appeared hazy when describing the Afghanistan debate that was once so important to him. Among other things, he mistakenly said he ‘had a real difference’ of opinion with General Karl Eikenberry, when, in fact, Eikenberry was an ally whom Mr. Eiden cited approvingly in his Thanksgiving memo to President Obama,” Hur’s report said.
Biden and his allies aggressively pushed back on concerns about his mental fitness in the report’s wake. Though a full transcript of the interview has been released, Republican lawmakers are still seeking audio tapes of the discussions.
Earlier this week, ahead of the debate, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said House Republicans will file a lawsuit next week to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to hand over audio tapes of Hur’s interview with Biden.
“We are going to file a suit next week against the — against the Department of Justice to enforce that subpoena. We’ll go to district court here in D.C., which is the appropriate venue, and we will fight vigorously to get it,” Johnson told reporters at his regular press conference.
Attorney General Merrick Garland previously refused House GOP investigators’ subpoena for the audio tapes, citing Biden’s claim of executive privilege.
Garland’s refusal spurred House Republicans to hold him in contempt earlier this month, referring Garland to his own department for criminal charges. The DOJ ultimately declined to prosecute.
Following Biden’s debate performance, several media figures now support the release of the audio tapes from the president’s interview with Hur, including Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle.
“If you hold out hope that Biden’s performance on Thursday was just an aberration, you should call for the administration to release the tapes of his interview with Robert Hur so we can all hear what he sounds like when he doesn’t have a cold,” McArdle wrote in a post on X.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
The Trump campaign is demanding an apology from the White House and President Biden’s campaign for dismissing videos of Biden’s public gaffes and miscues as “cheap fakes” and “misinformation” promoted by conservatives.
Following repeated instances of Biden appearing to stand motionless during public events, being guided offstage by family or allies, or appearing confused during public events, the White House slammed such videos as “cheap fakes” promoted by the Trump campaign and its allies. Cheap fakes, under the White House’s definition, are understood as real videos that are cropped or edited in an allegedly deceptive manner.
The Trump campaign fired back on Friday that following Biden’s debate performance, “everyone sees there’s NOTHING fake about Biden’s decline.”
“It’s only been a week since our fantastic team @TrumpWarRoom & @RNCResearch were wrongly accused of editing ‘cheap fakes’ to make Biden look bad,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X Friday. “The Democrats, and of course their mouthpieces in the Fake News, peddled this ridiculous lie.”
“We actually had to spend time fighting ‘journalists’ on this ridiculous narrative and telling them Americans can believe their own eyes!” she continued. “Now everyone sees there’s NOTHING fake about Biden’s decline. We were right and simply sharing the TRUTH!”
“We will take an apology now,” Leavitt added, tagging the Biden campaign and a handful of media outlets.
When asked about the Trump campaign’s call for an apology, the Biden campaign told Fox News Digital that Trump is a “liar” in addition to “a pathetic loser.”
“Trump lied countless times during the debate and so does his campaign, in real life and on the internet. Trump lied Thursday about whether he called fallen soldiers suckers and losers, and he’s still triggered that mainstream media fact checkers called out his cheap fakes. So sure, we will amend our previous statement: Trump is not just a liar he is also a pathetic loser,” a spokesperson for the Biden campaign said.
The call for an apology comes after former President Trump and Biden faced off in the 2024 election cycle’s first debate on Thursday evening, with Biden subsequently coming under fire from conservatives and his traditional allies for his disastrous performance. The New York Times even called on Biden to drop out of the race over his performance, which underscored already mounting concerns over the president’s age and mental acuity.
NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD CALLS FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT: HIS CANDIDACY IS A ‘RECKLESS GAMBLE’
Biden’s debate performance included him having a raspy voice, losing his train of thought at times, and stumbling over some responses. Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged this week that Biden had a “slow start” to the debate, but defended his performance overall and his record in office since 2021.
WHITE HOUSE ‘CHEAP FAKES’ RESPONSE TO BIDEN VIDEOS PART OF PUSH FOR SOCIAL MEDIA CENSORSHIP: EXPERT
Leavitt told Fox News Digital that, in addition to apologizing to the campaign, Biden’s administration and campaign should “more importantly” apologize to Americans.
“The Biden White House and entire Democrat Party are both directly implicated in the greatest coverup in U.S. political history — and the mainstream media is complicit in their lies to the American public about Joe Biden’s mental state. They owe an apology to not just our campaign, but more importantly to the American people, for this major scandal that has led to the demise of our country over the past four years,” she said.
Ahead of the debate, Biden faced criticism for a series of gaffes and missed cues during public appearances, including events abroad with fellow world leaders. Those include: former President Obama taking Biden’s wrist to seemingly lead him offstage at a fundraiser in Los Angeles this month; Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni directing Biden back to a gaggle of world leaders in Italy this month after he took a few steps away from the group to give a thumbs up to a parachutist; and viral video showing the president standing relatively motionless during a Juneteenth concert event at the White House.
SOCIAL MEDIA MOCKS BIDEN BEING LED OFFSTAGE BY FIRST LADY
OBAMA DEFENDS BIDEN, HAMMERS TRUMP AFTER TELEVISED SHOWDOWN: ‘BAD DEBATE NIGHTS HAPPEN’
The White House pushed back following criticisms of such videos that they were “cheap fakes,” birthing a new 2024 campaign buzz word that was soon mocked by conservatives on social media, who argued that the administration was “gaslighting” Americans.
“They are cheap fakes. . . . They are done in bad faith. And some of your news organizations have been very clear, have stressed that these right-wing . . . critics of the president have a credibility problem, because the fact-checkers have repeatedly caught them pushing misinformation, disinformation,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier this month of cheap fakes.
The Biden-Harris campaign also promoted the “cheap fake” narrative, calling them “a huge part of Trump’s campaign strategy.”
OBAMA LEADING BIDEN OFF LA FUNDRAISER’S STAGE JUST LATEST EXAMPLE OF ALLIES DIRECTING PRESIDENT
“Rob Flaherty, Biden-Harris Deputy Campaign Manager: Donald Trump is desperate to distract from his unpopular agenda. That’s why his campaign is deploying ‘cheap fakes,’ which are deceptively edited videos of President Biden. These doctored videos are a huge part of Trump’s campaign strategy,” the campaign posted on X earlier this month.
A major conservative activist group is preparing for legal battles in case the Democratic Party chooses to pull President Biden out of the running before or after he becomes the nominee.
The Heritage Foundation, one of the United States’ most prominent and well-connected conservative activist groups, is laying the groundwork in case a sudden switch-up in the Democratic roster sparks a legal war.
“We are monitoring the calls from across the country for President Biden to step aside, either now or before the election, and have concluded that the process for substitution and withdrawal is very complicated,” Executive Director of The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project Mike Howell said in a statement. “We will remain vigilant that appropriate election integrity procedures are followed.”
DEM LAWMAKERS STRUGGLE TO DEAL WITH FALLOUT OF BIDEN DEBATE PERFORMANCE: ‘DISAPPOINTMENT’
Heritage has already identified multiple states in which a switch away from Biden before or after the nomination could mean serious trouble for the Democratic Party.
In a separate statement, the Oversight Project warned, “If the Biden family decides that President Biden will not run for re-election, the mechanisms for replacing him on ballots vary by state. There is the potential for pre-election litigation in some states that would make the process difficult and perhaps unsuccessful.
“Given the expected intensity of election integrity concerns in this election cycle, policymakers and the public should be educated and aware of the contentious path ahead,” it added.
BIDEN’S INNER CIRCLE SILENT AS PARTY REELS FOLLOWING ‘EMBARRASSING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE
Heritage points out that many states — including swing states such as Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin — might not allow a replacement on the ballot.
Wisconsin does not allow a candidate’s name to be withdrawn from the ballot except due to death. Nevada allows changes to its ballot up until 5:00pm on the fourth Friday of June in the election year — it also allows special consideration for if nominees die or are determined to be mentally unable to proceed.
Georgia would allow Biden to withdraw up to 60 days before the election. If Biden withdraws afterward, his name would remain on the ballot but votes for him would be discarded.
Other states have restrictions on timing and the reason for withdrawal from ballots, while others have no procedures on the books, making the prospect of switching Biden out an even more perilous legal minefield.
Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz told ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ that “This whole idea, this whole notion that maybe they should get a different candidate — that’s not how the system works, folks!”
“It depends on the states. Elections are not run by the party, they’re not run by the federal government — they’re administered by states. Each state has state law,” Chaffetz continued. “Once you go through the primary, once you go through the caucus, you have to follow that law.”
A federal judge temporarily blocked part of a Georgia law on Friday that only allows people or organizations to post bonds three times a year if they do not meet the criteria for bail bond companies.
U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert blocked part of Senate Bill 63 for 14 days before it could take effect on July 1, according to The Associated Press. The judge told lawyers to offer arguments on whether it should be stayed until a lawsuit over the legislation is resolved.
The blocked section limits people and organizations from posting more than three cash bonds in a year unless they meet requirements for bail bond companies, which includes passing background checks, paying fees, holding a business license, securing the local sheriff’s approval and establishing a cash escrow account or other form of collateral.
Calvert is allowing other parts of the law to take effect, including requiring cash bail before people who are charged with certain crimes can be released from pretrial detention. The list of 30 crimes includes 18 that are always or often misdemeanors, including failure to appear in court for a traffic citation.
JUDGE ARRESTED AT ATLANTA NIGHTCLUB REMOVED FROM OFFICE FOR ‘JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT’
The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center filed the lawsuit last week on behalf of Barred Business Foundation, an Atlanta-based nonprofit that facilitates campaigns to pay cash bail, and two Athens residents who run a charitable bail fund in association with their church.
The lawsuit alleges that the law’s restriction on bail funds are unconstitutional and requests that the judge block it.
The legislation “imposes what are arguably the most severe restrictions on charitable bail funds in the nation,” the lawsuit argues, adding that the limit on charitable bail funds is “incredibly burdensome — perhaps insurmountable — and is both irrational and arbitrary.”
According to the lawsuit, the restrictions “will effectively eliminate charitable bail funds in Georgia.”
The Bail Project, a national nonprofit that helps thousands of low-income people post bonds, announced earlier this month it was forced to close its Atlanta branch in response to the law.
“We are encouraged by the judge’s ruling and its recognition that this law is unnecessary, harmful, and likely unconstitutional,” ACLU of Georgia legal director Cory Isaacson said in a statement. “We are relieved for our plaintiffs and the many people across the state that they serve. It’s unconscionable that people doing charitable bail work would face criminal penalties simply because they are helping people who are languishing in jail because of their poverty and have no other means of relief.”
The state argued in a brief filed Thursday that the law does not violate the plaintiffs’ rights of free speech and association because it would only restrict conduct that does not involve speech, saying that the plaintiffs may still criticize Georgia’s cash bail system, and that paying bail does not inherently send any message.
GEORGIA DAD FREED AFTER HOT CAR SEAT DEATH OF SON PUT HIM IN PRISON FOR MURDER
Supporters of the measure say that well-meaning groups should not have an issue with following the same rules that bail bond companies must adhere to.
The law comes amid Republican efforts to restrict community bail funds after they were used to post bonds for demonstrators arrested in 2020 protests against racial injustice and, subsequently, for demonstrators protesting against the construction of an Atlanta public safety training center, which has been dubbed “Cop City” by its opponents.
State prosecutors have said that some “Stop Cop City” protesters had the Atlanta Solidarity Fund’s phone number written on their bodies, which they pointed to as evidence that the protesters planned to participate in illegal activity.
Last year, three of the bail fund’s leaders were charged with charity fraud. They are among 61 people indicted on racketeering charges.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
