Good morning, readers.
In the wee hours of Friday morning, Air Force One took off from Atlanta carrying a post-debate Joe Biden. By the time the president landed in Raleigh, the political world had exploded in a blitz of headlines about his “nightmare” performance.
Luckily for Biden, his next scheduled event was a party on the RDU tarmac with Triangle politicians and organizers.
“We had an ice cream truck,” NC Democratic Chair Anderson Clayton told me on the phone on Friday. “I was so happy…everyone was just so happy. We were around a lot of people that cared about getting Democrats elected. There were at least 150 folks on the tarmac.”
Clayton acknowledged that Biden had a bruising night. But like nearly all Democratic officials, she maintained a robust defense of Biden’s accomplishments.
“Ninety minutes does not negate three years,” said Clayton. “Everyone’s allowed to have an off night. And this debate is not going to define the last three years of the work that this presidency has done and accomplished.”
On Friday afternoon, Biden enjoyed a friendly crowd of supporters at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh.
“I would not be running again if I didn’t believe, with all my heart and soul, I can do this job,” Biden said in an updated stump speech that was quickly featured in a new campaign ad on Monday.
“Yes you can!” the crowd shouted back at him.
Biden and other Democrats on the ballot are both hoping to bring out the young Triangle voters who tend to favor breweries over ballot boxes. By Sunday, the Biden campaign had posted a clip of Biden’s Raleigh speech on TikTok.
“Most of our generation did not sit at home [Thursday] night glued to their TVs,” Clayton, who is 26, said about the debate. “Most people aren’t watching this shit.”
And she’s not wrong. Axios reported that of the 51.3 million who tuned in on live TV, only 3.9 million were between the ages of 18 and 34.
Check out the full story on the Raleigh rally here.
And have a good Tuesday.
—Chase
Correction: The name of the mental health program, Mentes Fuertes, has been corrected.
Durham
Meet Tony Riggsbee, the voice of the Durham Bulls.
Durham city manager Wanda Page announced she will retire at the end of the year.
Wake
U.S. transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Gov. Cooper and other leaders in Raleigh for the groundbreaking of the Raleigh to Richmond high-speed rail line.
Orange
El Futuro, a nonprofit that provides mental health services to Latino residents in Orange County, received a half-million dollar grant for its Mentes Fuertes program.
North Carolina
Here’s what to see at Triangle galleries and museums this summer.
Gov. Roy Cooper and NC DHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley have a plan to wipe out medical debt for up to two million patients in the state.
Today’s weather
Sunny with a high of 87 degrees.
If you’d like to advertise your business to the Daily’s 30,000-plus subscribers, please contact [email protected]
Love the INDY? Support it by joining the INDY Press Club.
You must be logged in to post a comment.