The first presidential debate has been written, and the prevailing conclusion is not a clash of ideas about who might have won, but outright concern for President Biden’s well-being.
The commander-in-chief’s performance was so disturbing that even the traditionally friendly media found it difficult to sugarcoat what they had just witnessed.
Biden frequently misfired throughout the debate. He falsely claimed that his son Beau died in Iraq, falsely claimed that the Border Patrol coalition supported him, and claimed that “there are 1,000 trillionaires in the United States.”
He mumbled and slurred a lot, and eventually Biden rambled, and Donald Trump responded: “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”
Biden: *talks incoherently about his failure to secure border*
Trump: “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knew what he said either.” pic.twitter.com/lxBpOVeTqJ
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 28, 2024
Next comes the climax of the debate performance. Biden’s masterpiece. When the internal lines shut down, he quickly tried to correct himself, shouting randomly, “We beat Medicare!”
RELATED STORY: Biden claims he once drove an 18-wheeler. Fact Check: False
President Biden struggled to get his message across to the American people during this debate, and there were, to put it mildly, many moments like this.
What’s interesting, at least to this writer, is that neither Biden’s friends within his own party nor the media can defend his performance.
In fact, they didn’t look comfortable at all after watching it.
CNN contributor Van Jones was nearly moved to tears after watching the performance, saying: “This is not what we need Joe Biden to do.”
CNN’s Van Jones tearfully calls for Joe Biden to step down. “That’s not what we need from Joe Biden.” pic.twitter.com/7ZVW2gePPR
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) June 28, 2024
Jones isn’t the only one discussing the possibility of a Democratic replacement for Biden ahead of the election. Pollster Frank Luntz revealed that his focus groups said they “want Joe Biden to go.”
This group is made up of hitherto undecided voters.
My focus group is made up of undecided voters who want Joe Biden out of office.
They like him and respect him — and most voted for him in 2020.
Tonight is a political earthquake. pic.twitter.com/tO0C79AQLk
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) June 28, 2024
Behind the scenes, Democrats are in full-blown panic after watching Biden struggle throughout the debate, according to MSNBC’s Joy Reid.
When you lose MSDNC… pic.twitter.com/7y4PQkBolp
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) June 28, 2024
CNN’s Chris Wallace described the scene as “a slow-motion car crash.” This is an extremely charitable description of what happened.
Wallace concluded that President Biden “screwed up his campaign tonight.”
Chris Wallace: Frankly, this is one of those slow-motion car crashes that we see over and over again…
Joe Biden pursued this opportunity early because he knew he was losing and he needed to change the narrative. He changed his story: His campaign failed tonight. pic.twitter.com/ivXWXfYAul
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) June 28, 2024
The Washington Post’s postmortem of the debate said Biden was “incoherent” and “frozen,” and “often watched with his mouth and eyes wide open — the split-screen image gave the impression of an elderly grandfather.” .
RELATED: Trump praises ‘great meeting’ with Ron DeSantis, says they ‘will work together to make America great again’
The Democratic Party is in a mess too
It wasn’t just the typically overreacting media who were overwhelmed by what they had just seen. This is the real key figure in the Democratic Party.
In the same Washington Post column, it was revealed that Democratic donors texted reporters with facepalming and vomiting emojis as the debate progressed.
“We are so (expletive),” one Democratic strategist in a swing state texted. “He had great material. He just couldn’t say a word.
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro wrote on
Former Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri said she was “heartbroken” after watching Biden’s debate performance.
“One thing he has to accomplish is reassure Americans that he can do the job at his age, and tonight he failed,” she said.
Even more heartbreakingly for the country, it was clear last night that there is now no leader. Maybe they’ll finally get one in November.
