President Joe Biden was praised by his wife on Thursday following his first appearance in a presidential debate despite a widely criticized performance.
First lady Jill Biden greeted her husband on stage at the post-debate party with a live audience, appearing to celebrate the mere fact that the president answered the moderators’ questions.
“Joe, you did a great job! You answered all the questions, you knew all the facts!” Jill Biden applauded as Joe Biden smiled on stage.
JILL BIDEN SAYS HER HUSBAND IS ‘ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE PRESIDENTS’ IN MODERN HISTORY ‘DUE TO’ HIS AGE
Biden and first lady Jill Biden speak to supporters at a CNN presidential debate viewing party in Atlanta, Georgia. Biden and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump faced off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign. (Tasos Katopodis/Tasos Katopodis)
“And let me ask the crowd. ‘What did Trump do?'” the first lady continued, turning to the crowd and gesturing before yelling “Lie!”
The moment has gone viral since the debate, with many articles reporting that Jill Biden’s delivery is reminiscent of a child’s eulogy.
Biden’s debate performance has been almost universally criticized by commentators for his inarticulate speech and unsteady demeanor.
Biden’s ‘disaster’ debate performance sparks media meltdown, calls for him to withdraw from 2024 race
Jill Biden greets her husband’s supporters at the CNN presidential debate campaign watch party. (Tasos Katopodis/Tasos Katopodis)
The repeated stutters, long stretches of silence and facial expressions that conveyed intense confusion have convinced some of Biden’s most vocal supporters that the president should drop out of the reelection campaign.
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, a longtime Biden ally, wrote that the debate “brought me to tears” and made me realize Biden should step aside.
“I cannot recall a more heartbreaking moment in American presidential campaign politics in my lifetime, precisely because of what it revealed: Joe Biden, a good man and a good president, has no business running for re-election.” he wrote.
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The Bidens can be seen walking with Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams (right) upon their arrival at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
CNN commentator Van Jones, who cried with joy When Biden won the 2020 presidential election, he offered an emotional plea for the president to resign.
“I love that guy as a good man. He loves his country. He’s doing the best he can. But tonight he had to pass a test: restore the trust of the country and the base, and he didn’t do it,” Jones said. “And I think there are a lot of people who will want to see him consider going in a different direction now.”
Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
