Biden, Trump Raise Millions Post-Debate

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Facts

• The campaigns for Pres. Joe Biden and former Pres. Donald Trump said they raised millions following last Thursday's debate. Biden's campaign Sunday boasted of $33M in fundraising since the first in-person showdown of the two major candidates for this year's presidential election.¹
• Biden's campaign claimed it raised $27M in the first 24 hours after the debate, and by Sunday its fundraising haul included $26M from grassroots donations, despite several high-profile Democrats expressing concern over Biden's perceived lackluster performance.¹
• Meanwhile, the Trump campaign said that it raised $8M on Thursday, including a large chunk of that coming in during a 12-hour period. Previously, Trump set a new record by raising $141M in May.²
• Biden delivered his answers in a raspy voice and sometimes struggled to find the correct words during the debate. During a stop in North Carolina on Friday, he acknowledged his age and that he doesn't 'debate as well' as he used to but reaffirmed his confidence in defeating Trump.³
• This comes as the editorial board of The New York Times published a plea for Biden to drop out of the race.⁴

Sources: ¹The Hill, ²New York Post, ³FOX News and ⁴New York Times.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by Breitbart. Although the Biden campaign may claim it got a fundraising boost from the president's trainwreck of a debate performance, the Trump campaign has all the momentum. It's blown the Biden campaign out of the water in the fundraising department the past two months, and the polls are also in Trump's favor — including in reliably blue Nevada. Moving forward, Biden's debate disaster will surely slow his fundraising pace.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by Washington Post. One night will not define Biden's campaign, and his biggest donors — and even his grassroots supporters — know he still has what it takes to maintain the White House. Already, Biden has been out on the stump showing the type of energy he lacked during the debate, which some polling shows might not have been as bad as it's being made out to be in some circles. Biden's not done and his fundraising numbers show it.
• Cynical narrative, as provided by Pew Research Center. One thing many Republicans and Democrats can agree on is that there's too much money in politics. In fact, 72% of Americans polled say that there should be limits on how much individuals and organizations can give to political campaigns. And 85% of Americans polled say that the cost of political campaigns makes it hard for solid candidates to run for office. Biden and Trump must both realize that their windfalls are bad news to many of America's voters.

Predictions