Biden Campaign: Hour After Debate Set Fundraising Record

President Biden worked to raise money and reassure donors on Saturday at a pair of big-money events in the Hamptons. The appearances follow a successful period of fundraising Thursday and Friday, CNBC reports, built around his debate against Donald Trump—a halting performance that has Democrats worried. The developments:

• A record: The Biden campaign reported Saturday that it raised $27 million on Thursday and Friday. The hour after the debate ended was its best grassroots fundraising hour since Biden kicked off his reelection campaign, per the Hill. Trump's campaign reported collecting $8 million on the day of the debate.

• The fundraisers: Biden and his wife, Jill, went to two events in East Hampton, New York, per the AP. The first, at the home of Avram Glazer, who owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was closed to the media. The second was at the home of investor Barry Rosenstein and his wife, Lizanne. She praised the president as "a role model for what it is to get knocked down over and over and over again and get up."
• Biden's assessment: The president told the gathering at the Rosensteins that, "I didn't have a great night, but neither did Trump," saying "The big takeaway was his lies." Biden said he's seen polling since the debate that shows Democrats adding support.

• DNC call: Members of the Democratic National Committee held a phone meeting Saturday that one participant said did not dwell on Biden's debate performance, per CNN. RL Miller described the session on X as "a pretty standard hype call, I mean 'DNC is investing lots in battleground states so keep doing the work' call." Miller added, "That's probably as much as we're ever going to get."
• Editorial call: The New York Times editorial board has called on Biden to drop out of the race, saying the debate showed a "stronger candidate" is needed to defeat Trump. The editorial praised Biden's accomplishments, per Politico. Now, "the greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election," it said.

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