Trump gloats and mocks Biden in first post-debate rally

CHESAPEAKE, Va. - Former President Donald Trump reveled Friday in his debate success against current President Joe Biden, saying their primetime showdown watched by nearly 50 million Americans demonstrated that the Democratic incumbent is simply not up to the job.

“Man, that was a big one,” Trump told thousands of supporters who trekked to a farm in southeastern Virginia, a state Trump hopes to take from Biden in November.

Trump constantly mocked Biden shortly after his Democratic rival, during a North Carolina rally, said that voters will ultimately hold the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee accountable for his many lies about the country.

In his Virginia speech, Trump made fun of Biden over his intelligence, honesty, and economic policies; at one point, Trump joked that age was not Biden’s problem.

“It’s his competence,” Trump said.

Trump also praised the Supreme Court ruling that requires a lower court review into how the Justice Department applied the law to bring obstruction charges against hundreds of the Jan. 6 rioters. He called for release of defendants affected by the ruling. “Free the J6 hostages now,” said the former president, who is also facing four federal criminal counts tied to his efforts to try and overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Biden.

A busy July ahead: Sentencing, VP, and RNC

Trump's Virginia rally also came before a series of pivotal events for the former president. He's scheduled on July 11 to be sentenced for his conviction in the New York hush money trial. In the weeks ahead, Trump plans to pick a running mate and headline the Republican nominating convention, to be held July 15-18 in Milwaukee.

The Biden campaign, under criticism from fellow Democrats over Thursday night's debate performance, sought to change the narrative by focusing on Trump's repeated lies on issues ranging from border security to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

In a memo to the media, the Biden team said independent voters were turned off by Trump's attacks on the president. "The more voters heard from Donald Trump, the more they remembered why they dislike him," the memo said.

During his speech in Raleigh, N.C., Biden rejected calls that he step aside. His remarks focusied on Trump's lies during the debate, on everything from the circumstances of the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, to his culpability in the four sets of indictments against him.

"I don't know what you did last night, but I spent 90 minutes on the stage debating a guy who has the morals of an alley cat," the president said.

Is Virginia in play in November?

Trump and his allies say they believe they can flip a few Biden states, though their list includes long-time Democratic bastions like New York and New Jersey.

Virginia (and Minnesota) seem more realistic given large pockets of Republican voters. Virginia also elected a Republican governor in 2021, Glenn Youngkin.

Trump and his aides are even more confident about Virginia - and other states - in light of Biden’s struggles during the debate. “The (Virginia) race is now tied,” said senior campaign adviser Chris LaCivita.

Right after the debate, LaCivita said Biden's struggles in the debate will be part of future ads: "I discuss ad strategy but ... duh." He added: "Clearly there's a lot of material that the debate produced, and we'll obviously utilize a lot of that material."

Democrats are seeking to counter Trump's efforts in Virginia, including an appearance in the state just before the debate on Thursday by First Lady Jill Biden.

Barbara Nesbitt, a member of the Virginia Democratic Party, agreed that Virginia is a "purple state" that could be won by either party. She also questioned whether Trump could get the job done.

“He’s a felon, why is he even allowed to run?" she said. "I don’t get it. Republicans have a long way to go, if that’s their choice, it does not say a lot for them.”

Charles “Charlie” Stanton, 69, chair of the Norfolk City Democratic Party, called Youngkin's narrow victory a "lightning strike" that Trump will not able to repeat.

“Trump and his folks are going to try to make it so, but it’s not going to happen." he said, adding that most Virginia voters have "buyer's remorse" about Youngkin.

In an earlier interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said he still believes Biden "will be the nominee," despite Democratic suggestions that the president give up the race.

As for Thursday's debate against Biden, Trump said: "No one else would have been better."

'Taking advantage of this old guy'

Trump backers who braved a hot afternoon to see Trump speak at the local farm told USA TODAY they thought the Republican won the debate, especially given Biden's troubles.

“There were times when he did not seem like he was fully present and that he was really struggling," said Elizabeth Skertic, 37, a Virginia voter who attended Trump’s rally on Friday.

“If they keep with Biden, I think it’s going to be a pretty easy win [for Republicans] for most of Virginia,” she said.

Rhonda Kundrat, 51, a resident of Chesapeake, said she was thrilled by Trump’s performance during Thursday’s debate.

“It was also said, because – I’m definitely not a Joe Biden fan but he’s the same age as my dad and the fact that they’re [the Democratic Party] taking advantage of this old guy who clearly has all kinds of problems for their political gain is extremely sad,” she said.

Emmanuel Martinez, 26, from Richmond City, said he considers himself to be more of a center-right Republican. He described Thursday’s debate as brutal.

“I always considered Joe to be a good guy,” he said. “Just as an American, not as a Republican or Democrat it was hard to watch, and it was hard to not make Trump look good.”

Ed Hendrickson, a military veteran and Virginia resident said he watched part of the debate. He wished Trump had answered more of the questions posed to him by the moderators.

“I don’t think either one of them hit the mark,” he said. “Too much catty-ness, going back and forth.”

Contributing: Zac Anderson from Atlanta.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump assails Biden's 'competence' at first post-debate rally