Table of contents
The US presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was a disaster for Biden. The thud you heard was jaws hitting the floor. The harsh sound you heard was US President Biden’s voice, which felt like he had eaten the microphone. Say it ain’t so, Biden. Thursday night in the US sent Democrats from “everything’s fine” to “nothing’s fine, it’s time to panic!”
The first US presidential debate between the two happened on Thursday in Atlanta. The president entered the CNN studio and stood at the right podium, and Trump, wearing a red tie and a flag pin, stood on the left podium. There was pin-drop silence. This was the first presidential debate without an audience since John F. Kennedy v. Richard Nixon in 1960.
The battle between the two men exuded through the screen. It was crystal clear, as neither shook hands with each other. In the next miserable 1.5 hours, Biden perfectly managed to achieve one thing: He lived down to everyone’s rock-bottom expectations. You can watch the full presidential debate here.
US Presidential Debate – 90 Miserable Minutes of Biden
As Biden opened his mouth, his voice was raspy and hard to hear. On the first question about the economy and inflation, Biden’s voice was so harsh that he had to clear his throat. Even Trump was smiling awkwardly at the instance. At one point, Trump said, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”
Over 90 minutes, raspy-voiced Biden struggled to deliver his lines and spoke in a low tone. For the team of Democrats, Biden must have a cold, or he must be overprepared after months of preparation. Democrats must have been like, “Clear your throat, you old man!”
Early on, Biden said, “We have 1,000 trillionaires in America – I mean billionaires in America.” In the debate, Biden even zoned out many times, like he does the majority of the time. This was the story throughout the whole debate. The former president is only three years younger than Biden but is a man of television.
The presidential debate was pushed by Biden’s campaign, and they set the rules for the debate. This was the earliest presidential debate in history, conducted only to show Trump in a bad light to the Americans. The rules included muting microphones and having no audience in the studio. All of this seemed to backfire badly, as it worked to Trump’s advantage.
All these restrictions helped Trump stay controlled and disciplined. The last presidential debate in 2020 had a lot of interruptions by Trump, but this time, he didn’t interrupt. Last time, Trump played to crowds and got carried away by unrelated stories. But this time, the debate had no audience. CNN did a good job by giving them equal time to answer and refute.
Biden’s Performance Sends Democrats Into Panic
Democratic officials and members reacted with panic after Biden’s poor performance in the presidential debate. After the debate, Democrats scrambled to affirm Biden’s ability to lead the nation. Seeing Biden’s old age, some even questioned what else could be done. The debate sent a wave of panic among Democrats and reopened discussions about whether Biden should be the nominee at all.
Former senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat of Missouri, said on MSNBC that “Joe Biden had one thing he had to do tonight, and he didn’t do it.” “He had one thing he had to accomplish, and that was reassure America that he was up to the job at his age, and he failed.” She also said, “I know how this felt tonight: it felt like a gut punch.” Claire called the debate “a crisis,” saying that her phone was “blowing up” with senators, operatives, donors, and other distraught Democrats about what happen next.
Democratic operative and CNN senior political commentator David Axelrod said, “He (Biden) seemed a little disoriented. He did get together, and as the debate went on, but by that time, I think the panic had set in.”
The Democratic Party is even thinking about options other than Biden for presidential elections. Mark Buell, a donor for Biden and the Democratic Party, said after the debate that the president has to strongly consider if he’s the best person to be the nominee. Buell said. “do we have time to put somebody else in others?”