Thursday’s presidential debate was headline-making in multiple-ways. Despite former President Donald Trump telling dozens of lies and misleading statements, most focus has been on President Joe Biden’s poor performance. With pundits and even politicians within the Democratic Party panicking after the debate, several other officials and prominent figures have come to the president’s defense, with Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) coming out strong for Biden.

'It’s almost like we're scared of our shadow sometimes.'

“It is so wild to me, and it’s been quite annoying if I’m going to be perfectly honest, that Democrats get into a frenzy,” Crockett told MSNBC host Ali Velshi as they talked about Biden’s debate performance on Velshi’s show Saturday. “I mean, it’s almost like we’re scared of our shadow sometimes.”

Crockett pointed out that Biden has never been known for his strong oratory skills, contrasting Biden with the previous two presidents.

“I think that Obama kinda maybe hurt us a little bit” with his rhetorical skills, as “we got used to this amazing orator.”

Crockett criticized Trump, who “knows how to just keep talking, and he’ll say anything.”

She also pointed out that Trump repeatedly lied during the debate.

“This fool tried to take credit for insulin prices,” Crockett said, pointing out how Trump falsely claimed credit for a policy that Biden’s administration accomplished.

Crockett summarized her support for Biden by declaring, “I don’t really care that he was off for 90 minutes,” and “the reality is that he is 50,000 times better than Trump,” who Republicans still support despite his numerous felony convictions.

Black political leaders show support for Biden.

Crockett’s defense of the president comes amid various pundits and politicians discussing whether Biden should be removed or asked to step aside from the presidential race after his poor performance. Meanwhile, several Black politicians have come to Biden’s defense. Vice President Kamala Harris quickly defended Biden and his record after the debate, contrasting his record to Trump’s on issues such as abortion.

Former President Obama tweeted, “Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know,” referring to his poor 2012 debate performance against Mitt Romney, before issuing a reminder that “this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries acknowledged on MSNBC that Biden’s debate was “an underwhelming performance” and “a setback.” Still, he mentioned, “A setback is nothing more than a setup for a comeback.”

South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, a longtime Biden supporter, expressed confidence that Biden would do well in a second debate and criticized the CNN moderators for not fact-checking Trump’s lies during the first one.

Tech entrepreneur Christopher Bouzy, summing up the disparity in Democratic reaction to the debate, tweeted, “After one debate, white voters want to dump Biden while Black voters remain steadfast,” noting that Black people are accustomed to handling adversity.

It will likely take weeks to understand how poll numbers, donor contributions and widespread reactions were impacted by Thursday’s debate. However, while Biden endures criticism for his performance and challenges to his campaign, supporters like Crockett and others signal they still support him and his campaign to defeat Trump in November.

Jasmine CrockettJoe Bidenpresidential debate