Biden acknowledges weak debate performance as Democratic questions swirl over whether he’ll stay in the presidential race

President Joe Biden's campaign insists he will not drop out of the 2024 presidential race, but there are growing fractures between those in the president's inner circle who are adamant about him continuing his campaign and the broader Democratic party that is seeking a last-minute change of candidate after Biden's widely panned debate performance against former President Donald Trump.

Biden acknowledged his weak debate showing, but gave a more animated speech in North Carolina on Friday. He told the crowd, "I know I'm not a young man. I don't walk as easily as I used to. I don't talk as smoothly as I used to. I don't debate as well as I used to, but I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job, I know how to get things done. And I know what millions of Americans know: When you get knocked down, you get back up."

Biden's debate performance was widely criticized, with issues like a raspy voice, an often open-mouthed facial expression, and one instance where the president lost his train of thought and suddenly stopped speaking. This has laid bare the potential political risks of the 78-year-old Biden seeking a second term as the oldest president in US history.

Biden's advisers spent Friday morning making calls to Democratic members of Congress, donors, and other key supporters in an attempt to calm the widespread panic following the debate debacle.

The Biden campaign has strongly pushed back on any speculation that the president may exit the race. Biden campaign spokesperson Seth Schuster told CNN on Friday morning, "No, there's no basis for that. There's nothing that voters have indicated that they agree with that."

Mitch Landrieu, the campaign's co-chair, also expressed his confidence in Biden to CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Friday night. Landrieu said he has "100% confidence in Joe Biden" and that it will be "his decision alone whether he's going to continue."

Despite some anxiety from donors, the campaign highlighted a record $14 million 24-hour fundraising haul on Thursday, demonstrating continued enthusiasm and financial support. The campaign also set a new hourly fundraising record during the late-night hours following the debate, though they did not provide the exact dollar amount.

Biden's advisers spent part of the day making calls to ease concerns among Democratic donors as the campaign prepares for a major fundraising push this weekend.

The projections of confidence from the Biden White House and reelection campaign come amid questions from some Biden allies over whether anyone with the president's ear will seek to convince him to suspend his campaign. However, the campaign has firmly rejected any suggestion that Biden may exit the race.

Democratic congressional leaders are not planning a direct intervention with President Biden, according to multiple party sources. Instead, they intend to focus on House and Senate races as they allow the debate's fallout to settle with the public, and then assess the strength of Biden's campaign in the coming weeks.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries expressed support for Biden on Friday but said he is waiting to hear from the President at a campaign rally in North Carolina later that day.

"I'm going to reserve comment about anything relative to where we are at this moment, other than to say I stand behind the ticket," Jeffries stated.

Despite growing calls for Biden to consider withdrawing from the race, Democratic operatives and officials appear resigned to the likelihood that his doing so is, at best, a remote possibility - and more likely a delusional fantasy.

One key reason is the unwavering support from Biden's tight-knit circle of advisers. As one aide explained, while the President's inner circle is willing to challenge him, once he makes a decision, they unite behind it.

"The people around him aren't yes-men. All of them know how to tell him no. But once he decides, he decides, and the wagons are circled," the aide said.

Some Democrats have criticized Biden's team for allowing him to take the debate stage, seemingly unaware of his raspy voice and soft-spoken delivery. One operative bluntly stated: "It's not like Biden's inner circle didn't know this before last night. It's not like all of a sudden, they're like, 'Oh, wow. He's showing some signs of age.'"

The New York Times Editorial Board on Friday called for Biden to withdraw, arguing "The greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election." However, the board said it would still support

 Biden against his predecessor if he remains in the race.

Biden campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond pushed back, noting that the last time Biden lost the Times' endorsement, "it turned out pretty well for him."

Frustration within Biden’s White House, campaign

For years at the White House, and for months in Biden's Wilmington headquarters, anyone outside the president's inner circle has felt resigned to the fact that only that insular group holds real power. Some aides who traveled to Camp David for debate prep sessions knew they wouldn't be included in many key discussions.

This has led to rising stars leaving the administration and strong recruits passing on jobs. However, multiple junior and mid-level aides told CNN they were willing to deal with that professional frustration as long as Biden could deliver.

But faith in the inner circle has now been dashed by Biden's poor performance, quickly turning into fear that the only people empowered to change the campaign's trajectory aren't up to the task themselves. The frustration with the inner circle was growing on Friday after more junior staffers led morning calls, giving the impression that Biden's top advisors were either failing to provide clear messaging or distancing themselves from the president's lackluster showing.

A White House official said group text threads were "abysmal" on Friday, with jokes about updating resumes. "Everyone is deflated," the official said.

The official noted that neither Chief of Staff Jeff Zients nor Senior Advisor Anita Dunn addressed the staff after Biden's debate performance. Zients and Dunn participated in a morning call with top division managers, urging them to stay the course - a message many managers did not pass on to their teams.

"The inner circle is used to not having to say anything," the official said, but "we cannot pretend like yesterday didn't happen." The Biden campaign plans to hold an all-staff meeting on Friday afternoon, which officials described as a routine occurrence.

Many White House staffers were working remotely on Friday, with the official remarking, "We're all already commiserating. No reason to do it at a desk."

‘It’s hard to debate a liar’

Ahead of the second presidential debate in September, a Biden campaign adviser acknowledged the president's lackluster performance in Atlanta but said the team is committed to highlighting the moments they believe worked for their candidate. The adviser noted that many Biden staffers had previously worked on Barack Obama's successful 2012 reelection campaign, where Obama initially struggled in a debate before rebounding.

While the debate didn't change the fundamentals of the race, Biden’s advisers expressed defensive frustration over the president's failure to counter Trump's "extreme positions and series of lies." They complained that Trump's falsehoods, like attempting to discredit the Charlottesville rally, thrust Biden into a fact-checking role rather than allowing him to employ attack messaging.

One adviser said Biden was frustrated by Trump "making stuff up," with the president lying 26 times according to The New York Times. Biden himself acknowledged the challenge, telling patrons at a Waffle House that "it's hard to debate a liar." Despite the setback, Biden's team pointed to a robust travel schedule and strong fundraising as signs of moving forward.

Pro-Biden political world frets

In the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, the aftermath of Biden's debate performance sparked concerns within the pro-Biden and anti-Trump political sphere. Former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, known for his criticism of Trump, made headlines by endorsing Biden. However, on Friday morning, Kinzinger retweeted a video of MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, who suggested that Democrats should consider asking Biden to step aside, given the perceived poor debate performance.

The "Pod Save America" podcast hosts, popular with liberal listeners, also lamented Biden's performance, with former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau calling for a "serious discussion" about the party's nominee. Meanwhile, former Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes acknowledged the need to address the concerns directly, rather than dismissing them.

Hill Democrats split on Biden’s path forward

In the aftermath of the recent presidential debate, Democrats on Capitol Hill expressed mixed reactions to President Biden's performance. While some, like Rep. Angie Craig and Rep. Brad Schneider, voiced concerns about Biden's ability to communicate effectively, senior Democrats such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Jim Clyburn rallied to his defense.

Pelosi argued that despite Biden's "poor performance," his integrity outshone the "dishonesty" of the other candidate, while Clyburn likened it to a baseball player's first strike, insisting that Biden remains the best choice to carry the Democratic message. Retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin also expressed confidence in Biden's abilities, emphasizing the importance of preventing "four bad years under Donald Trump." Overall, the reactions highlight the Democratic Party's internal discussions as they navigate the political landscape leading up to the upcoming election.

We’ve got a long way to go until the

e election’

The practical problem Democrats face is that even if Biden were to suspend his campaign, the primaries are long over, Biden's nominal challengers have been dispatched, and the party's convention in Chicago next month could quickly turn chaotic.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, the popular Democratic executive of perhaps the most important swing state, conceded on CNN Friday that Biden's debate performance "was not a good look." However, Shapiro said the debate "doesn't change the fact that there are very stark, competing differences in this race, and I think what the American people have to do right now is make a decision."

Shapiro stated, "The Biden campaign should speak for themselves. You know, no question the president was not his best last night, but we've got a long way to go until the election."

Another popular Democratic swing-state governor, Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer, in a statement Friday morning did not directly mention Biden's debate performance. Instead, she sought to draw a contrast between Biden and Trump on abortion rights, health care policy, and more.

Whitmer said, "Joe Biden is running to serve the American people. Donald Trump is running to serve Donald Trump. The difference between Joe Biden's vision for making sure everyone in America has a fair shot and Donald Trump's dangerous, self-serving plans will only get sharper as we head toward November."

This story has been updated with additional details. CNN's Kaanita Iyer, Betsy Klein, Haley Talbot, Manu Raju, Veronica Stracqualursi, Andrew Millman, Ted Barrett, Lauren Fox, Annie Grayer, Priscilla Alvarez and Brian Rokus contributed to this report.