Joe Biden Frustrates Supporters With Debate Comment Writing Off New Hampshire

MANCHESTER, N.H. Former Vice President Joe Biden took the stage at the presidential debate here Friday night, and the very first question he received was about his poor performance in the Iowa caucuses.

Instead of reassuring his supporters that the situation would get better, Biden told them to expect it to continue to look bad for a bit longer.

Its a long race, he said. I took a hit in Iowa and Ill probably take a hit here. Traditionally, Bernie won by 20 points last time. And usually its the neighboring senators that do well.

In other words, in the first line of the debate, he seemed to essentially write off the state of New Hampshire. And to voters here, it was confusing and discouraging.

Why would he say that? said Lew Feldstein, a former president of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation who came to hear Biden speak in Manchester Saturday morning.

I was kind of discouraged when I saw him writing off New Hampshire, said Alexandra Argasinsky, a Windham resident leaning toward Biden. He needs to keep campaigning, keep meeting voters and keep trying to get his message out. So I would encourage him not to give up on New Hampshire yet.

Barry Nestor, a Milford resident who is backing Biden, said he wished he hadnt made that remark, but it wasnt going to change his mind.

This is a race. You want to be upbeat, he said. You dont want to be hes the leader. Hes the one. He needs to put on a brave face for all of us.

Biden spokeswoman Symone Sanders insisted that Biden planned to compete in the state and was absolutely not writing it off.

We know its going to be a fight, we know it might be an uphill battle, but the reality is we are still in this race, Sanders told reporters Friday night after the debate.

Biden came in fourth in the Iowa caucuses, far lower than predicted. His comment at the debate was an attempt to lower expectations, but it also could have the effect of dampening enthusiasm. He did not use that line in his two speeches Saturday in Manchester.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg came out tied for first, with Buttigieg in particular doing better than expected.

Biden has been far more aggressive against his opponents since his loss. On Wednesday, he took shots at both Sanders and Buttigieg, which he escalated at Fridays debate.

Biden took aim at Sanders policies on guns and Medicare for All, as well as his self-proclaimed democratic socialist label. With Buttigieg, Biden hit back at the 38-year-old mayors call to put aside the politics of the past, vociferously defending the work hes done over the years on legislation like the Violence Against Women Act and the Recovery Act.

And on Saturday, his campaign escalated those attacks. The Biden campaign put out an ad mocking the fact that Buttigiegs only experience in public office is as the mayor of a city with just over 100,000 residents.

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