Joe Scarborough declared that Donald Trump will be the next US president “unless there’s a change,” hinting that it was time for Joe Biden to step aside.
The 81-year-old president hoped to silence critics who’ve questioned his age and mental fitness during Thursday evening’s first televised debate of the 2024 election on CNN.
But instead, Biden sometimes appeared to struggle stringing together a coherent sentence, would lose his train of thought and, at points, freeze up completely.
The president’s performance has left Democrats divided, with calls ringing out for the incumbent to let another party member run for the White House.
Putting it more gently, the host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe concurred that Biden “tragically did not rise to the occasion.” Co-host Mika Brzezinski chimed in that “Biden had a terrible night.”
“We saw last night why this race has been close, and why I fear Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States, unless things change,” Scarborough added.
The former Rpublican warned of “how dark of a place” America will become if Trump, 78, returns to office.
The hosts have previously shown unfaltering support towards the Biden administration and championed the president’s mental sharpness.
Despite Scarborough expressing love for both Biden and his wife, Jill, and declaring that he was “the most effective president in passing bipartisan legislation,” he voiced serious concerns about his ability to clinch a second term.
“But can he run for president in 2024?” he asked.
After addressing Trump’s litany of lies, the former House representative-turned-media personality questioned whether it was time for another party member to run for the Democratic ticket, declaring “failure is just not an option in 2024.”
“Donald Trump lied over and over and over and over again, and Joe Biden couldn’t respond to any of those lies,” Scarborough said.
He added that Trump opened the door for Biden to push back on false claims many times; the incumbent failed to slam it shut.
Now, Democrats have entered panic mode with members immediately acknowledging that conversations around whether Biden was fit to retain office would swirl.
Former Democratic senator Claire McCaskill questioned whether “things can be done to fix this,” on MSNBC, while former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki added: “The chatter is very distracting, and it’s going to be very consuming for the campaign.”
“Should he be replaced? They’re going to be answering that question instead of breaking through on attacking Trump,” she said.
Biden campaign spokesperson, Seth Schuster, refuted the notion that he was dropping out. And it appears the president is set to take on Trump again at the ABC debate in September.
“Not only does [the president] not plan to drop out, Biden remains committed to a second debate in September, an adviser tells me,” Kayla Tausche, CNN’s Senior White House correspondent, wrote on X on Friday.
