There have been no discussions among President Biden’s campaign advisers about whether the president should step down as the Democratic nominee following his disastrous performance in Thursday’s debate, a senior Biden campaign official said on Friday.
“No conversations about that whatsoever,” Michael Tyler, the campaign’s director of communications, told reporters on Air Force One when asked about calls for Mr. Biden to step aside and whether there had been any consideration to do so.
“The Democratic voters elected, nominated, Joe Biden,” Mr. Tyler said. “Joe Biden’s the nominee.”
He acknowledged that Mr. Biden “didn’t have the best night on the debate stage” but highlighted how frequently former President Donald J. Trump lied during it.
“You’d rather have one bad night than a candidate with a bad vision for where he wants to take the country,” Mr. Tyler said.
But Mr. Biden’s debate performance plunged his party into crisis, with some Democrats openly questioning whether a change was needed in order to defeat Mr. Trump.
Still, Mr. Tyler sought to project a positive spin on the debate, adding that the campaign raised $14 million on Thursday.
“That is Democratic voters tuning in, telling Joe Biden that they’ve got his back for the fight ahead because they understand he’s fighting for them,” Mr. Tyler said.
He also said that Mr. Biden was still committed to participating in the presidential debate in September.
“Joe Biden will be there on Sept. 10,” Mr. Tyler said. “We’ll see what Donald Trump does.”
Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Air Force One that the president had a cold during the debate and that he had tested negative for the coronavirus.
“He had a sore throat,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said. “He had a strong debate prep week, and he got a cold. It’s not something unusual.”
