Biden addresses NYC’s LGBTQ community hours after poor debate performance

Under the dark cloud of a lackluster debate performance and panic among some Democrats, President Joe Biden spoke Friday at the opening of a visitor center for LGBTQ history in New York City.

Biden addressed several hundred LGBTQ attendees and allies, including singer Elton John, actor Neil Patrick Harris, fashion designer Michael Kors and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Courtney Act, at the opening of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center to commemorate Pride Month.

“Today, I’m proud to unveil a new visitor center for Stonewall National Monument, the first ever LGBTQ+ visitor center in the national parks of America,” Biden said. “It matters. We remain in a battle for the soul of America. But I look around at the pride, hope and light that all of you bring, and I know it’s a battle we are going to win and continue to make progress.”

The new center is dedicated to honoring the history of the June 1969 Stonewall riots and is at the site of the uprising in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. The dayslong protest erupted after a police raid on a gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, and is widely considered a turning point in the modern gay and lesbian rights movement. Friday’s ceremony took place on the 55th anniversary of the uprising.

What was supposed to be a day dedicated to the nation’s past, according to some LGBTQ attendees, was clouded by Biden’s poor debate performance Thursday night and fears for the country’s future.

“It would be great if the focus of this would be what happened here, its history and its importance for our ongoing struggle for equal rights,” Robert Denning, a gay philanthropist, said. “But it will likely be overshadowed by that.”

Scott Dewey, an account executive at software company SAP, one of the new visitor center’s sponsors, called the 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, said, referring to Thursday’s debate taking place months earlier than any first presidential debate in history.

“It was a disgrace,” Dewey added, “He’s too old, and he absolutely confirmed that last night.”

Biden attempted to assuage concerns about his debate performance and energize voters Friday at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, just hours before his appearance in New York.

“I know I’m not a young man. I don’t walk as easy as I used to. 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!” Biden said, referring to the criticism he received after the debate and to the inaccuracy of some of former President Donald Trump’s responses.

Adrian Elim, 34, a freelance videographer for the visitor center, called the debate “a mess.” But Elim, who is nonbinary and uses they/she pronouns, said that center will be here regardless of who is president.

“If you want to center on this wild-ass debate yesterday, OK, but also, like what’s more important? And what is most important here is honoring the legacy of the Stonewall rebellion and honoring the legacy of the LGBTQ community,” Elim said.

Prior to the debate, about 4 in 10 LGBTQ Americans — who vote overwhelmingly for Democrats — approved of how the president is running the country, according to a Gallup poll. Biden’s approval rating is similar among all voters, at 42%, according to an NBC News poll.

NBC News reported early this month that the Biden campaign planned to have a presence this month at more than 200 Pride events in 23 states, including all of the battleground states, to mobilize queer voters. The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, also committed to spending $15 million in six battleground states to help the Biden campaign, citing concerns about declining support among LGBTQ voters.

Although some LGBTQ voters said they were unsure of the president’s fitness for office, the hundreds of attendees at Friday’s event gave him a standing ovation upon his arrival and thunderous applause after he told a story about an interaction he had with his father as a teenager.

“I remember my dad was dropping me off to get a license to be a lifeguard in Wilmington, Delaware, at the swimming pools,” Biden said. “And I got out of the car… and two well-dressed men were kissing each other. I hadn’t seen that before. I looked at my dad. I was 16 years old. I looked at my dad, and he said, ‘It’s simple, Joey, they love each other. It’s simple.’”

Elton John at the opening ceremony for the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center in New York on Friday.Evan Vucci / AP

The president’s appearance at the center comes at a precarious time for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in the U.S., and that was acknowledged by the legendary singer Elton John, who was introduced by Biden. John, who is openly gay, told the crowd that more than 500 bills targeting the LGBTQ community have been introduced in state legislatures across the country this year.

“As President Biden has reminded us today too, we face one of those seminal moments,” John said. “Do we stand up for our vision and our values or let misinformation and senseless scapegoating turn back the clock? No f------ way,” he said, as the president made the sign of the cross behind him and the crowd laughed.

Google, Amazon, AARP, JPMorgan Chase and Comcast NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News, are among the center’s founding partners.

Biden’s appearance at the visitor center follows Vice President Kamala Harris’ historic visit to the Stonewall Inn last year, the first by a sitting vice president. Biden visited the bar in 2019 as a former vice president and then-presidential candidate.

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Reporter, NBC OUT

Jo Yurcaba is a reporter for NBC Out.