Former Biden Spokesperson Andrew Bates on 2024 Re-election and Debate Performance

Decision to Seek Re-election

• 💡 Andrew Bates stated there were no conversations about President Biden being a one-term president during the 2020 cycle or immediately after the election.
• 📌 He did not interpret Biden's "bridge president" statement as a sign he wouldn't seek a second term.
• 🗓️ Bates first understood Biden would likely seek re-election in late 2022 or Q1 2023.

Concerns and Fitness for Office

• ✅ Bates believed President Biden was fit to serve four additional years and could win re-election.
• ⚠️ The biggest political vulnerability identified was inflation, exacerbated by the pandemic's disruption of the global economy.
• 🧠 There were no known discussions or considerations within the White House regarding President Biden being physically or mentally incapable of serving a second term.

Debate Preparation and Performance

• ❌ Bates had no role in President Biden's debate preparation for the June 2024 debate against President Trump.
• 🗣️ He confirmed inquiries about debate prep were answered regarding who was involved, not how it was progressing.
• 📉 Bates agreed that President Biden had a lackluster performance in the debate, acknowledging it was a bad night.
• ✈️ He suggested potential reasons for the poor performance included extensive travel prior to the debate and stress from Hunter Biden's legal situation.

Post-Debate Reactions and Hunter Biden

• 💬 Bates recalled other White House staff also felt the debate had not gone well and were surprised by the outcome.
• 💬 He noted that while he initially thought Biden was not doing well in real-time, he also felt criticism was over-torqued, similar to past debates.
• 💊 Bates had no knowledge of President Biden being prescribed or taking Ambien before the debate, nor did he witness him being administered any medications.
• 💼 He mentioned speaking with Hunter Biden about corrupt business activities of the President and his family, but not about the President's health.

Congressional Investigations and Communication

• 🤝 Bates worked with Ian Sams on communicating talking points regarding congressional investigations of Hunter Biden.
• 📚 His contribution involved leveraging his knowledge of Hunter Biden's background from previous story work.
• 🚫 He did not speak with Hunter Biden's legal team regarding investigations by the House of Representatives or the Department of Justice.

Debate Night Observations

• 📍 Bates watched the debate from a hotel room in Baltimore with his wife.
• 🏥 He recalled President Biden's comment about "We finally beat Medicare" as a likely switch-up from his usual phrase about beating Big Pharma.
• 🎤 Bates agreed with Ron Clay that the June 24, 2024 debate was a uniquely bad night for President Biden, stating he had not seen a similar struggle in previous performances.
• 🤔 He believed some criticisms of President Biden's performance were overblown.