President Joe Biden listens to a question during a presidential debate with Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump in Atlanta on June 27. Area Democrats renewed their support of Biden despite a faltering debate performance.
Gerald Herbert | AP
LIMA — The leader of the Allen County Democratic Party is backing President Joe Biden amid mounting calls for the president to end his re-election campaign.
“I think that we all come down on the side not just of supporting Joe Biden but understanding the practicality of changing candidates at this point,” Allen County Democratic Party Chair Rochelle Twining told The Lima News on Monday. “So, we’re all in this fight with Joe, and I think in a strange way it actually fires us up, because we feel like he’s being picked on and he shouldn’t be because of what he’s accomplished for our country.”
Biden’s performance in the June 27 presidential debate renewed concerns among Democrats about the president’s age and ability to defeat former President Donald Trump, who leads Biden by 2.2% in national polling averages.
Sixty-seven percent of Americans who responded to a pre-debate poll by Gallup in June said Biden, who is now 81 years old, is too old to be president.
Only 31% of respondents said the same about Trump, who is three years younger.
Twining called Biden’s debate performance “disappointing” but said he remains the best candidate to defeat Trump, whom she described as a “threat to the very core of democracy” and the nation.
“We have on the other side a man who has said horrific things about women, who has 34 felonies and nobody is calling for him to step down,” Twining said, adding that she did not hear any calls for Biden to resign during a recent campaign event where more than 200 Democrats gathered to see Sen. Sherrod Brown and Rep. Marcy Kaptur in Defiance County.
“He doesn’t speak as well. He doesn’t talk as well, but his brain is still functioning at high gear,” Twining said. “I think we all know that we slow down as we age, but he has had a remarkable record of accomplishments. So, if the worst thing you can say about him is that he’s old, we’re in great shape.”
Shelby County Democratic Chair Chris Gibbs, a former Republican, issued a similar message in a June 28 Facebook post, one day after the presidential debate.
“Out here in rural American when the going gets tough, we don’t spook and we certainly don’t hide,” Gibbs said in the pre-recorded message. “That’s why I’ll be sticking with President Joe Biden for as long as he needs me and as long as it takes, because I know Joe would do the same for you.”
Asked whether Allen County Democrats would support the nominee if Democrats select another candidate during their convention in August, Twining said it’s hard to answer because “we feel so strongly that Biden should be the candidate,” while at the same time believing Trump to be a threat to democracy.
“We will do anything to uphold our belief in freedom, justice and equal opportunity for all people,” she said. “So, the candidate that shares our beliefs is the candidate we would support.”
