5 Stunning Details from the Washington Post’s Deep Dive Into Biden Campaign’s Bungled Debate Cleanup

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

An explosive new report from the Washington Post details a series of stunning missteps by President Joe Biden and his team in the wake of the June 27 debate. The piece spells out how Biden and his team have managed to alienate some of their closest allies at a time when they need them the most.

Here’s a look at 5 most shocking revelations:

1. Biden Flummoxed Donors With Brief, Quiet Speeches at Post-Debate Fundraisers

At at a pair of fundraisers in New York and New Jersey following the debate, donors were left completely perplexed — as the president delivered brief, quiet remarks.

“Donors were stunned he spoke so briefly — about six minutes — and left without taking questions,” the Post’s Michael Scherer, Tyler Pager and Josh Dawsey wrote about the Long Island fundraiser. They added, “in New Jersey, at the governor’s private villa overlooking the Navesink River, he spoke so softly that a crowd of 50 craned their heads to hear him speak from a teleprompter. Over dinner that night, participants reported a detailed discussion of policy, though Biden was hard to hear and sometimes struggled to complete his thoughts.”

2. Biden’s Team Did Not Grasp the Scope of Debate Debacle Until Days Later

Scherer, Pager and Dawsey wrote that it “took days for the [Biden] team to realize how bad the damage was inside the party.”

The outreach effort to anxious Democratic leaders did not begin until Tuesday afternoon — nearly six full days after the debate.

“Monday is the day this turned — this has turned,” an unnamed Democratic member of Congress told the Post. “Everyone lost confidence by Monday. I started hearing from donors, members, everyone on Monday. It was only getting worse.”

3. Surrogates Complained About Talking Points that “Totally Suck”

When the Biden team finally did respond to a growing outcry, they did so with Pollyanna talking points.

“The only outreach some rank-and-file members received was a Wednesday polling update from Hillary Beard, the Biden campaign’s House members director,” Scherer, Pager and Dawsey wrote. “She wrote that any drop in the polls was ‘a moment in time, not a reshaping of the race.'”

An unnamed House member told the Post that the talking points from the Biden campaign “totally suck.” The House member added, “They did a terrible job after the debate. Terrible.”

4. Multiple People Publicly Backing Biden Have Been Privately Telling Him There’s “No Path”

President Biden, in recent days, has made it a point to amplify those allies — such as the Democratic governors — who are standing behind his candidacy. But the Post reports that Biden’s campaign and the White House have been urging those supporters to go public — and that they are not as committed to Biden’s reelection candidacy behind closed doors.

“Multiple people publicly vouching for Biden, at the behest of the White House and campaign, privately say there’s no path,” Scherer, Pager and Dawsey wrote.

5. Biden Donor Exodus is Worse Than Has Been Reported

Much has been made over some big name donors abandoning the Biden campaign. But an unnamed Biden donor advisor was blunt in their assessment of how bad the exodus has been.

“I’d estimate that for every 10 people who think he should exit, one thinks he should stay,” the donor told the Post.

Those are just a few of the devastating details in the Post’s report — which can be read in full here.