Joe Biden’s Debate Performance Sparks Concerns Among Democrats
Biden’s Campaign Cornered After Debate
Joe Biden’s campaign was prepared to come out swinging after tonight’s debate against Donald Trump. Instead, they found themselves backed into a corner. The campaign’s top surrogates were pinned at one end of the debate spin room by a mob of reporters on Thursday night. Questions swirled about whether the 81-year-old Mr. Biden should be ousted at the top of the ticket and if tonight’s performance fueled more concerns about his fitness for office.
Gavin Newsom’s Perspective
California Governor Gavin Newsom was asked whether the Democratic Party should replace the president as its candidate. The 56-year-old Democrat responded that he was “old fashioned” and cared more about the “substance and facts” discussed rather than a frenzy over Mr. Biden’s energy. It was not the conversation that Democrats hoped to have tonight.
Debate Performance Raises Alarm
Mr. Biden’s subdued performance during the 90-minute event, during which he sometimes stumbled through answers and spoke with a cold-induced rasp, sent Democrats into an immediate panic. Reporters pressed on how his campaign would recover. Voter concerns about his age already weighed heavily on the debate, and even Mr. Biden’s staunchest supporters acknowledged the performance would likely not help.
Strategists and Supporters Weigh In
David Plouffe, a Democratic strategist who managed Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, called it “a DEFCON 1 moment,” referring to the U.S. military phrase for the highest level of a nuclear threat. “They seemed about 30 years apart tonight,” he said of the two candidates, who are fewer than four years apart in age. “And I think that’s going to be the thing that voters really wrestle with coming out of this.”
Andrew Yang, who challenged Mr. Biden in 2020’s Democratic primary and dropped out early in the race, wrote on X that the president should “do the right thing” by “stepping aside and letting the DNC choose another nominee.” He added the hashtag #StepAsideJoe, echoing the sentiment among some party members.
