President Joe Biden debated former President Donald Trump last night… or, at least, he tried to.
Now, even Biden’s inner circle is publicly acknowledging the president’s failures… and telling us what they really think.
Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s former White House communications director, appeared on CNN to offer commentary on her former boss’s performance.
Bedingfield didn’t even try to deny the obvious.
“Look, it was a really disappointing debate performance from Joe Biden. I don’t think there’s any other way to slice it. His biggest issue that he had to prove to the American people was that he had the energy, he had the stamina. And he didn’t do that. So, I think that is of concern. And I think that, for a lot of Democrats, that’s very disappointing,” Bedingfield said on CNN after the debate.
“Look. There are no two ways about it. That was not a good debate for Joe Biden.”
Before the debate, Bedingfield outlined her very low expectations for Biden.
“He doesn’t have to win the race on immigration. He has to mitigate some of the damage. He has to deliver a strong message tonight. He has to have a strong rebuttal,” Bedingfield said on CNN before the debate. “But he is not going to win the race on the back of the argument on immigration.”
Biden failed to clear even Bedingfield’s extraordinarily low bar.
Still, Bedingfield made excuses for her former boss.
“It was an atypically bad performance, but it was also one night,” Bedingfield said.
“Was it an important night? Yes. But it was one night in the course of a campaign. So, I think, let’s see how voters react to it… As somebody who left that White House about a year and a half ago, I can tell you that he is somebody who is very direct in meetings.”
Plus, Bedingfield criticized Trump’s performance, too.
“Donald Trump also had some really rough moments in this debate. And, talking to the Biden campaign, they say their dials start really moving away from Trump as he is increasing his personal attacks on Biden. So, I think there was a lot about his, kind of, character and, kind of, the personal nastiness that he was putting on display that doesn’t help him with the swing voters that he needs,” Bedingfield said.
“And I also think you saw him continue to get more and more animated about the course of the debate and give some really problematic answers about Jan. 6, some really problematic answers about Putin. So, Donald Trump did not get off scot-free tonight by any stretch.”
Still, Bedingfield began these remarks by taking a very unusual step: going on CNN to criticize the debate performance of her former boss, a sitting president.
Take a look —
"Look, it was a really disappointing debate performance from Joe Biden. I don't think there's any other way to slice it."
— President Biden's former communications director, Kate Bedingfield, reacts to the CNN presidential debate pic.twitter.com/FnY1POhC3E
— The Recount (@therecount) June 28, 2024
Biden's former Communications Director Kate Bedingfield: "It was an atypically bad performance." pic.twitter.com/zSC3rHHukd
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) June 28, 2024
WATCH: @ScottJenningsKY claps back at Biden's former Comms Director Kate Bedingfield over Biden's mental fitness:
"Behind closed doors, he's great." pic.twitter.com/PhGDtXYdkx
— DJ Griffin (@theDJGriffin) June 28, 2024
Even Kamala Harris has stopped trying to put lipstick on this pig.
“It was a slow start,” the vice president told CNN in an interview. “That’s obvious to everyone. I’m not going to debate that point.”
Harris urged voters to weigh Biden’s record as president more heavily than his performance at the debate. In other words, she changed the subject.
“I got the point that you’re making about a one and a half hour debate tonight. I’m talking about three and a half years of performance in work that has been historic,” Harris told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
“I’m talking about the choice for November. I’m talking about one of the most important elections in our collective lifetime… The Joe Biden that I work with every day is someone who, as I have said, has performed in a way that has been about bringing people into the Oval Office, Republicans and Democrats, to compromise in a way that is extraordinary these days.”
Harris also spoke to MSNBC after the debate.
“Only one of the two people on that debate stage, only one of them has the endorsement of his vice president,” Harris said, referring to former Vice President Mike Pence’s refusal to endorse Trump.
“Let’s not forget that.”
Harris has attributed Biden’s abysmal debate to image rather than substance. The problem isn’t that Biden is senile, it’s just P.R., she says.
Bedingfield has been saying the same thing. He’s better in person, she says.
There’s no report that Bedingfield or others have been charged with elder abuse… but they should.