CNN analysts discussed the growing panic surrounding President Biden in the wake of his “disastrous” performance in Thursday’s debate with former President Donald Trump.
“This has been a game-changing debate in the sense that there is a deep, widespread, intense panic spreading within the Democratic Party as we speak, which began within the first few minutes of the debate and is continuing to this day,” said CNN host John King.
“This involves party strategists, elected officials, fundraisers. They’re having conversations about the president’s performance, they think it’s terrible, they think it’s hurting lower-ranking candidates in the party, and they’re having conversations about what to do about it,” he added.
King added, “Some of those conversations are, ‘Should I go to the White House and ask the president to step down?’ And some of the conversations are with leading Democrats about whether they should make that call public. But they feel the debate was so bad that, while the president recovered and solidified his position later in the debate, by the end, even in the closing remarks, the contrast between the two candidates was a bit choppy.”
Media members shocked by Biden’s ‘terrible’ debate performance: ‘A total disaster’
President Joe Biden walks off stage during the CNN presidential debate at CNN Studios on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
King said he believes some Republicans “don’t think Donald Trump had a great night,” but he has more notable concerns about Biden.
“It started with the first few responses within a few minutes and went on throughout the night from ‘Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,’ to ‘What do we do about this?’ We’ve had very high-ranking Democrats, elected officials saying ‘we have a problem,'” King said.
“The panic we’re hearing from Democrats is unlike anything we’ve heard in any election campaign,” CNN host Abby Phillips agreed.
“You saw how he came out at the beginning of the debate and how his voice sounded, and it actually gave you a sense of shock. He seemed a little confused. He certainly got stronger as the debate went on, but I think panic was setting in by that point. And I think you’re going to hear some discussion, whether he should continue, although I don’t know if it will lead to anything,” Axelrod said.
Biden’s White House spokeswoman, Kate Bedingfield, also stressed that Trump had performed badly, but Biden acknowledged it was “an unusually bad night.”
“Joe Biden’s debate performance was really disappointing. I don’t think there’s any other way to put it. His biggest challenge was having to prove to the American people that he had the energy and the stamina and he didn’t do that. So I think that’s concerning and I think that’s very disappointing to a lot of Democrats,” Bedingfield said.
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CNN commentators criticized Biden’s debate performance. (CNN screenshot)
Van Jones, a CNN political commentator and former adviser to President Barack Obama, was nearly moved to tears by Biden’s performance.
“I just want to say from the bottom of my heart: I love the man. He’s a good man. He loves his country. He’s doing his best, but tonight he was faced with a test to restore the trust of his country and his base, and he failed to do it. I think there are a lot of people out there now who would like to see him consider choosing a different path,” he said.
Van Jones says Biden ‘cannot be allowed’ to have ‘senior moment’ during debate
He added, “The convention is still a long way off. The party has time to consider other ways to move forward, if the president will allow it. But that is not what we wanted from Joe Biden and it is personally painful for many people. This is not just panic, this is pain over what we saw tonight.”
CNN commentator Alyssa Farah Griffin said: “I would add that I think Joe Biden lost in the first three minutes, many voters have probably stopped watching and millions are having discussions with family and friends about whether the president can do his job or whether he should step aside.”
“You can’t tell me democracy is at stake and then perform like that tonight. On that basis, in 18 weeks’ time, Donald Trump will be the next president,” she summarized.
CNN contributor Scott Jennings was even more critical of Democrats, saying the debate “confirmed everyone’s concerns” about Biden’s age and his party’s rejection.
“When I said before this debate that I thought this candidate was in a vulnerable position, people attacked me,” Jennings began.
Several progressive media figures have called Biden’s debate performance a disaster. (Andrew Caballero Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
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“His position as a candidacy has been shattered. I know you mean it from your heart. I’m concerned about the president. We should all be praying for the president. I think the president’s advisors, the White House and the president’s family have a lot of explaining to do tonight to the party and the American people. This night was invited by the Biden campaign, this is what they asked for. They wanted this night and this is what we got,” he continued.
“Democrats have been saying for weeks, ‘I saw Joe Biden in a closed-door meeting doing cartwheels and handstands while doing trigonometry and solving all of the country’s problems,’ and now we know that everyone who said that was lying to the American people,” Jennings said.
“Everything Democrats have been telling us about his mental capacity is a lie and confirms everything we thought we knew,” he added.
