Democrats are now openly urging President Joe Biden to skip the next debate set to take place in September.
Biden’s performance on Thursday night was quickly slammed as disastrous as he appeared frail, at times losing his train of thought and making several gaffes.
Democrats began to share their concerns while the debate was still live and questioned whether Biden should remain on the ballot. Several said anonymously that he should step aside.
Some lawmakers insisted the president was simply overprepared after spending a week at Camp David in rural Maryland taking part in several 90-minute mock debates. Democratic elected officials urged Biden to skip the next debate, at least if the format remains the same.
Ohio Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty told Politico, “If it’s the same debate questions, and it’s the same process, I probably wouldn’t do it. I’m not his advisor, but I probably wouldn’t advise him to do it.”
“We didn’t even need this debate,” California Democrat Sydney Kamlager-Dove said. “Quite frankly, we know exactly who Trump is. And we know exactly who Joe Biden is. You have a debate so that you can learn about a candidate. There’s nothing else to know.”
Louisiana Representative Troy Carter told the outlet that “if there’s going to be a second debate, the terms and the rules of engagement have to be changed.”
Biden officials have said the president has no plans to drop out and that he plans on taking part in the debate set to be hosted by ABC News in the fall.
The president came out swinging on Friday even as he acknowledged his poor debate performance. A newly energized Biden took to the stage in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday, saying, “Folks, I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as well as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know. I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. I know how to to this job.”
He added: “I know what millions of Americans do – When you get knocked down you get back up.”
While Democrats have privately discussed replacing Biden on the top of the ticket and having an open convention, no one has gone so far as to say so publically.
One anonymous Democrat told Politico that Biden should leave the race now to allow someone else to win the nomination at the convention.
“It has to be Biden deciding to step down. But this is the time. He saved our country once. He has to save our country again,” they said.
Biden tried to change the narrative surrounding the debate on Friday, shifting the focus to Trump and his many falsehoods.
Repeating one of his lines from Thursday night, Biden said he “spent 90 minutes on stage debating a guy who has the morals of an alley cat.”
He added: “Did you see Trump last night? … The most lies told in a single debate.”
Former President Barack Obama also weighed in, writing on X: “Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know.”
Obama’s first debate against Mitt Romney in 2012 was previously considered to be one of the worst debates for an incumbent.
“But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself,” Obama added on Friday. “Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November.”
