Biden Aide Ian Sams Grilled on President's Debate Performance and Re-election Bid

Debate Performance and Personal Observations

• 💡 Ian Sams, a former Biden spokesperson, stated that he agreed the presidential debate was a bad debate.
• 🎯 He described President Biden's performance as very poor and unlike his personal interactions with the President.
• ⚠️ Sams found the performance aberrant and believed the President needed to demonstrate it was unusual.

Involvement in Re-election and Debate Preparation

• 🚫 Sams confirmed he was not involved in the President's decision to run for re-election in 2024.
• 🚫 He also stated he was not involved in preparing the President for the June 27th, 2024 debate or discussions about its early timing.
• 📍 Sams was not present at the debate site but did watch it.

Post-Debate Discussions and White House Sentiment

• 💬 While Sams doesn't recall specific conversations, he believes there was chatter about the poor performance within the White House.
• 🗣️ He stated that the general view was that it had been a very poor performance, but not that specific sentiments like a curse word were expressed to him.
• 🚫 Sams was not part of any discussions about dropping out of the race, either after the debate or at any other time.

Concerns and Future Fitness

• ❓ Sams could understand the strong reactions to the debate and did not believe they were overblown.
• 🚫 He does not recall concerns about the President's ability to be president being renewed within the White House Council's office due to the debate performance.
• ✅ Sitting here today, Sams has no reason to think President Biden couldn't still be president, though he hasn't engaged with him since leaving the White House.
• ❌ He did not have conversations with Vice President Harris regarding President Biden's fitness to be president or give her advice on responding to questions about his age or fitness.