Nope. jQuery 2 just removed code for IE 6/7/8. Nothing was added. Code sized reduced, but almost the same performance. My benchmark shows only 10-15% improvement. That's nothing compared to using the DOM API straight up.
Here is his benchmark: http://jsperf.com/backbone-patch-22be8f9/2
It only compares jQuery 1 and the DOM API, no jQuery 2.
TestBaseView: DOM API
TestPaulView: Reduced jQuery usage
TestView: jQueryAlso, this is just one test - wyuenho's claim was for jQ vs. the DOM in general, which is a much broader claim than an unknown subset of functionality.
I don't doubt that native DOM methods are faster than jQ, but I like claims to be backed up by evidence.
The onus is on the person making the claim, not the person trying to verify it.