Joe Biden's North Carolina Rally Performance Raises Questions After Debate

President Joe Biden's North Carolina rally performance on Friday was thought of as energetic and coherent, raising questions on social media about what changed after Biden's dismal debate performance last night.

When Biden took the CNN presidential debate stage against former President Donald Trump on Thursday evening, he rambled through the accomplishments and goals of his administration. Democrats were reportedly in a panic after Biden's lackluster performance, some calling to replace him as the Democratic National Committee's pick. A Biden aide, meanwhile, told Newsweek late Thursday night that the president was battling a cold during the debate.

Not even 24 hours after the debate, Biden took the stage at a campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina. With the audience cheering him on, he exclaimed, "Thank you North Carolina!" He then excused himself for having to face away from his supporters sitting behind him and joked, "It's good knowing you have my back."

People on X, formerly Twitter, were shocked by the stark contrast in his performance today versus last night.

"Biden speaking at a rally in NC right now. He's animated, coherent, furious. Where was this guy last night?" Catherine Rampell, op-ed columnist at the Washington Post, wrote.

Sharing a clip and a photo from Biden's rally, investigative journalist Lisa Guerrero, wrote: "What the heck? ARE YOU WATCHING THIS? Biden is a completely different man at his rally in Raleigh, North Carolina! Maybe he WAS really sick yesterday?"

"Biden giving a strong rally performance directly addressing his debate fail. Everything he wasn't last night. Sharp, passionate, clear on the threat from Trump. Is it enough to quell the fears of his party?" wrote Susan Glasser, a writer for the New Yorker.

Selina Wang, senior White House correspondent for ABC News, posted: "More energy from Biden already in NC compared to last night's debate. A lot different when there's a crowd of cheering supporters. He's cracking jokes and the crowd is responding. Very different than debate format. Can also have teleprompter at rally."

There was no live audience at the debate and pre-written notes were prohibited. Biden was also only on stage at the rally for 20 minutes, as opposed to the 90 minutes he was on the debate stage.

Ana Navarro-Cárdenas, a political commentator who has appeared on CNN and The View, posted: "This is downright inexplicable. Debate Biden was a disaster. NC rally Biden -just 18 hours later- is on fire. Dear @JoeBiden please get rid of everyone who prepared you for that debate. DO IT NOW."

Rolling Stone politics reporter Nikki McCann Ramírez posted a clip of Biden's rally speech and wrote: "One can't help but wonder where this guy was last night."

Newsweek reached out to Biden's campaign via email for comment.

Biden addressed the debate during his campaign speech, telling the crowd: "I don't know what you did last night, but I spent 90 minutes on a stage debating a guy who has the morals of an alley cat. Did you see Trump last night? My guess, he's set, I mean this sincerely, a new record for the most lies in a single debate."

While there were misleading statements from both sides, Trump did so far more than Biden. CNN counted over 30 false statements made by the former president, while the network said Biden made at least nine false or misleading statements during the debate.