Shortly before Vice President Kamala Harris responded to Joe Biden’s debate performance with a white lie (“There was a weak start but a strong finish. Biden is extraordinarily strong”), California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and one of the president’s top campaign aides, had already called the debate that had abruptly erupted among Democrats over the re-election candidate’s poor performance against Donald Trump “pointless” and “unnecessary.” Political commentators such as CNN’s John King were quick to openly suggest that there was a current within the Democratic ranks willing to call for Biden to step aside before the November election, opening up an uncharted scenario, yet another in a campaign also featuring a convicted felon.
That’s why Newson, who has often been touted as a generational replacement for the Democratic leadership, has tried to play down the criticism, without much success. “I think it’s pointless and unnecessary,” he said on MSNBC. “We have to go in, we have to hold our heads high, and as I say, we have to cover this president’s back. You don’t turn your back on him for a single performance,” however disappointing it was. But, apart from social media, with a relentless barrage of comments and memes about the 81-year-old Democratic candidate’s confusion, commentators, politicians and campaign strategists have unanimously sounded the alarm. The CNN analyst said that the Democrats he was able to speak to are in “total panic mode,” and that some of them will dare to suggest to the White House an honorable withdrawal from Biden before it’s too late. Abby Phillip, also from CNN, said that “the panic” she is perceiving tonight is not “even similar” to what was sensed until now. “There is a real concern that [el debate de esta noche] It’s made for a real year that can’t be undone,” Phillip said.
A Biden aide who requested anonymity told the political news portal The Hill“This is a nightmare. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I’m watching us lose this election in slow motion.” “Tonight, people’s fears were confirmed” about the suitability of Biden, who, at 81, is seeking a second term in the White House, according to David Axelrod, who was one of Barack Obama’s senior advisers.
As the debate wore on, Democrats grew increasingly restless, with some wondering whether it was too late for Biden to drop out. They were also thinking about other candidates. “There’s been a lot of talk in our circles about Newsom,” said one Democratic strategist, referring to the California governor.
Biden’s hoarse voice and trembling lips, with clear hesitations, were later attributed by the White House to a cold, but some in the president’s inner circle refused to put warm cloths on the cognitive signs that were manifestly clear: stammering, deviations from the subject being discussed, if not clear confusion or almost a blank mind, as when he declared “We have finally defeated Medicare” when what he really wanted to say was that the US had managed to defeat Covid-19. A Democratic strategist, also protected by anonymity, defined the president’s intervention as “political suicide.” “There is no other way to say it. It was not a good debate for Joe Biden,” said Kate Bedingfield, who was a long-time communications assistant to the president, to CNN.
“We are going to lose 20 seats in the House if this is what happens,” said one House Democrat, who, in statements to the portal Axios, also spoke on condition of anonymity. “I’m in shock,” said another.
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“Just thirty minutes into the presidential debate, I have already heard from three veteran Democratic presidential campaign officials, and they all had the same reaction to President Biden’s performance: This is a disaster,” recapitulated Democratic shock jock Patrick Healy in the daily The New York Times.
For renowned commentator Chris Wallace, who in his time on the conservative Fox moderated the first debate between the two in October 2020, Biden “has sunk his campaign tonight.” ABC News commentator Sarah Ishgur’s reaction was beyond graphic: “Sadness.”
The alleged move by some Democrats to convince Biden to drop out of the race was a popular rumor among many coreligionists. A Democratic member of the House of Representatives from one of the seven swing states expressed it this way, in statements collected by The Hill: “It has been a disaster. “Biden’s team has to convince him to withdraw and hold an open convention.” “We need a real debate about how this goes,” said one Democratic donor. “We cannot continue to avoid this discussion about age. We have to get serious. There is a lot at stake here and what the hell are we doing?”
Among the few who criticized Biden’s failure, Biden campaign analyst Geoff Garin maintained on the social network ” as he went along. But the bad taste in the mouth of the night suggested an even more bitter day later. “By tomorrow, this is going to explode,” one House Democrat told Axios.
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