President Biden’s performance at Thursday night’s debate quickly drew attention from Democrats and liberal media figures, many of whom expressed concern over the president’s “weak” performance and discussed rumors that he was dropping out of the race.
Shortly after the debate in Atlanta, Georgia, ended, rumors circulated that he would replace Biden as the party’s nominee in the 2024 Democratic presidential election, sparking heated debate.
A source familiar with the Democratic Party told Fox News after the debate that Republicans currently hold control of the House and Senate, adding that Biden “needs to step down” because “everyone is panicking.”
But the source said, “There is no way to replace him unless he agrees.”
A raspy-voiced Biden stumbles off the ground as he takes on Trump in the first 2024 presidential debate
A fierce debate erupted immediately after the debate in Atlanta, Georgia, as Democrats discussed whether he would replace incumbent President Biden as the party’s nominee in the 2024 presidential election. (Getty Images)
Former Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, speaking on MSNBC after the debate, said Biden had “failed” to show Americans that he was “fit for the job at his age.”
“My job now is to be really honest. Joe Biden had one thing he needed to do tonight and he didn’t do it. There was one thing he needed to accomplish and that was to reassure the American people that he was fit for the job at this age and he failed to do that tonight,” she said.
“Now, my phone is being inundated with calls from senators, campaign workers, donors, major donors across the country, so does that mean Joe Biden is not going to be the nominee? I don’t know. I think we’ll know more in the next few weeks,” McAskill said.
McCaskill said Biden’s performance “broke my heart” and “a lot of people are [the debate] I felt so sad for Joe Biden.”
Former Missouri senator and Democrat Claire McCaskill, speaking on MSNBC, said Biden “failed” during the debate to show the American people “that he’s fit for the job at his age.” (Reuters/Aaron P. Bernstein, Reuters/Evelyn Hochstein)
The talk of Democrats considering who their presidential nominee should be was underscored when CNN chief national correspondent John King said after the debate, “There is deep, widespread, very intense panic spreading within the Democratic Party as we speak.”
“This debate, which began minutes after the debate began, is still ongoing,” King added. “It’s involving party strategists, elected officials, fundraisers. They’re debating the president’s performance. They think the president’s performance is terrible, they think it’s hurting other people, and they’re debating what to do about it.”
King said the discussion was about how to address the issue and whether they should discuss calling for Biden to resign due to his “terrible” performance.
King said the conversations included whether Democrats should go to the White House and “ask the president to step down” or whether prominent Democrats should “publicly” ask the president to drop out of the race because his performance was “so bad.”
Media members shocked by Biden’s ‘terrible’ debate performance: ‘A total disaster’
President Biden and former President Trump debated in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday night. (Getty Images)
Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times opinion columnist who ran for the Democratic nomination for Oregon governor in 2022, suggested in a social media post that now is the time for Biden to drop out of the race.
Other liberal media figures also weighed in on Biden’s performance, with MSNBC host Joy Reid saying she had heard from many Democrats that they were “concerned” about Biden’s “weak” performance.
Reid told viewers after the debate that her phone “hadn’t stopped ringing the whole time” as Democrats got so close to “panic.”
Reid described her text message counterparts as “Obama people” and “Democrats” and said, “The people I was texting with were very concerned that President Biden was looking very weak, very weak.”
“I’ve been talking to a lot of Democratic leaders,” said Chuck Todd, NBC’s chief political analyst. [elected members]The coalition leaders are in a deep panic about this performance.”
“It’s not like, ‘This is salvageable,’ it’s more like, ‘He should go.’ There’s a lot of that talk,” Todd said. “If Biden’s goal was to ease some of the tensions within the Democratic Party, this is the worst performance he could have given.”
“I look forward to voting for him in November,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters after the debate. “He’s going to be our nominee.” (Getty Images)
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Despite reports of debate within the Democratic Party over who should succeed him, California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is seen by many experts as a likely candidate to replace Biden if the Democrats find themselves at a disadvantage ahead of the 2024 elections, has maintained that the party’s “nominee is Joe Biden.”
“I look forward to voting for him in November.” Newsom told reporters.“He will be our candidate.”
