Democrats running in competitive down-ballot races this year largely kept quiet or dodged questions today about the first presidential debate as the party grapples with the fallout from Biden’s shaky performance.

Several Senate Democratic candidates in key states took to social media not to comment on the debate, but to share footage from recent campaign events or highlight other policies. Staffers working with several of those campaigns did not return requests for comment on the debate. And a few candidates did not directly answer questions about whether Biden should continue as the party’s presidential nominee.

“I focus on my race. I’m not a pundit,” Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, told News5 Cleveland when asked if party leaders, including himself, should ask Biden to step aside. “I’ve never given my colleagues about what they should do with their free time and what they should do with other politicians.”

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Trump this afternoon praised the Supreme Court's ruling today in favor of Jan. 6 defendant seeking to toss out an obstruction charge for taking part in the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"The great Supreme Court ... they did the right thing," Trump said at a rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, referring to the court's 6-3 ruling in favor of Jan. 6 defendant Joseph Fischer.

Trump also said those involved in the riot were facing persecution because of his campaign for president, although many of their charges predated his presidential bid.

"All of their persecution is only happening, and all of it has happened to me, because I’m running for president," Trump said.

Former President Bill Clinton commented on Biden's debate performance today, pointing to his "solid leadership."

"Joe Biden has given us 3 years of solid leadership, steadying us after the pandemic, creating a record number of new jobs, making real progress solving the climate crisis, and launching a successful effort in reducing inflation, all while pulling us out of the quagmire Donald Trump left us in," Clinton said. "That’s what’s really at stake in November."

Clinton's tweet comes shortly after Obama also lent his support to Biden on X.

"Happy Pride!" Biden said at the start of his remarks in New York at a visitor center opening event commemorating the Stonewall Inn.

The Stonewall Inn was the site of a police raid in 1969 that helped propel the LGBTQ+ rights movement.

"LGBTQ+ people are some of the most inspiring people I know," Biden said in remarks with a level of energy similar to a North Carolina rally earlier today, a stark contrast from last night's debate performance.

He also recounted a childhood story about the first time he saw two men kiss. Biden said that his dad told him, "It's simple, Joey. They love each other."

At the end of his remarks, Biden introduced Elton John.

Biden is attending the opening ceremony for the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center in New York City, but several LGBTQ attendees suggested that last night's debate performance could overshadow the festivities.

Scott Dewey, an account executive at software company SAP — one of the center’s sponsors — called last night’s debate “humiliating.”

“I felt so bad for Biden, but then at the same time, I was thinking, ‘Are they doing this so early, are the Democrats trying to sabotage him?’” Dewey, a gay man, told NBC News.

“I mean, what the hell? It was a disgrace,” Dewey added. “He’s too old and he absolutely confirmed that last night."

The Biden campaign is putting out a paid digital campaign following last night's debate, that uses clips from Trump's debate remarks to paint the former president as a self-serving candidate.

The 29-second ad includes snippets of Trump's comments at the debate lectern last night while discussing topics like abortion, the job market and the Capitol riot, alongside short captions from the Biden campaign that describe the former president as a candidate who doesn’t care about veterans, democracy, Black families or reproductive rights.

“Donald Trump only cares about himself," the ad says. "And if he wins, he’ll only help himself. Because he doesn’t care about you."

Kicking off his first-post debate remarks at a rally in Virginia, Trump mocked Biden's performance and said the president "didn't know what the hell he was doing."

"As you saw on televison last night we had a big victory against a man who is trying to destroy our country," Trump said. "Despite the fact that crooked Joe Biden spent the entire week at Camp David resting, working, studying — he studied so hard he didn't know what the hell he was doing."

"It's not his age, it's his competence," the former president added. "He's not respected anywhere in the world."

Paula Billups, a registered Democrat from Marietta, said that while she is disappointed in Biden’s performance last night overall, she is “still very hopeful” that he can be re-elected this November. 

“He’s still on message,” Billups, 60, said of Biden, adding that she didn’t think the president “communicated the message as well as he could have last night.” 

As Democrats continue to voice concerns about Biden's performance following the Thursday night debate, Biden's energized speech on Friday provided a stark contrast for Dannie Montgomery, a Biden supporter who attended his North Carolina rally.

“I would have loved to have seen that person at a debate last night,” Montgomery said. "I would have liked to seen a little bit more fire last night."

Throughout the rally Biden made the case as to why he should remain in office and insisted that he could do the job while acknowledging his lackluster performance.

“I know I’m not a young man. I don’t walk as easy as I used to," Biden told the crowd. "I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to, but I know what I do know — I know how to tell the truth!"