Democrats panic after Biden stumbles in heated debate with Trump

Prominent Democrats have called on Joe Biden to end his re-election bid after his shaky performance in the presidential debate with Donald Trump reignited concerns about the 81-year-old president’s age and fitness to hold office. functions.

Speaking in a raspy voice Thursday night, Biden repeatedly stumbled over his words and gave rambling answers or appeared to lose his train of thought, while Trump accused him of being the worst president in U.S. history.

The debate was a major opportunity for Biden to dispel concerns about his age in front of tens of millions of American voters. But one Democratic lawmaker said Biden’s performance caused widespread panic at the Capitol.

“Tonight, many House Democrats, representing a broad spectrum of the Democratic caucus, were texting privately that Biden should announce that he has decided not to run for re-election. We need a new nominee,” the lawmaker said.

“Biden must show patriotism and step down. We need an open convention that will excite the American people like we’ve never seen before. »

A Democratic Party member said after the debate that there was a “higher level of panic than I saw or thought possible.”

“He confirmed our worst fears,” said another.

David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to former President Barack Obama, said on CNN that Biden had scored points on some policy issues, but added: “There will be discussions about whether he should continue.” »

Former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe described it as a “DEFCON 1 moment,” referring to the highest level of alert for the U.S. armed forces.

“It really pains me to say that,” he told MSNBC. “(Biden and Trump) are three years apart. They seemed about 30 years apart tonight. That’s the question that voters are really going to struggle with.”

But Biden didn’t seem discouraged, telling reporters during a late-night stop at a Waffle House restaurant in Atlanta: “I think we did well.” »

Asked about calls for his withdrawal and concerns about his debate performance, Biden, who said he had a “sore throat,” replied: “No. It’s hard to argue with a liar. »

The Biden team had pushed for an unprecedented early presidential debate to take place in June, more than four months before the November election, in an effort to reinvigorate the president’s struggling campaign and remind voters why they chose him over Trump in 2020.

But the math backfired, as Biden did little to reassure the overwhelming majority of voters who, according to polls, fear he is too old to stay in the House for another four years White.

In a rambling response early in the debate, Biden seemed to lose track of what he was saying: “Making sure that we continue to do that . . . strengthening our health care system, making sure that we can make every single person eligible for what I was able to do with COVID, excuse me, to deal with everything that we have to deal with . . . listen, if we finally beat Medicare.”

The Biden campaign later announced that Thursday was its biggest day in terms of core, or small, donations since the president launched his re-election campaign.

But big Democratic donors sounded the alarm after the debate.

“The last time I saw him he wasn’t great, but he was certainly more coherent than he was in tonight’s debate,” one negotiator said. “I’m not sure there’s an alternative right now, but if there’s a chance to change things, it’s now.”

Dmitri Mehlhorn, a Democratic strategist and adviser to prominent donor Reid Hoffman, wrote that Biden “had a horrible night, reinforcing concerns about his age, his biggest electoral weakness,” according to a letter seen by the FT.

In an exchange of views on abortion rights, which has proven to be a winning election issue for Democrats over the past two years, Biden instead turned to illegal immigration, an electoral weakness for his party.

Kyle Kondik, a nonpartisan analyst at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said: “If people were concerned about Biden’s age, I don’t think he’s done anything to allay those concerns.”

“I imagine there will be a lot of bed-wetting (among Democrats) after this debate,” Kondik added.

Still, many prominent Democrats publicly defended the president after Thursday’s debate. Gavin Newsom, the California governor widely seen as a future presidential contender, told MSNBC that questions about whether Biden should remain as candidate were “pointless” and “pointless.”

“We must support this president. You don’t turn your back because of one performance. What kind of party does that?

Trump, 78, is not much younger than Biden, but he seemed at ease Thursday night as he tore into the president and in many cases repeated the false and outlandish claims that have become a trademark of his own candidacy for four more years in the white party. Home.

“He’s not fit to be president. You know that and I know that,” Trump said at one point, referring to Biden.

The current president’s responses grew more forceful as the 90-minute debate wore on. Asked by CNN moderator Dana Bash whether he was too old to be president, Biden responded: “This guy is three years younger and a lot less competent . . . just look at the record. Look at what I’ve done. Look at how I’ve turned around the horrible situation he left me.”

In some difficult exchanges, Biden attempted to portray Trump as unfit for office, referencing his criminal convictions and myriad legal troubles. “The only person on this stage who is a convicted felon is the man I’m looking at right now,” he said.

Trump continues to lead Biden in most national polls and in key states, despite being convicted of 34 criminal counts by a New York jury last month. The former president faces three additional criminal trials, including two cases related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Trump repeatedly dodged questions from moderators Thursday night about whether he would accept the results of this year’s election. Asked a third time, the former president replied: “If the elections are fair, legal and good, absolutely. »

Additional reporting: Alex Rogers

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