Biden’s Reputation after Lackluster Debate Differs from Reports on the Ground

At the end of June, while reporting on the lead-up to the November presidential election, I visited Wisconsin, a battleground state for Democrats and Republicans in the Midwest. This visit came right after the influential New York Times urged President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race following his lackluster debate performance against Republican candidate and former president, Donald Trump.

While speaking to participants at a rally led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has been affiliated with the Democratic Party, almost everyone I spoke with were strong supporters of Biden, and the feeling that I got from them differed from that of the American press, which have reported on internal party call for Biden to withdraw.

A woman in her 60s said that even though Biden’s performance in the debate did not meet her expectations, she still trusted him, and she strongly indicated that she will be voting for him. It was difficult for the participants to feel the sense of pressure for Biden to withdraw or to feel how unpopular he is in public opinion polls taken in a political town such as Washington, D.C.

I spoke with parents who were reading or playing with children in the park on their days off, and many said they did not even watch the debate in the first place. An undecided swing voter in his 30s who leaned more toward the Democrats remarked with a wry smile that he thought he would probably vote for Biden.

Even in Tokyo, where there is excessive interest in discussion of Nagatcho (Japan’s political center) and Kasumigaseki (the location of Japan’s ministry and government agencies), the voices of local eligible voters are misconstrued. Once again, I keenly felt how important it is to walk around and listen to the frank opinions of people on the ground.