They said Biden had rebounded at a speech Friday in North Carolina, and took encouragement in Nielsen ratings showing that the debate drew just 51 million viewers, significantly fewer than in past elections. They cited flash polls that suggested Biden’s performance hadn’t seriously eroded his support, sidestepping the fact the president already appeared to be trailing Trump headed into the debate.

“Perhaps we live in an insanely fractured information environment and no one thing is going to dramatically change the dynamics,” Biden spokesman TJ Ducklo said.

Biden was also buoyed by no major Democrat publicly calling for him to step aside – and particularly statements of support from former President Barack Obama as well as a cadre of governors and senators at the center of recent speculation about replacing him on the ticket.

In another memo, deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty argued that that even if the president’s polls did decline, it was merely a temporary reflection of “reactionary” coverage by the chattering class.

Flaherty went on to swipe at “self-important” podcasters — a clear reference to the popular “Pod Save America” show, hosted by former Obama administration officials who expressed alarm in the aftermath of the debate.

“Breaking news: People think Joe Biden’s old. They did coming into the debate, they do coming out of the debate,” he wrote.

The Loyalists

Taken together, the responses underscore two truths about Biden loyalists.

The group deeply distrusts pronouncements by the media and Democratic insiders, and remains angry that Biden’s primary campaign ahead of the 2020 election wasn’t treated with more respect.

Multiple officials said the call from the Times editorial board for Biden to step down had a galvanizing effect among demoralized staffers, reminding them of the 2020 primary when the Times split its endorsement between two senators – Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar – who had little impact on the race.

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