US President Joe Biden‘s performance in last night’s debate was rather weak and ineffective against a Donald Trump who constantly attacked him on various issues, often saying inaccurate things.
The two men clashed over abortion, immigration, the war in Ukraine and Gaza, managing the economy, and even golf as they tried to win points and voters, while polls have shown them going toe-to-toe for months.
Two White House officials said Biden had a cold to explain the hoarseness in his voice. But the president’s uneven performance caused concern even among some Democrats and may have added to voter concern that the 81-year-old is too old for another presidential term.
The Democrat’s campaign and allies have tried to show they were unaffected by his performance, but it’s certainly a blow to his candidacy, at least in the short term.
U.S. Vice President Camala Harris asserted that Biden “started slow, but finished strong.” “He got off to a rough start, it was obvious to everybody, I don’t doubt it,” she added.
About halfway through the debate, a Democratic strategy consultant who worked on Biden’s 2020 campaign called it a “disaster.”
“There’s no way to turn this around. His performance takes him out of the race,” said a major Democratic donor, who wished to remain anonymous, after the debate.
He estimated that there will be renewed pressure to change candidates at the Democratic National Convention in August, when Biden’s nomination must be officially confirmed.
At the beginning of the debate, Biden paused while talking about Medicare and tax reform and seemed to have lost his rhythm.
Tax reform would bring more money “to strengthen our health care system to make sure that every single person is eligible for what I was able to do with, with covid, sorry, with addressing everything we had to do,” Biden said, pausing to add “we finally beat Medicare.”
Trump commented that Biden has no rhyme or reason and at one point said: “I honestly don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows either.”
Democratic parliamentarians are concerned, a congressional staffer said. She added that the senator she works for is “sitting with other important staffers and panicking.”
David Axelrod, a key strategic adviser to former President Barack Obama, told CNN, “There will be discussions about whether he should continue.”
At a time when Biden was struggling to get by, Trump made baseless and often untrue statements on a range of issues.
“Trump is Trump, every word that comes out of his mouth is bs. But Biden sounds old. And lost. And that will count for more than anything. So far this is an absolute nightmare for Biden,” 2020 Republican candidate Joe Walsh told X.
Both 81-years-old Biden and 78-years-old Trump – the two oldest presidential candidates in U.S. history – are under pressure to prove they are physically and mentally fit for the duties of the presidency.
Although the polls show Biden and Trump neck and neck, in the more contested states that usually decide the outcome of presidential elections, the Republican is leading.
Yet neither is particularly popular and many Americans have yet to decide who they will choose. About a fifth of voters say they haven’t decided yet, are leaning toward a third candidate or won’t vote, according to the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.
