The verdict is following the United States presidential debate that took place last week; Joe Biden lost. It would be one thing if Trump somehow managed to outshine Biden in the debate, however, that was not the case. Biden lost the debate in perhaps the worst way possible, which may have real negative ramifications for his electoral prospects.
This debate serves almost as vindication to Republicans and conservatives, who have for years been arguing that Biden is unfit to be president. Throughout the debate, Biden’s voice appeared very soft and almost frail, to the point where it was difficult to always understand him.
Biden failed to properly articulate many of his debate points against Donald Trump, even losing track of what he was talking about entirely at certain stages. Perhaps the most viral clip from the debate was of President Biden, completely losing track of his train of thought when answering a question and essentially giving up midway through his sentence.
Biden’s performance was so bad, that there are serious discussions now happening among liberal commentators about whether or not he should still be on the ballot for the Democrats. Even the New York Times editorial board recently published a piece calling for Biden to step down as the Democrat’s presidential nominee.
For years at this point, Donald Trump and Republicans alike have been looking to disparage Biden as being too old to be president. Going as far as to say that Biden has dementia, or that he is experiencing serious cognitive decline. For four years, every mistake Biden has made during interviews and speeches that have been highlighted by Republicans.
However, many of the claims made by conservative commentators and Republican officials have largely been seen as being hyperbolic. It is obvious to everyone watching that Biden is very old and is not as sharp as he had been before. It is, after all, what is to be expected of an 81-year-old man. However, until this debate, Biden had not had any major mishap that had been viewed by a large swath of the public.
A few weeks prior to the debate, the Wall Street Journal published a story about the concerns of various government officials, both Republicans and Democrats, who had expressed concern about Biden’s mental acuity. Numerous liberal commentators had widely criticised the paper for publishing the story. The paper had essentially been accused of spreading falsehoods about Biden’s mental state.
While it may seem ridiculous now to make that claim, many had attempted to paint a picture of a super sharp and energetic President Biden. They attempted to completely dismiss any notion of President Biden suffering in any way as a result of his age. In fact, many were arguing that by mocking and downplaying Biden’s mental state, Republicans were actually helping him. The idea had been that because the Republicans’ bar is set so low for Biden, they make it easy for him when he down appears sharp and energetic.
Biden’s State of the Union speech was a big example of the problem of Republicans setting the bar so low. Because during Biden’s State of the Union address, he managed to look very sharp and energetic. So much so, Donald Trump has long speculated that Biden may have taken illicit substances prior to delivering his speech.
While, for his age, the argument can be made that Biden is very strong. It is not often the case that 81-year-olds are able to do as much as he has been able to do in his four years as president. However, the idea that he is this incredibly sharp and energetic man, is obviously not rooted in reality. It’s clear Democrats have simply been attempting to avoid the topic of Biden’s age. However, they have been forced to seriously contend with his age now.
This development has meant that Democrats face a major problem now on what their next steps should be. Even if it is the desire of most Democrats for Biden to step aside, there is no mechanism for them to force him out. It would have to be of Biden’s own volition if he were to step down, and his campaign has made it clear that he has no intention of stepping aside.
Even if he were to step down, there is a lot of uncertainty about who would take over as the Democratic presidential nominee following Biden’s departure. Especially since Kamala Harris is not a very popular figure. It is unlikely that she would be able to galvanise democratic and independent voters to beat Donald Trump, so there is the possibility someone else may be selected ahead of her.
If another candidate is able to leapfrog Kamala Harris for the nomination, that could be very controversial. Such a move has the potential of angering cohorts of the Democratic Party’s minority base. Moreover, it’s highly unlikely that Kamala Harris would just step aside were that to happen. The potential of major divisions within the Democratic establishment being brought to the fore is high.
All this comes as Democrats have been emphasising Donald Trump’s threat to democracy. Various liberal commentators have been arguing that this is such a vital election, in order to safeguard America’s democratic values and institutions. They see this election as being vital in ensuring that Donald Trump is not reelected. That is the reason many Democrats are in a full on panic mode; it remains to been seen if any kind of genuine attempt is made to oust Biden from the ticket. However, if Biden were to lose to Trump, this moment would likely be seen as a major turning point in the election campaign