There are ‘no conversations’ about replacing Biden, campaign aide says

There have been no discussions among President Biden’s campaign advisers about whether the president should resign as the Democratic nominee after his disastrous performance in Thursday’s debate, a senior Biden campaign official said Friday.

“There is no talk of that at all,” Michael Tyler, the campaign’s communications director, told reporters on Air Force One when asked about the calls for Mr. Biden to step aside and whether there was any consideration to to do that.

“Democratic voters elected and nominated Joe Biden,” Tyler said. “Joe Biden is the nominee.”

He acknowledged that Mr. Biden “didn’t have the best night on the debate stage,” but highlighted how often former President Donald J. Trump lied during those debates.

“You’d rather have one bad night than a candidate with a bad vision of where he wants to take the country,” Mr. Tyler said.

But Biden’s performance at the debate plunged his party into crisis, with some Democrats openly questioning whether change was needed to defeat Trump.

Still, Tyler tried to put a positive spin on the debate, adding that the campaign raised $14 million on Thursday.

“These are Democratic voters tuning in and telling Joe Biden that they’re going to support him in the fight ahead because they understand he’s fighting for them,” Tyler said.

He also said Biden is still willing to participate in the presidential debate in September.

“Joe Biden will be there on September 10th,” Tyler said. “We’ll see what Donald Trump does.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One that the president had a cold during the debate and had tested negative for the coronavirus.

“He had a sore throat,” said Ms. Jean-Pierre. “He had a strong week of preparation for the debate and he caught a cold. It’s not something unusual.”