Trump struggled to tell the truth or recount parts of his presidency accurately, giving Democrats political ammunition with which to give Biden cover.

‘People are not pleased’

Several Democrats muttered “bad night” before quickly disappearing into the House chamber to vote.

Rep. Gregory W. Meeks gave reporters a sketch of the attitude inside the chamber on the Democrats’ side. But he didn’t say there was a widespread call for the president to drop out of the race.

“People are not pleased. ... Nobody’s in there jumping for joy, saying, you know, that was a great night last night. So, yeah, there’s concern because we know how important it is to make sure that we win this election,” the New York Democrat said. “And so is angst up today? Yes. But it’s also about the focus because we care about this country and we care about people.

“We know the differences between us and the MAGA Republicans and those that support Donald Trump, and we’ve got to make sure that that message continues to get out, and that has not happened,” Meeks added. “And we’ve got to make sure that we continue to do that because it is so important not for these individuals but for our country, for the future of our country, for our allies. We’ve got to get this done.”

Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, was asked before the debate on Air Force One what to expect from Biden, and she set what Democrats would consider a high bar. “I would refer you to the State of the Union,” she replied. But Biden was anything but the clear and sometimes-forceful self he showed in his joint address to Congress earlier this year, causing heartburn for Democrats just four months from Election Day.

At one point early on, Biden froze mid-answer.

“What I’ve been able to do with the, with, with, with the COVID, excuse me. With dealing with everything we have to do with,” Biden said, looking down at his lectern, adding after several seconds of silence: “Look, if we finally beat Medicare.”

A FiveThirtyEight average of multiple polls before the debate put Trump up by a paper-thin margin nationally, 41% to 40.9%, with independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. netting 9.2%. Several surveys, like one from The New York Times and Siena College (48% to Biden’s 42%), gave Trump a larger national edge among registered voters with four months to go.

Republicans such as Chip Roy of Texas said they weren’t surprised by Biden’s sluggishness.

“The simple fact of the matter,” he said, “is the president of the United States is not capable of doing the job.”

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(CQ Roll Call staff writers Briana Reilly, Caitlin Reilly, Daniela Altimari and Mary Ellen McIntire contributed to this report.)

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