Biden supporters hoped that Thursday evening’s debate, the first Trump-Biden face-to-face since 2020, would dispel concerns about the outgoing president’s age and intellectual health. During his State of the Union speech at the beginning of March, Joe Biden did not demonstrate his mastery and his pugnacity, despite his 81 years and the numerous criticisms that his forgetfulness sometimes fuels. ? “Four more years!” », roared the elected Democratic representatives of Congress. Who doesn’t wake up so enthusiastic this Friday.
Thursday evening on CNN, Biden seemed to have difficulty expressing himself, muttering in a hoarse and sickly voice – a cold was the cause, his campaign team pleaded, a sore throat, Biden told the journalists who followed him, defending that it was “difficult to debate with a liar”. Early in the debate, the president paused while making a point about Medicare and tax reform and appeared to lose his train of thought. “We are able to make every single person…eligible for what I was able to do with the, uh, with – with Covid, or excuse me, with, deal with, whatever we have to do with , uh…” The CNN split screen between the two candidates, broadcast throughout the debate, provided little respite: while Trump remained stoic and smiling, Biden was sometimes seen waiting with his mouth open, his eyes lost, for his opponent finishes his response.
Midway through the debate, a Democratic strategist who worked on Biden’s 2020 campaign called the effect a “disaster.” “It’s clear, his performance was disqualifying,” a major Democratic fundraiser told Reuters after the debate. “I expect the fundraising to dry up,” he predicted.
“No one expected a masterful lesson in debate from Joe Biden, but no one expected such a fall,” a senior adviser told the American press. “He was bad on the message, bad on the substance, bad on the counterattacks, bad on the presentation, bad on the non-verbal level. There was no positive point in this debate for him”, except the date, “June and not October”, just before the election.
“Our only hope is that he withdraws”
Three strategists close to three other potential Democratic presidential candidates told Politico they were bombarded with text messages throughout the debate, some asking “what the fuck.” The evening marked “the worst performance in history” and Biden was so “bad that no one will pay attention to Trump’s lies,” a donor told the American site. “Our only hope is that he steps down, that we have a negotiated agreement, or that he dies. Otherwise, we are dead,” predicted a person attending a party in Atlanta to follow the debate.
Officially, the line is in ardent defense of candidate Biden on substance. In a statement, Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said Biden “presented a positive, winning vision of America’s future,” while Trump “offered a dark, retrograde window into what America will look like if he returns to the White House.”
At least two candidates well on their way to 2028 — Illinois Gov. Jay Robert “JB” Pritzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom — have said they support Biden even after his performance. Asked on MSNBC whether Biden should resign, Newsom said those discussions were “unnecessary.” “We don’t turn our backs because of a performance. What kind of party does this? », he pretended to question.
Aware of the difficulties, Vice-President Kamala Harris rushed to Biden’s aid. On CNN and MSNBC, Harris acknowledged that “it was a slow start” but “Joe Biden is extraordinarily strong” and “he was able to find the rhythm where it counted.” And to believe that “Our president has shown that he will win the election. »
