President Joe Biden’s performance in Thursday night’s presidential debate has sent shockwaves through the Democratic Party, igniting a firestorm of criticism and calls for the 81-year-old incumbent to step aside.
What was intended to be a showcase of Biden’s vigor and readiness for a second term instead became a moment of reckoning for Democrats, as the elderly Biden was incoherent and confused throughout the 90-minute encounter with former President Donald Trump.
Trump’s campaign quickly put together a devastating 95 second montage of Biden’s struggles — and are laughing all the way towards the November election.
Take a look:
Trump just released a brutal 95 second ad of Joe Biden's debate lowlights: pic.twitter.com/enusIKHhwN
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 28, 2024
From the debate’s opening moments, Biden faltered. Critics and allies both noted his barely audible tone, frequent pauses, and difficulty in completing thoughts.
CNN’s John King reported a “very aggressive panic in the Democratic Party” that began within minutes of the debate’s start. This sentiment was echoed across mainstream media outlets, with commentators from across the political spectrum expressing shock at Biden’s disastrous performance.
The debate, held in Atlanta, Georgia, was seen as a critical opportunity for Biden to assuage concerns about his age and cognitive abilities. Instead, it seems to have confirmed the worst fears of many Democrats.
Former Senator Claire McCaskill, speaking on MSNBC, said, “I’m not the only one whose heart is breaking right now. There’s a lot of people who watched this tonight and felt terribly for Joe Biden.”
Perhaps most damning was the panic from typically Biden-friendly media figures. Thomas Friedman, a longtime Biden ally writing for The New York Times, said the debate “made me weep” and called for Biden to step aside.
The Atlantic‘s Mark Leibovich penned a piece titled “Time to go, Joe,” arguing that Biden needs to withdraw “for the sake of his own dignity, for the good of his party, for the future of the country.”
Even CNN’s Van Jones, who cried tears of joy when Biden won in 2020, offered an emotional plea for the President to consider stepping down. “We’re still far from our convention and there is time for this party to figure out a different way forward if he will allow us to do that,” Jones said.
The fallout has been swift and severe. Democratic strategists are in crisis mode and openly discussing replacing Biden as the party’s nominee. Names like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and even twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have been floated as possible replacements.
However, replacing Biden as the nominee would be a complex and unprecedented process.
The Democratic National Committee’s rules make it difficult to replace a sitting president as the nominee without their cooperation.
Biden has won the overwhelming majority of delegates through the primary process, and there’s no clear mechanism for forcing him out if he chooses to stay — or can’t remember why he’s being asked to leave.
Despite the disaster, the Biden campaign confirmed that the 46th president still intends to participate in future debates.
If so, Trump will be laughing all the way to the White House.