Longtime sportscaster Bob Costas criticized Democrats for being surprised by President Biden’s debate performance last week, saying it’s “clear” that his approval ratings have been declining for years.
The NBC Sports legend appeared on CNN’s “Smerconish” on Saturday morning to respond to the anxiety spreading within the party following Biden’s dismal performance, where he blasted liberals for not acknowledging Biden’s mental decline sooner and therefore failing to find a better candidate to beat former President Trump.
“That awful night simply demonstrated the serious decline of the president that has been visible for years,” Costas said, adding that he “suspects he was the victim of gaslighting by Democrats.”
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Moderator Michael Smerconish prompted a discussion by asking the former NBC sportscaster whether people in the party were truly surprised by Biden’s decline in the debates, or whether it was only people like Costas who had the courage to acknowledge that Biden’s recent performance was something everyone was ignoring until it came to an issue.
“Yes, I think it’s the latter, and his debate performance made that even more overwhelmingly clear,” he said, adding that those who defend Biden as having just had a bad night don’t understand what’s been going on for “years.”
“Nobody, including the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, should be president at 85 or 86, but this guy is clearly in decline at this point. And whether he can serve the next four years or not, part of the job is to win the presidency. And as you just said, that seems all but impossible at this point.”
Costas then grilled some Democrats about their argument that how bad Trump is means the party needs to unite behind the president. “No, that’s exactly why we need to get rid of Joe Biden,” he said.
Commentators said they have been urging the party to dump Biden for more than a year, underscoring the urgency of that advice at this point. [Biden’s] It’s a delusion.”
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President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at Renaissance High School, Friday, July 12, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
“These are desperate times and we need appropriate measures in line with the circumstances,” he added.
Smerconish then said that without the debates, people like actor George Clooney, who criticized Biden’s decline in a recent New York Times op-ed, would have continued to act as if Biden was doing well.
Costas harshly criticized the stance, saying, “This has been all too obvious for a long time. You don’t need a Harvard public policy degree to understand and say that, if you’re willing to say it. Just like you don’t need an MIT degree to say two and two makes four. I can’t help but suspect he’s been gaslighted by the Democrats.”
“This should have been obvious to those around the president, to those who were watching the president,” he said, asking the question, “If it wasn’t hyperbolic language in this case, wouldn’t it have been an act of patriotism to bring it to light?”
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