Democrats are urgently discussing replacing President Joe Biden as their candidate following his poor performance in Thursday night’s presidential debate. The debate, moderated by CNN’s Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, was held in a unique setting with no live audience, commercial breaks, or interruptions, but still highlighted Biden’s age and challenges.
Despite a week of preparation, Biden’s performance was quickly criticized. “Every Democrat I know is texting that this is bad,” tweeted Ravi Gupta, a former Obama campaign alumnus, just 15 minutes into the debate. Gupta continued, “I’ll vote for a corpse over Trump, but this is a suicide mission.”
The New York Times soon published an op-ed describing the “high anxiety” among senior Democrats, calling Biden’s performance a “disaster.” Van Jones, a former adviser to President Obama, echoed these sentiments on CNN, stating, “I love Joe Biden, he didn’t do well at all.”
One of the most notable moments came when Biden falsely claimed to be the first president in the past decade without American military deaths overseas, neglecting the 13 service members killed during the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal. Biden’s missteps continued when he stumbled over answers about the national debt and taxes, prompting Tapper to intervene and redirect the conversation to Trump.
The debate’s chaotic moments led to a flurry of reactions from prominent Democrats. Andrew Yang urged the party to nominate someone else, warning, “Guys, the Dems should nominate someone else — before it’s too late.” New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof suggested Biden should withdraw and let the Democratic National Convention choose a new nominee.
Politico detailed the confusion and concern among Democrats, with activist Jay Surdukowski declaring, “Biden is toast – calling it now,” and a prominent operative calling for an open convention.
CNN’s Erin Burnett noted the widespread panic, questioning, “Does he know how bad this was?” as she observed Biden at his post-debate party.
Biden’s preparation at Camp David, which included efforts to provoke Trump, failed to produce the expected results. The debate did not feature their usual contentious exchanges, with the two only sparring briefly over golf handicaps at the end.
The media tried to mitigate the damage, reporting that Biden had a cold, although this was not disclosed before the debate. Nonetheless, the President’s frail performance has left many Democrats questioning his viability as the party’s candidate, with the Democratic National Convention looming.
As the Democratic Party scrambles to reassess its strategy, the calls for Biden to step aside are growing louder. The upcoming weeks will be crucial in determining whether Biden remains the nominee or if the party opts for a new candidate to face Trump in the November election.
