Axios national political correspondent Alex Thompson joins Asking For A Trend to give insight into Biden's debate performance and Dr. Jill Biden's influence on the president.

Thompson points to Jill Biden's active presence in the campaign: "I don't think it's a surprise that at the rally after the debate last night, Jill Biden went on stage and praised him and sort of did this... rally of Trump lies. And then she also introduced him in a North Carolina rally and was just a sort of rousing as him despite the fact that in her past ... she was uncomfortable being a political spouse. But in this version of Jill Biden, she's more like 1990s Hillary Clinton than 1990s Jill Biden."

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Video Transcript

The Biden campaign trying to do damage control after the president's disastrous performance on that debate stage last night.

But today President Biden defied calls to leave the race at a rally in North Carolina.

I know I'm not a young man at the A well, I know I don't walk as easy as I used to.

I don't speak as smoothly as I used to.

I don't deba debate as well as I used to.

But I know what I do know, I know how to tell the truth.

I know how to do this job, you know how to get things done.

I know like millions of Americans know when you get knocked down, you get back up.

I give you my words of Biden.

I would not be running again if I didn't believe with all my heart and soul, I can do this job.

Alex Thompson Axios national political Correspondent joins us now, Alex, it is good to see you.

So the headline of your report, uh Alex was this Biden's debate is a def con one moment for Democrats.

You, you spoke uh with insiders in the Democratic party.

Alex say, what, what are they telling you.

So there's a few things and apologies for my casual appearance.

I literally just walked into the Atlanta plane.

Um But, but, but anyways, so there are a few things going on.

One is there's already some internal finger pointing over what just happened about and some of it's directed towards Biden, but all so some of his directed toward the debate prep team, um and feeling that they probably over prepared him sort of like stuffed his head with a bunch of stats and minutia.

And what would have been better if he had just sort of rested now, that's some of the internal politicking.

But the thing is this is a huge potential crisis for the Biden campaign because going into this debate, the Biden campaign was already behind Trump.

If the election had been held before the uh before the debate, almost certainly Trump would have won or it was certainly favored to win.

And so this debate was sort of seen as a way of reminding voters, Donald Trump could be president again, but instead of it actually rebounding to the Biden team's benefit.

Uh It actually backfired on them, given that he meandered, was speaking in a, in a hoarse voice was really just having a hard time even connecting sentences in that debate.

But as you saw in that rally, they, you know, despite some Democrats always anonymously, which is important because if there's, if the, if Democrats want to put their name on something that could maybe change something.

But the fact that Democrats are griping anonymously, the Biden campaign doesn't, doesn't care and they are making clear that they are, they're in it.

You also saw Barack Obama post on social media today.

His support for, for Biden, which was a huge sign to the rest of the Democratic establishment.

So, uh there's a lot of nervous Democrats, you know, I'd say Biden is on sort of probation.

Um But uh you know, you're, you're seeing Biden try to, you know, really reconstruct um and, and recover from that bad debate performance, you know, al you noted in your piece, how there was, is really the feeling was there's just one person who could end Biden's campaign and that is Biden himself.

I wonder though Alex, what do you make of sort of um Joe Biden's role here, you know, and her possible impact and influence because she is very active, Alex and of course, very involved.

You see here there, how are you thinking about that relation and, and her possible impact on whether it continues the campaign continues.

You're seeing her role become more and more prominent.

I mean, Joe Biden wouldn't have run in 2020 without Joe Biden's support.

He wouldn't have run this time without Jill Biden being very enthusiastic about it.

And I don't think it's a surprise that at the rally after the debate last night, Jill Biden went on stage and raised him and sort of did this, you know, little bit rally of, you know, Trump lies.

And then she also introduced him at a North Carolina rally and, you know, it was just as sort of rousing as him.

You can see, you know, despite the fact that in her past, she's been a little bit more, you know, she's always been in her past, she was uncomfortable being a political spouse, but in this version of Jill Biden, she is, she's, she's more, I guess, like, uh, you know, 19 nineties, Hillary Clinton than 19 nineties, Joe Biden.

I mean, she's very, very involved and, uh, as long as she still wants to run, I, I imagine Joe Biden wants to run too.

Alex.

Let's push it forward here.

You know, we're waiting to hear whether, you know, big donors, the big names who write the big checks, do they publicly voice their concerns?

Do congressional democrats, you know, make their worries public.

What do you expect?

It's gonna be really fascinating this weekend because Joe Biden does have a few fundraisers, including in the Hamptons tomorrow night.

And, you know, just within sort of like donor cliche world, the Hamptons are sort of notoriously known as being difficult donors quote unquote and that they, they ask very hard questions.

They're usually very, very skeptical and they all watch that debate.

I guarantee you.

And I'm really curious to see, you know, if, if they feel they see him tomorrow night and aren't impressed.

Uh, that's the sort of crowd that will talk and they'll talk to reporters and then if they talk to reporters, you could see, you know, rush out.

But at the moment it's basically just, we're not sure we don't feel very comfortable, but we're, we're, we're just sort of waiting and seeing for now.

All right, Alex, th those folks talk to you, let us know.

We'll have to have you right back on the show.

Thanks for joining us, Alex.

Appreciate it.

Thanks.