The inside story of the Biden team’s failure over nine days to contain the crisis from his debate with Trump.
President Biden’s top aides awoke after debate night with a plan to contain the damage: A raucous North Carolina crowd, a message of resilience, a demonstration of vibrancy.
For the first time, Biden would admit what the world had watched for years. “I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to,” he rehearsed at the Westin Raleigh-Durham Airport with Mike Donilon, his message guru. “But I know what I do know … I know how to do this job.”
It was a comeback tale, based on the notion of a single bad night. “When you get knocked down, you get back up!” Biden declared, nailing the lines off a teleprompter, at full volume, to cheers. His next campaign ad was set.
