Democrats at a raucous watch party in Atlanta were not only indifferent to President Joe Biden’s disastrous performance, they told DailyMail.com they loved it.
“I think Biden did a really good job. He came out. He was very clear as to what his message was. And he showed that he’s not too old for the job,” said Kenneth Royal, a 42-year-old running for Dekalb County commissioner.
The party featured an open bar (food accompanied by tacos, chicken tenders and cake) and an energetic DJ, who played the best songs from a table adorned with a pair of giant aviator sunglasses, after the showdown of 90 minutes.
Attendees cheered Biden and booed former President Donald Trump during the final minutes of the showdown, then gleefully joined first lady Jill Biden in calling the Republican a liar.
“What did Trump do?” she asked as she stood on stage alongside the president at a planned post-debate appearance at a downtown Hyatt.
“You lied!” the crowd shouted.
The 81-year-old president took the microphone and said he was going to quote a movie, then suggested Trump was a “lying, dog-faced soldier.”
President Joe Biden (left) and first lady Jill Biden (right) addressed a cheering crowd after the first presidential debate Thursday in Atlanta.
Democrats attending a raucous debate viewing party in Atlanta raved about President Joe Biden’s performance even though it angered other party members.
First lady Jill Biden led the crowd in a standing ovation calling former President Donald Trump a liar
“What’s going to happen in the next few days is that they’ll be out there verifying everything he said.”
“I can’t think of anything he said that was true,” the president added to cheers.
Biden supporters agreed with the president’s stance.
“I think he talked a lot of nonsense and didn’t really focus on the issue,” Emory employee Alexandra Young, 28, said of Trump. “None of the questions were really answered.”
Young was the only Biden supporter interviewed by DailyMail.com who was concerned that his performance might have hampered his message.
“I’m worried that it didn’t make him look so good,” Young said. “When Trump talks, he doesn’t make any sense, but he says it with so much confidence and power, so people mistake it for truth and intelligence.”
He then pointed to Biden and explained that “when you have someone who knows what they’re talking about” but the delivery isn’t as good, “it gets lost in the shuffle.”
President Joe Biden’s supporters cheered as he arrived at the watch party site in Atlanta, while other members of his party collectively worried about his uneven debate performance.
President Joe Biden (left) put on a happy face while surprising customers with Dr. Jill Biden (right) at an Atlanta Waffle House. “I think we did well,” he told reporters.
President Joe Biden pats down a Waffle House customer as he makes a surprise stop after Thursday’s debate at the favorite Southern breakfast chain
President Joe Biden can be seen talking to customers at a Waffle House in Atlanta
Maya Eatmon, a 46-year-old woman from Atlanta, also said she thought Biden did “very well.”
“I think he kept his composure and I think he really got President Trump when he called him a criminal,” the health care technician observed.
Eatmon ignored Biden’s coughing and shaky manner, which has sent other Democrats into a panic.
“I think it was probably due to the weather in Georgia,” he said. “I think it was nothing more than the weather.”
“It depends on when you travel a lot and encounter different weather. I think it was just the weather. I needed some water,” he added.
The president continued to put on a happy face as he and Dr. Biden made a surprise stop at an Atlanta Waffle House after the party to watch the debate.
“I think we did well,” he told reporters.
Biden ignored emerging calls for him to drop out of the race.
“No. It’s hard to debate a liar,” the president said. “The New York Times pointed out that he lied 26 times.”
They also asked him if he was sick.
“My throat hurts,” Biden said.