President Biden riled voters during a series of campaign stops in Pennsylvania on Sunday, attempting to shake off concerns among some Democrats that he isn’t up for a second term.
“Dark Brandon is coming back,” he joked to one supporter in Harrisburg who asked him about the meme, one that developed into a unifying force to fight off concerns about Biden’s age early in his campaign.
While he faces increasing calls from members of Congress to leave the campaign after a faltering debate performance last month, Biden said he hasn’t seen the same response from voters.
“We’ve been drawing big crowds. Ever since the debate, not joking, even that night we had big crowds afterwards,” Biden said.
“I got John Fetterman, I don’t need much else,” he added, downplaying his critics in Congress. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) campaigned with the president on Sunday and has been one of his most vocal supporters in recent weeks.
Biden has been emphatic that he will stay in the campaign despite his precarious position. House Democrats are set to discuss his campaign on Sunday, and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said he plans to hold meetings with Senate Democrats about asking Biden not to seek reelection.
At an earlier campaign event at a church in Philadelphia on Sunday morning, the president laughed off concerns about his age, joking, “I know I look 40,” but “I’ve been doing this a long time.”
“I, honest to God, have never been more optimistic about America’s future if we stick together,” he said.
