President Joe Biden will be meeting with leaders on Capitol Hill and Democratic governors across the country this week in an attempt to do damage control to convince members of his party in office and voters across the country that he is still fit for the job after his disastrous debate performance last week against former president Donald Trump where pundits, strategists and average voters alike echoed calls for Biden to remove himself for the race.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre acknowledged Biden's poor debate performance from the podium on Tuesday, her first press conference since the debate and said the president had a cold and a hoarse voice the night of the debate but his record shows he knows how to do the job.
"I have engagement with the president pretty regularly," Jean-Pierre said. "What I see is a strong, resolute president who is always willing and able to work on behalf of the American people."
Jean-Pierre said she's never seen Biden have a bad night before like he did at the debate.
Biden's medical records
The White House said it has been transparent with Biden's medical records and that the president has not had a doctor's appointment since his physical in February. According to Jean-Pierre, Biden's medical team said a cognitive test is not warranted in this case. She also said the president's doctor traveled to the debate with Biden's team and that the doctor did not have any concerns about his health.
"What I can tell you is that he had a cold and a bad night. I would not see this as an episode," Jean-Pierre said. "I would see this as what it was and what we believe it to be, which was a bad night."
Jean-Pierre said Biden did not take any cold medication prior to the debate.
CNN's Jake Tapper who moderated last Thursday's debate first reported on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Democratic governors held a call on Monday where they expressed surprise that Biden had not reached out to them since the debate.
Biden will also sit down on Friday with ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Friday for his first interview since the debate, the White House said on Tuesday.
Biden will also conduct a press conference next week in Washington, DC during the NATO Summit.
"We're going to turn the page, we are going to get out there across the country. Americans are going to see for themselves," Jean-Pierre said.
The White House press corps in the briefing room relentlessly pressed Jean-Pierre on Biden's health history and if Biden will be capable of doing the job of president in two to three years from now.
Jean-Pierre was also asked if Biden has Alzheimer's or dementia, to which she responded "no" and "you should ask the other guy," referring to Trump.
When asked if members of the Democratic party should be able to speak their minds on Biden's mental acuity, Jean-Pierre responded calling the Democrats a "big tent party" and Biden's team respects other people's opinions and thoughts.
She tried as often as possible throughout the press conference to reroute focus to Biden's legislative and policy accomplishments and not his debate performance.
"There are so many things that we need to continue to fight for," Jean-Pierre said. "And at the end of the day, this is a president that has delivered, working closely with Congress and doing some of these things in a bipartisan way."
"That doesn't happen with everybody," she added. "And this president has been able to do that."