President Joe Biden holds post-debate rally in Raleigh

On June 28, less than 24 hours after the first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle, President Joe Biden held a Biden-Harris campaign rally in Raleigh. 

The rally was held at the N.C. State Fairgrounds. Prior to Biden’s speech, there were musical performances by hip hop artists Fat Joe and E-40, as well as The Deep River Singers, a choral group from North Carolina.

Speeches were delivered by Harry Davis, the regional organizing director of the N.C. Democratic Party; Josh Stein, the current state attorney general and Democratic candidate for the N.C. gubernatorial race; N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper; first lady Jill Biden;  Wake County Public Schools administrator, Eric Fitts; and Biden himself.

“Joe is fighting for the families here in North Carolina and across America, who are working hard to find a secure place in the middle class, the moms who worry that their daughters will grow up in a country with fewer rights than we have,” Jill Biden said. 

The rally came in the wake of concerns about the president’s performance at the June 27 debate against Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump, with The New York Times Editorial Board and other  publications calling for Biden to leave the 2024 presidential race.

“I think there was a little stumble, but you cannot judge a man’s worth based upon one night,” Elvin Sadler, the general secretary for the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Charlotte, said. “You have to look at his body of work.” 

Prior to the rally, community member Tayah Butler said she was hoping to get reinvigorated again.

“I did watch [the debate]. Maybe not our best moments, but I’m ready to move on and keep working,” she said. 

Madeline DiDonato, a special educator from Holly Springs, said that she was attending the rally to support Biden and hear what he had to say for herself, and not just through television. She said that she watched the debate with the perspective that democracy and decency were on the ballot.

"Biden — you know, as much as he wasn't as strong as he could've been — I believe that he's got our best interests in mind," DiDonato said. 

President Biden acknowledged the conversation surrounding his debate performance, reassuring audience members that, despite his age, he is still in adequate shape.

“I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” Biden said. “I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know — I know how to tell the truth.” 

Around 2,000 people attended the rally, and Biden’s speech lasted about 20 minutes. As the rally drew to a close, Biden said that he has never been more optimistic about the future of the United States.

“We just have to remember who we are,” he said. “We are the United States of America, and there is nothing, nothing beyond our capacity — nothing, when we act together.” 

Throughout Biden’s address, there were outbursts from pro-Palestine attendees surrounding the president's actions in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, with one protester saying that the president was funding genocide. Police escorted demonstrators out of the event, some of whom continued chanting as they were led out.

"Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel's crimes," one protester said as they were removed by police.

When demonstrators spoke up during Biden's speech, they were quickly overpowered by chants of, "four more years," by the president's supporters in the crowd.

Biden did not engage with the protesters and did not mention the war during his speech. 

After the rally, as attendees were waiting to exit the fairgrounds, around 25 protesters chanted while waving Palestinian flags and holding signs, with some reading, "STOP ARMING ISRAEL" and "END ALL U.S. AID TO ISRAEL." Around 10 police officers were seen standing on either side of the group of protesters.

"Palestine deserves to live, and Palestine's children mean so much more than a political rally inside an auditorium," one speaker said. 

The next presidential debate will take place on Sept. 10 at 9 p.m.

@lolaoliverio | @a_nanyabusiness

@dthcitystate | city@dailytarheel.com

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