Democrats Privately Sound Alarm Bells About Joe Biden's Debate Performance

President Joe Biden's age showed during his first debate with former President Donald Trump on Thursday night. “Have Harris take over the ticket.” A Democrat running in a swing House seat also said they wanted Biden to withdraw from the race, citing concerns about his “lack of energy, lack of mental acuity” in an election with “too much at stake, namely democracy.” As for how it could affect their race, the candidate said, “I worry it makes the hit on my opponent supporting Trump seem more reasonable when in reality it’s a huge negative.” Steve Schmidt, a former Republican operative turned anti-Trump writer and consultant, called for a new presidential ticket led by Whitmer, with Maryland Gov. In a follow-up text to HuffPost, Katz said, “Undecided voters are likely still undecided.” The Biden campaign itself issued a statement touting the substance of the debate as a win for Biden. Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon cited Trump’s remarks in which he stood by his decision to appoint the justices who overturned the national right to abortion, his refusal to say he would accept the results of the election and his record of prioritizing “billionaires over working people.” “Tonight, President Biden presented a positive and winning vision for the future of America ― one in which every American has a fair shot at the American dream, where every one of our rights are protected and where our president fights to strengthen our democracy ― not to tear it down,” O’Malley Dillon said. “Trump’s performance tonight reminded the American people why they fired him four years ago and reinforced just how high the stakes are this November for the future of our country.” The Biden campaign subsequently reported that it had had the best “grassroots” fundraising day of the campaign to date, but it was not immediately clear how it was defining “grassroots.” The campaign did not provide dollar estimates of the total haul or number of donations.