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Democrats in a panic over Mr. Biden's poor performance in the first presidential debate

2024-06-28 22:21:00, Kosova & Bota CNA
Democrats in a panic over Mr. Biden's poor performance in the first
President Joe Biden

Allies of President Biden wanted above all for him to demonstrate during the debate that he was strong and full of energy, to end the questions raised about the physical abilities and mental acuity of the 81-year-old Democrat.

But President Biden fell short of their modest expectations in the larger arena of American politics.

By the end of the 90-minute debate, the Democratic president's allies, strategists and other campaign leaders panicked after Mr. Biden struggled during the debate, awkward pauses and slurred speech that was often difficult to understand.

Publicly and privately, Democrats have raised questions about whether the party can, or should, replace Mr. Biden as the Democratic nominee in November's election against the 78-year-old former president, Donald Trump.

"I'm not the only one who's heart is breaking right now. There are a lot of people who watched the debate tonight and felt terribly bad for Joe Biden," former Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill told MSNBC. "I don't know if anything can be done to fix this situation."

For now, the main question for Mr. Biden is whether the damage is permanent. But many voters still haven't fully focused their attention on the November ballot. President Biden and his allies have millions of dollars they have yet to use for intensive advertising and campaigning in swing states.

But there are times when a candidate has rebounded after a poor showing in a debate with a rival. Such was the case of President Barack Obama's debate in 2012 with the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman defeated his Republican challenger in 2022 after a hard-fought debate while Mr. Fetterman had suffered a stroke.

President Biden's campaign team hopes voters will ultimately back an 81-year-old politician with poor job ratings in a rematch few Americans want.

Despite this, Mr Biden's team insisted the president was in a unique position to stop Mr Trump from returning to the White House, as he did four years ago.

They have long predicted that support for President Biden would increase as the Democratic campaign sufficiently emphasized Mr. Trump's chaotic leadership. But after Mr. Biden's poor showing in the presidential debate, there are few signs that such a belief exists.

"It was a slow start. This is clear to everyone. I'm not going to debate that point," Vice President Kamala Harris said in an interview with CNN after the debate. "But what matters is the alternative in November, this is one of the most important elections of our lives."

Supporters of President Biden tried to avoid comment after the debate in Atlanta when asked by reporters. They pointed to a long list of false statements by Mr. Trump during the debate. During the debate, Mr. Trump did not come out against those who caused riots in the US Congress building on January 6, 2021.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential future presidential candidate and key backer at the Atlanta debate, urged Democrats not to panic.

"I think it is useless and unnecessary. We have to keep our heads up," said Mr. Newsom in an interview with the MSNBC network. "We must support this president. We do not give up because of an argument. Who does that?"

However, signs of anxiety were visible among the Democrats, while some of them have come out openly with the idea of ??finding another alternative for the November elections./ VOA





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