Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said President Joe Biden had a "bad night" during last week's debate with former President Donald Trump, though lauded Biden's time in office as a "great presidency."
During a Sunday appearance on CNN's State of the Union with host Dana Bash, Pelosi was asked if Biden should bow out of the race as many voters have expressed concern over his competency after Thursday's debate.
“This is an opportunity for Joe Biden to go out there and show he has the stamina and the rest,” Pelosi said. “And, by the way, while the press — and, for some reason, they don’t — there are health care professionals who think that Trump has dementia, that his connection — his thoughts do not go together, not only that he just lies; he doesn’t even know the truth.” WATCH: Nancy Pelosi mumbling and bumbling her way through her CNN appearance tries to defend Joe Biden’s debate performance through her own brain malfunction:
“It was a bad night. Let's not sugar coat that. It was a bad night. It was a great presidency.” pic.twitter.com/E2wrSfvqF7
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) June 30, 2024
“So, if we’re just talking about mental acuity, let’s be fair about it,” she continued. “I don’t think Tom Friedman thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States. And while he may be saying we’re enablers, we see Joe Biden up close. We know how attuned he is to the issues, how informed he is.”
“When I debate with him about legislation — and not debate, but discuss it with him. He’s right there,” she concluded. “So in any case, it was a bad night. Let’s not sugarcoat that. It was a bad night. It was a great presidency.”
CNN hosted Thursday's debate, which was moderated by Bash and fellow CNN host Jake Tapper.
Throughout the debate, Biden's voice sounded low and raspy, though some claimed the president was battling a cold. Biden also stumbled and appeared to be confused throughout some responses while Trump appeared measured and focused in comparison.
In response to one of Biden's answers to a border security question, Trump said he didn't understand what the president said.
"I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence and I don't think he knows what he said either," Trump replied before touting his handling of the nation's border during his time in office. Biden rambles.
Trump: "I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence and I don't think he knows what he said either" pic.twitter.com/a7YA0dCyef
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 28, 2024
Biden made several false statements throughout the debate, claiming he was the "only president of the 20th century" to not lose American troops. During 2021's withdrawal from the Afghanistan war, the Biden administration oversaw the death of 13 soldiers after a suicide bomber carried out an attack during the mission.
However, Trump also falsely attributed to then-First Lady Hillary Clinton's "super predators" quote from 1996 to Biden. However, in 1993, Biden warned of "predators on our streets" when proposing a crime bill.
During CNN's post-debate analysis, the outlet ran chyrons indicating Democratic sources were concerned over Biden's lackluster performance. Look at the chyron on CNN…
This was an absolute disaster for the dems. pic.twitter.com/nR5t5S80hQ
— The Loftus Party (@theloftusparty) June 28, 2024
One panelist noted Democratic strategists were having conversations about replacing Biden as the Democratic nominee for
Biden and Trump are scheduled to debate once more in September.
