President Biden brushed aside criticism of his debate performance Thursday evening and instead shifted the focus to what he claimed were a litany of falsehoods by former President Donald Trump.

“Look folks, what’s gonna happen over the next couple of days, they’re going to be out here fact-checking all of the things he said,” Mr. Biden said at a reception for supporters in Atlanta.

“I can’t think of one thing he said that was true,” Mr. Biden continued.

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The president then referred to his political opponent as a “lying, dog-faced pony solider,” a reference to an old John Wayne film that he has used before.

Mr. Biden told the crowd, “Look, we are going to beat this guy. We need to beat this guy.”

The crowd responded with chants of “We need you!”

Mr. Biden did not address concerns about his debate performance, which has touched off a widespread panic within the Democratic Party.

The president appeared listless at times, talking in a raspy, barely-audible voice, frequently lost focus during his remarks, and trailed off in mid-sentence several times.

Shortly after the campaign reception, Mr. Biden made an unscheduled stop at a Waffle House where he briefly answered a White House pool reporter’s question about whether he had any concerns about his debate performance. 

“I think we did well,” Mr. Biden said, adding that he has a sore throat. 

Asked about calls for him to drop out and if he had any concerns about his performance, the president responded: “No, it’s hard to debate a liar. The New York Times pointed out he lied 26 times.” 

• Lindsey McPherson contributed to this report