Wasserman Schultz stands with Biden despite debate performance, urges doubters to stop ‘pearl-clutching’

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is standing resolutely by President Joe Biden, even as she acknowledged “it was not a good performance” in last week’s debate with former President Donald Trump.

“President Biden had obviously, arguably a pretty poor performance in the debate,” Wasserman Schultz said Tuesday.

Still, she said, Democrats should be concentrating on campaign efforts, not spending time rehashing what happened during the debate. “I have two hands, and I think we should be using our hands for door knocking and phone calling — not pearl-clutching and hand-wringing,” she said.

And, during an interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, the Broward Democrat dismissed the notion that Biden should drop out in favor of a Democrat who might have a better chance at defeating Trump in November.

“I don’t expect, nor think it’s wise for us to change horses just before the finish line,” Wasserman Schultz said.

Wasserman Schultz is the senior Democrat in the Florida congressional delegation and a former chair of the Democratic National Committee.

“I agree with Vice President (Kamala Harris) and others who have said that you do not chalk up the capability of a president to his performance in 90 minutes, when compared to 3.5 years of the remarkable success that we’ve had.”

Wasserman Schultz rejected the notion that Biden might not be up to the challenge of competing against Trump or serving a full term if reelected in November.

“I’m confident in what I’ve seen. I’ve seen President Biden recently and been able to interact with him recently in person. And I can tell you based on my interactions with President Biden, I’m confident not only that he can take on (but) beat Donald Trump,” she said.

Wasserman said the priority for Democrats in the coming months shouldn’t be agonizing over Biden’s performance. Instead Democrats “need to be able to make sure that we can continue to organize and mobilize across the country to ensure that President Biden can get to 270 electoral votes.”

Wasserman Schultz said “polls still show that it’s close.”

“The needle has not moved, really, very much. The race is still close. It was a close race before the debate. It’s still a close race, and this race will be a photo finish most likely,” Wasserman Schultz said.

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There’s been limited high-quality, independent public opinion polling since the debate.

A nationwide CBS News poll conducted June 28-29 found 72% of voters think Biden does not have the mental and cognitive health to serve as president. (As for Trump, 49% of voters said he didn’t have the mental and cognitive ability to serve.)

The CBS poll found 72% of registered voters and 46% of Democrats believe Biden should not be running for president.

“My voters, my constituents, they support President Biden,” Wasserman Schultz said. Like many Democrats, she pointed to accomplishments since Biden took office in 2021, calling him “the most successful president in modern times. And I don’t think that’s a close call.”

Out front

Wasserman Schultz has been more outspoken in support of Biden than other South Florida members of Congress.

Shortly after the debate ended, Wasserman Schultz posted a statement that highlighted policy differences between Biden and Trump. U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, posted a similar statement.

In subsequent days, as chatter grew among pundits and anonymous Democrats that Biden should drop out, Wasserman Schultz rejected that idea.

“There’s just honesty, goodness and no quit in @JoeBiden,” she wrote in a social media post. In another post, she said that “Americans do not want four more years of Trump lies and chaos. I stand with @JoeBiden.” And a day after that she praised Biden, criticized Trump and ended a post with “I’m #RidenWithBiden.”

Other South Florida Democrats were more restrained on social media.

An hour before the debate, Frankel posted that she was “Looking forward to tonight’s debate! Excited to support President Biden and highlight the incredible progress we’ve made under his leadership.”

As of midday Tuesday, Frankel hadn’t posted anything about Biden’s performance, though on Saturday she posted that June was “Men’s Health Month! Let’s encourage the men in our lives to prioritize their health by getting regular check-ups, staying active, and talking openly about mental well-being. A healthier future starts today.”

U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat who represents parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, commented only indirectly. Just as the debate was ending, he wrote that “In the last hour, I have 25 tweets in my draft folder.” He didn’t post any.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who also represents parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, didn’t address Biden’s performance.

She posed with three other Black women members of Congress on the steps of the Capitol. The representatives said it was a “Busy day in Congress doing our ‘Black jobs’ representing our constituents and fighting for justice and opportunity.” That was a commentary on one of Trump’s debate comments, in which he asserted that undocumented immigrants were taking “Black jobs” from citizens.

Long alliance

Wasserman Schultz’s assessment of Biden on Tuesday was similar to her assessment before the March 2020 Florida presidential primary when she endorsed him in what at the time was still a competitive contest for the Democratic nomination.

She said in an interview at the time that it “was a very easy decision” because Biden was the Democrat best equipped to defeat Trump and effectively lead the country.

The congresswoman has a long history with Biden.

When Biden was a U.S. senator from Delaware, he was the lead Senate sponsor and Wasserman Schultz was the lead House sponsor of legislation to combat child exploitation . It was signed into law by then-President George W. Bush in 2008.

When he was vice president and Congress was considering then-President Barack Obama’s controversial Iran nuclear deal, Biden visited Davie for a session with Jewish community leaders invited by Wasserman Schultz.

And when he was vice president, Biden gave the commencement address to the Cypress Bay High School class of 2012. Cypress Bay is in Wasserman Schultz’s hometown of Weston.

As a student at the University of Florida, she supported Biden in his first presidential campaign — in 1988.

“I have been supporting Joe Biden and believed that he should be president of the United States someday for my whole adult life, from my first vote for president,” Wasserman Schultz said in 2020.

Wasserman Schultz has often praised Biden, once introducing him as a “national treasure” and a “mensch.”

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.