Obama backs Biden after rough debate performance

Former President Obama urged voters Friday to back President Biden in November despite a poor showing by the president in the previous night's debate.

"Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know," Obama posted on social media platform X. "But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit.

"Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November," he added, linking to Biden's campaign website.

Obama's backing came as some Democrats panicked over their prospects in November following Biden's disastrous showing at Thursday night's debate, hosted by CNN, against former President Trump.

The president's voice was raspy for much of the 90 minutes, his delivery was frequently halting and at times he lost his train of thought or struggled to make his point clearly.

A CNN flash poll found 67 percent of viewers said Trump won the debate.

Obama was famously criticized over his performance in his first debate of the 2012 cycle against then-Republican nominee Mitt Romney. The former president then went on to win the election.

White House and Biden campaign officials sought Friday to shut down any notion that the president will step aside or drop out of the race.

Among the Democrats sounding the alarm about Biden's performance were several former Obama White House aides.

“Obviously that debate was a f‑‑‑ing disaster,” former Obama administration speechwriter and “Pod Save America” co-host Jon Favreau posted Friday morning on X. “We have to beat Donald Trump. We have to have a nominee who can do that.”