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NEW YORK.- The president Joe Biden had hoped to generate new momentum for his re-election bid by agreeing to debate two months before being formally nominated. Instead, his hesitant and disjointed performance Thursday caused A wave of panic among Democrats and He reopened the discussion about whether he should be the candidate.
Over the course of 90 minutes, Biden, his voice hoarse, struggled to deliver his lines and counter a sharp-witted but deeply dishonest former President Donald Trump, raising questions about the sitting president’s ability to run a vigorous and competitive campaign four months before the election. Rather than allay concerns about his age, Biden, 81, made it the central issue.
Democrats who have defended the president for months against skeptics, including members of his own administration, exchanged frantic phone calls and text messages within minutes of the start of the debate, when it became clear that Biden was not at his best. Some took to social media to express shock at his troubles, while others privately discussed among themselves what it would mean for the party and whether it was too late to persuade the president to step aside in favor of a younger candidate.
“Biden is about to face increased calls for him to step aside,” said a veteran Democratic strategist who has staunchly endorsed Biden publicly. “Joe had a deep affection among Democrats. He is finished.”
“Parties exist to win,” the Democrat continued.The man who was on stage with Trump cannot win. Fear of Trump stifled criticism of Biden. Now That same fear will fuel calls for him to resign.”.
Biden’s goal in agreeing to a general election debate earlier than ever in presidential history was to recalibrate the race as an election between him and a criminal who attempted to overturn an election and would destroy American democracy if he were again granted the power of the presidency. . Biden, on the other hand, left the CNN studio in Atlanta facing a referendum on himself and its ability that will reverberate for days, if not longer.
Trump, 78, seemed to get through the debate without problems, even when he told lie after lie without being effectively challenged. He seemed confident, but he avoided the overly authoritarian behavior that damaged him during his first debate with Biden in 2020, apparently content to let his opponent wallow in his own difficulties.
“Guys, Democrats should nominate someone else before it’s too late,” wrote Andrew Yang, who ran against Biden for the nomination in 2020, on social media before the debate ended.
Van Jones, a former Obama White House adviser and one of the leading progressive voices in the Democratic Party, warned that there will be a reinvigorated discussion about Yang’s warning. “There are a lot of people who are going to want Biden to consider taking a different path,” he said on CNN after the debate.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump White House adviser who later fell out with him, said: “It’s worse than a lot of people imagined.”
Biden’s closest advisers have consistently dismissed any discussion of the need for him to step aside, dismissing such a possibility as unwarranted nervousness even though the president is trailing Trump in states he needs to win. Biden’s entourage and allies insist on defying the polls and warning that predictions of Democratic losses in recent elections were wrong.
No sitting president has ever dropped out of the race this late in the campaign, and there is little consensus about what would happen if Biden stepped down now. Last night, Democrats were imagining scenarios that would require party elders like Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi to intervene to convince the president.
Other Democratic leaders said they feared it was too late for that and that Biden would not listen to anyone today other than his wife, Jill, who fervently supports his candidacy. The president’s team ended the night knowing that the task ahead in the coming days would be to quell calls for his resignation and align the party behind its beleaguered leader.
By Peter Baker
The New York Times
