Campaign

Biden to hold post-debate rally in North Carolina with Fat Joe, E-40

President Biden will hold a rally Friday in Raleigh, N.C., alongside celebrities Fat Joe and E-40 for his first campaign stop after the presidential debate.

The president left the CNN debate in Atlanta to head to North Carolina and a campaign official described the rally as Biden “riding the momentum of [his] decisive win against Donald Trump in the first presidential debate.”

He will hold his campaign rally alongside artist Fat Joe and musician E-40, who will each perform for the crowd. He will also be joined by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) and Attorney General Josh Stein (D).

The president has visited North Carolina, which former President Trump won in 2020, three times already this cycle. The Biden campaign is eying the state as a flip from red to blue this cycle.

Also on Friday, Vice President Harris will campaign in Las Vegas.

Nevada, which Biden won in 2020, is a critical swing state for him to win again this cycle. Biden and Harris are focusing on essential voting blocs, Black voters and Latino voters, with their Friday campaign stops.

The debate Thursday night left some Biden allies describing it as a “nightmare” for Democrats and Biden’s performance as “political suicide.” Some Democratic operatives and political pundits also suggested there are conversations happening about Biden stepping aside before November’s election.

The president’s voice sounded hoarse, and got off to a slow start, which included moments of tripping up his sentences and garbling answers. The White House attributed the performance to a cold.