What to do with Biden

ATLANTA—Democratic operatives across the country watched nervously as President Joe Biden faced former President Donald Trump for the first time on stage since 2020. What they saw proved they had reason for concern about the 81-year-old’s campaign for reelection.

On the first question from moderators about the economy, Biden stumbled over his response and then froze mid-answer. After a few beats, he said, “We finally beat Medicare.” At one point, he attempted to scratch his ear, very slowly moving his arms. His raspy voice frequently trailed off at the end of answers. The campaign later said the president was suffering from a cold. Biden then mixed up an answer about stronger immigration laws, to which Trump responded, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence, and I don’t think he knows what he said, either.”

When asked about his age (Biden is the oldest president in American history), he retorted, “This guy’s three years younger and a lot less competent.”

After the debate, Biden stopped by a watch party in downtown Atlanta. He said “Thank you, North Carolina!” as he waved goodbye, heading to Raleigh for a brief campaign stop.

Democratic campaigners are not masking their disappointment. Vice President Kamala Harris defended Biden’s performance but admitted he had “a slow start.” Claire McCaskill, a former U.S. senator from Missouri and current Democratic consultant, said she felt terrible for Biden while watching.

“Joe Biden had one thing he had to do tonight, and he didn’t do it,” she told MSNBC. “He had one thing he had to accomplish, and that was to reassure America that he was up to the job at his age, and he failed at that tonight.”

At a Republican watch party in Smyrna, Republican voter Lisa Barnhart deemed Trump the clear winner.

“Honestly, I felt compassion for Biden,” she told WORLD. “I can’t understand what he’s saying, and I think he’s in a compromised position.”

Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon said the debate gave the GOP a new communication strategy between now and Election Day in November.

“We’ll be able to break down this 90 minutes of video in some pretty powerful ways to say to someone that might be on the fence, ‘Look, don’t you want the United States of America to have a president who is capable of leading?’” McKoon told WORLD. “President Trump clearly communicated the direction he’ll take the country in, and President Biden simply wasn’t able to do that.”

During the 2020 presidential debates, moderators struggled to maintain control as Trump interrupted and at times yelled over Biden and the anchors. On Thursday night, Trump rarely spoke once his allotted time passed and his microphone was muted—a new rule imposed by CNN. On a few occasions he turned to Biden to ask a direct question, but voters noticed he was not as loud or confrontational as they’ve seen before.

“He seems very restrained, and I like that,” Republican voter Dee Ann Wise said in Smyrna. “He’s doing the right thing by just letting Biden talk, and that’s all you need to do in a case like this.”

Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Biden showed numerous age-related signs of decline, especially in private and within the Oval Office. The White House demanded that the outlet remove the story. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that videos showing Biden shuffling or appearing frozen were deepfakes. To comply with Ohio state laws, the Democratic National Committee planned to nominate Biden virtually ahead of the convention in August. But the debate could throw the process into question.

The 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that if a president dies or resigns, the vice president takes the office. Section Four says that if the vice president and a majority of either the executive branch or Congress find the president is unable to discharge the duties of the office, the vice president will become the acting president immediately.

The constitution is less clear when it comes to presidential candidates. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, held a press call earlier in the week predicting that Biden would do poorly in the debate. If the Democratic National Committee were to try to replace Biden with another candidate, Heritage has a 50-state plan to take the organization to court.

“If Biden were to step down and another candidate were to emerge, some states might have to retain Joe’s name on the ballot and the other person would have to operate as a write-in candidate,” said Mike Howell with Heritage.

At a Democratic watch party at a bar in downtown Atlanta, Biden supporters grimaced at a few missteps but overall did not flag in their support for the president. Tariq Smith is deputy organizing director for Common Defense, a left-leaning veterans advocacy group. He said that Biden is not growing any younger but he is still the only one who has defeated Trump before.

“This election is still a choice between convicted felon Donald Trump and President Biden,” Smith told WORLD. “Donald Trump tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6. He is, was, and always will be unfit to be Commander in Chief. The choice is clear.”

Ed Anderson, a leader for Vets Against Trump and also a Common Defense organizer, said Biden’s performance was “terrible at the start,” but he doubts that replacing Biden would help if the goal is to defeat Trump in November.

“I wasn’t really impressed by either,” Anderson said. “Biden fumbled at the start. Trump was the quintessential idiot, uniform and self-gratifying. But I’m not sure stepping aside at this point would be good strategy. Decency trumps insanity.”