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White House continues to blame debate 'bad night' on cold as Karine Jean-Pierre forced to say whether president is 'disabled' or has Alzheimer's or dementia
The White House on Tuesday tried to explain away 81-year-old President Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance as just 'a bad night' and the result of a 'cold.'
But in her first briefing since Biden struggled to hold his train of thought during a 90-minute showdown with former President Donald Trump, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had to answer extraordinary questions about whether her boss was suffering from dementia or another debilitating condition.
The tense exchanges show how the issue of a declining president will overshadow the rest of this year's election, as nervous Democrats begin openly calling for Biden to step aside.
'We're not taking away from what you all saw or what the American people saw,' said Karine Jean-Pierre.
'We understand it was a bad night. It is not uncommon for incumbents to have a bad night on their first debate, and we are going to continue to do the work that we have been doing on behalf of the American people.'
President Joe Biden endured a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump in Atlanta last week. It has upended the president race
Her answers were greeted with incredulity in the White House briefing room as she explained that the president was simply suffering from a cold and had no plans to step aside.
And she was peppered with follow-up questions, asking whether he had taken cold medication before the debate (no, she said) or whether there was something even more serious wrong with him.
At one point she was asked whether he was 'disabled.'
Another reporter asked: 'I think the American people need to get a yes or no answer on this: Does President Biden, at 81 years old, have Alzheimer's, any form of dementia or degenerative illness that caused these sorts of lapses?'
Jean-Pierre answered: 'It's a no. And I hope you're asking the other guy the same exact question.'
The problem for the White House and the Biden campaign is that Trump emerged as the clear winner of the debate.
Biden looked every one of 81 years, as his answers ground to a halt or rambled into bizarre non sequiturs.
He was unable to challenge Trump's exaggerations and falsehoods, and at the end of the 90 minutes was helped off stage by his wife.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was forced to answer questions about whether Biden was disabled or had dementia
Biden gave a speech Tuesday after receiving an operational briefing on extreme weather at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's emergency operations center in Washington, DC
The poor performance has dominated news headlines ever since, triggering panic among Democratic donors who fear his campaign is sleepwalking into disaster.
Questions in the briefing room about what sort of shape Biden will be in at the end of a second term and about dementia will not help.
Jean-Pierre did her best to draw a line under the debate. She painted a picture of a busy president getting on with the job, traveling to Wisconsin later in the week, sitting down for an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, and hosting a solo press conference next week when NATO leaders are in town.
She also confirmed he was holding a virtual meeting with Democratic governors, but would not answer questions about whether it was designed to offer reassurances.
'We want to turn the page on this, and we want to turn the page for the American people as well, because we know that they need to see him out there,' she said.
Whether it will be enough to quell growing concern among donors and strategists is another matter.
Several told DailyMail.com they were amazed that the president had gone to ground during the weekend, rather than launching a fightback immediately.
On Tuesday, private chatter exploded into the open as the first elected Democrats went public with calls for Biden to drop out of the race.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first Democratic member of Congress to call for Biden to step down.
'My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved,' he said.
'Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden's first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so.'