The Democratic Party has fallen into complete panic after Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance.
Behind the scenes, there are growing calls to replace the 81-year-old president on the ticket after his dismal performance against Donald Trump on Thursday night, where he lost his train of thought and stumbled over his words.
Immediately after taking the stage, Biden’s voice was hoarse, as he coughed and cleared his throat repeatedly.
At times, the president stared into the camera or looked down at his notes as Trump spoke.
President Barack Obama’s former senior adviser, David Axelrod, admitted that Biden’s first performance was damaging from the start of the debate.
“I think there was a sense of shock actually about how he came out at the beginning of the debate, how his voice sounded, he seemed a little disoriented,” he said on CNN, noting that there would be “discussions” in the party after the debate about whether Biden should continue his race for re-election.
President Joe Biden participates in CNN presidential debate
Axelrod said Biden’s performance confirmed people’s fears about his age and ability to serve another four years.
Biden also struggled at times to finish his sentences or complete a talking point before trying to move on.
CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash repeatedly reminded him to use the rest of his time as he shortened his answers and responses to Trump.
Kate Bedingfeld, former White House communications director under Joe Biden, also criticized her former boss’s actions.
“It was a really disappointing performance by Joe Biden in the debate,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any other way to say it.”
CNN activist and commentator Van Jones said that while he “loved” Joe Biden, he described the debate as “painful.”
“There are people who will want me to consider going in a different direction now,” Van Jones said. “We are still far from our convention and there is time for this party to find a different way forward if he lets us, but that was not what we needed from Joe Biden.”
Other Democratic strategists not connected to the Biden campaign agreed.
President Joe Biden, second from right, and first lady Jill Biden, right, greet CNN event moderators Dana Bash, from left, and Jake Tapper
US President Joe Biden and former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participate in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election
“I don’t know if high-level conversations are taking place right now about Biden’s troubling performance, but it would be political malpractice to pretend that the Biden campaign made progress tonight,” wrote MSNBC contributor and Democratic strategist Max Burns. on social networks.
Other Democrats responded anonymously to reporters to express their shock at Biden’s performance.
Notable Democrat posts: “Gavin, please…” wrote New York Times reporter Kenneth Vogel.
CNN anchor Kasie Hunt wrote on social media that Democrats were “almost beside themselves watching this debate” after accepting Biden’s behavior.
He detailed texts from prominent Democrats on CNN.
“If I were Gavin (Newsom) or Gretchen (Whitmer), I would be making calls tonight,” one Democrat told him. Another simply wrote “we’re screwed.”
Other Democrats expressed panic on social media and urged the party to be honest about its chances.
“The text messages from family and friends, all Democrats who despise Trump, are extremely disturbing. You can’t just turn this around and ignore the fact that this is not going well for our side,” former New York City Council member Jimmy Van Bramer wrote on social media.
MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace said the conversation about replacing Biden was “alive and active at the highest levels of the Democratic Party.”
MSNBC’s Joy Reid agreed, noting that her phone was vibrating throughout the debate because of text messages from Democrats.
“The universal reaction was close to panic,” he said, adding that they were “very concerned” that Biden would appear weak and weak.
Biden spokesman Andrew Bates reacted on social media by dismissing concerned Democrats.
“We have a lot of experience offering spine transplants,” he wrote, praising Biden for making a “strong argument for his vision” during the debate.