Republicans

Democratic operatives and officials have reacted with panic and dismay after Joe Biden’s stumbling performance in the presidential debate refocused attention on his age and sharpness.David Plouffe, a Democratic strategist and former Obama campaign official, called the debate “kind of a Defcon 1 moment”.“The biggest thing in this election is voters’ concerns – and it’s both swing voters and base voters – with his age, and those were compounded tonight,” Plouffe said.The vice-president, Kamala Harris, appeared on CNN and MSNBC after to reiterate the reasons voters should side with Biden, but even she acknowledged his poor performance. “It was a slow start, there’s no question about that, but I thought it was a strong finish,” the vice-president said.Maria Shriver, the former first lady of California, said she loves Biden and knows he’s a good man, but the evening was “heartbreaking in many ways”.“This is a big political moment. There’s panic in the Democratic party. It’s going to be a long night.”Nicholas Kristof, the leftwing political columnist, said on social media that he hopes Biden reflects on the debate and decides to withdraw from the race, letting the convention decide who should be the nominee. He suggested someone like Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, Ohio senator Sherrod Brown or commerce secretary Gina Raimondo.Former Missouri senator Claire McCaskill said on MSNBC that Biden had one job, and he didn’t do it: He needed to “reassure America that he was up to the job at his age, and he failed”. Democrats are doing more than hand-wringing in private and wondering why the Biden surrogates, who were performing well to counter the Biden debate performance, aren’t the ones at the top of the ticket, she said.“I know how this felt tonight: it felt like a gut punch,” McCaskill said.Cable commentators were left wondering whether there be a contested Democratic convention if so, how Biden might be replaced – an option some say is not possible even while others are talking about little else.On the liberal network MSNBC, anchor Nicole Wallace laid out how a candidate could release their delegates, while fellow journalist Joy Reid said someone sent her the rules for doing so.“No one is saying it’s going to happen, it’s very unlikely,” Reid said, but added that the atmosphere among Democrats was “approaching panic” .From the start, Biden faltered in the debate, the first of the 2024 presidential election. He was hard to hear, mumbling and muffling his lines, some of which – were they delivered with the intended force – could have landed successfully. He said Donald Trump has “the morals of an alley cat”, but even that one-liner was difficult to discern.Biden had challenged the former president to a debate, set earlier than normal, to shift the momentum of the race. He had delivered a strong State of the Union speech in which he appeared sharp and energetic, and his campaign appeared to calculate that a debate could give his approval ratings some lift at a time when he is polling behind Trump.Instead of a victory march, or even the more common volleying over who claims to have won the debate, it was clear that Democrats saw Biden’s performance as a liability.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionBoth Harris and Gavin Newsom, the California governor and Biden surrogate, appeared on various TV networks later in the evening to talk about how Trump lied and deflected throughout the debate – and sought to remind voters what a Trump presidency was like and could be again.“It was a slow start, there’s no question about that, but I thought it was a strong finish,” the vice-president said on MSNBC before launching into a list of Biden’s accomplishments, saying Biden fights for the people while Trump fights for himself.Newsom, on MSNBC, called the questions “unhelpful” and “unnecessary”. The conversations are “rabbit holes” that detract from Biden’s record and hinder democracy and the country’s fate.“We’ve got to have the back of this president,” Newsom said. “You don’t turn your back because of one performance. What kind of party does that?”Some Democrats laid out ways the Biden camp could turn the moment back toward him and get his performance out of voters’ minds: send out his surrogates to support him, put strong speakers like Harris or Newsom on the morning shows, or announce an initiative or endorsement or big idea in order to change the narrative. More

Moustafa Bayoumi: ‘The Democrats must select someone other than Biden as their candidate’What a catastrophe. From the moment the debate started, Joe Biden was meandering, confused and charmless. It never improved. Donald Trump, however, was relatively restrained, at least for Trump. Of course, he resorted to lies, insults and exaggerations throughout the 90 minutes. By citing things called “Black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs” and by calling Biden a “bad Palestinian”, Trump managed to hit all his usual racist notes.Yet the whole thing was simply painful to watch, mostly because it was useless on any practical level. This much ballyhooed confrontation between two political foes for the most important office in the world turned out to be featherlight on substance, policy, interest, intellect, imagination, vision, energy, ideas, humor and hope. It was heavy on one thing (besides cringe), though: ego.The presidency should not simply be a vanity project, but that’s exactly what it has become. Biden’s performance was so far below acceptable that the Democratic party should be ashamed of itself for allowing him to stand for re-election. With tonight’s performance as evidence, the Democrats will almost certainly lose. Trump’s narcissism is notorious, and it too has destroyed the Republican party from within. The stakes are much too high to allow the inflated egos of these two men to determine the fates of millions of people here and around the world. If the Democrats truly believe that democracy is on the line during this election, they must select someone other than Biden as their candidate. There’s still time.
Moustafa Bayoumi is a Guardian US columnist
Jill Filipovic: ‘Neither man came off looking good’Well, that was a disaster.The debate was an unmitigated calamity, especially for Biden. The president was often hard to follow and at times incoherent; he struggled to answer questions that should have been easy gimmes on issues favorable to Democrats. It would be nice if substance mattered more than style, because the substance of Biden’s remarks were important, and promised a more prosperous, secure and free future for Americans than Trump’s. But his delivery made it extremely difficult for even the most plugged-in politics addicts to follow, let alone your average viewer at home.For Trump’s part, what he didn’t say was more telling than what he did. He was unwilling or unable to answer questions on how he would help families with childcare, the costs of which are a drag not only on family budgets, but on the US economy. He was unwilling or unable to answer questions about opioids and the US’s addiction crisis. And, perhaps most importantly, he refused to clearly answer a thrice-asked question about whether he would accept the results of the election – saying only that he would do so if such an election were fair, and then claimed the 2020 one wasn’t. In other words, Trump will accept the results of the election only if he wins – and contest it if he doesn’t.That’s remarkably dangerous. And his wholesale lack of interest in the issues that matter most to American families is remarkably negligent. But unfortunately, his would-be foil – Biden – proved simply unable to take on even a truly terrible opponent. Neither man came off looking good. But if Americans are counting on Biden to save us, we might want to start making a Plan B.
Jill Filipovic is the author of the The H-Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness
Lloyd Green: ‘Biden looked lost’Joe Biden’s age and acuity took center stage. He looked lost, and the Democrats are almost certainly panicking. At times, the president could barely stitch two coherent sentences together. Donald Trump won the evening, and it wasn’t even close.Trump took command from the outset. He appeared energized and engaged. What Trump said mattered less than how he said it; he forcefully responded to whatever question was posed. He repeatedly mocked, taunted and bludgeoned Biden. If this were a boxing match, the referee would have stopped the match in the third round.Despite Biden’s efforts to nail Trump on his own record as president, Trump was mostly unbowed. He seemingly stood by his picks to the supreme court and the end of Roe v Wade. At one point Trump seemingly mouthed the words “let’s not act like children,” which may be the evening’s most memorable line. He also got away with calling Biden “the Manchurian candidate”.Trump lied aplenty. He acted as if he never had said there were “good people” on both sides in Charlottesville, and pretended that he hadn’t dissed America’s war dead. But little of that may matter come November. Americans want a president who exudes vigor. And Biden isn’t that.The debate will supply Trump with a wealth of material for campaign ads. It may be time for an open convention. August could be interesting.
Lloyd Green is an attorney in New York and served in the US Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992
Arwa Mahdawi: ‘This was not a debate so much as a farce’My expectations for this debate weren’t just low, they were dungeon-in-hell levels of low. I still wasn’t prepared for how shocking it would actually be. Trump lied unashamedly, Biden waffled incoherently, and the moderators just said “thank you” a lot and moved on. This was not a “debate” so much as a farce.If Biden’s team thought this debate would assuage worries about the president’s age and competence, their plans spectacularly backfired. For the first half of the debate, Biden looked dazed and could barely get his words out. He noticeably improved towards the end; still, this was not a man who instills confidence. Trump blustered and lied and dog-whistled his way through the night, but if you were going on optics alone the convicted felon had the upper hand.For those of us distraught by Gaza, tonight was a gut-wrenching reminder that neither candidate gives a damn about Palestinian lives. Trump used “Palestinian” as a slur and Biden, meanwhile, reiterated his support for Israel no matter how many Palestinian kids are killed. Neither candidate answered the question of whether they support a Palestinian state and the moderators didn’t press them on it.Responses to questions about abortion were also bleak. Trump advanced inflammatory misinformation about late-term abortion and Biden didn’t seem interested in talking about abortion in detail – he didn’t even mention it in his closing statements. He seemed a lot more interested in talking about golf. Indeed, the only part of the night when both men seemed to really come alive was when they got into a fight about their golf handicaps.
Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist and the author of Strong Female Lead
Osita Nwanevu: ‘Democracy is at stake. Biden failed to make that point’Half an hour into the worst presidential debate of all time, Jake Tapper finally put a question to the candidates about “the issue of democracy”. As president, Tapper said, Trump had sworn an oath to the constitution that many voters believe he violated by instigating the riot on January 6. What would he say to those voters?“Well, I don’t think too many believe that,” Trump sniffed. “And let me tell you about January 6th. On January 6th, we had a great border. Nobody coming through. Very few. On January 6th, we were energy independent. On January 6th, we had the lowest taxes ever. We had the lowest regulations ever … We were respected all over the world.” He was asked again and babbled about Nancy Pelosi’s daughter instead.This was Biden’s golden opportunity. Because as stubbornly pessimistic as Americans might be about the economy or Biden’s age, Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election illustrate that democracy itself is at stake. It’s a simple, clear and potent message. Biden failed to deliver it effectively. “He talked about these people being great patriots of America,” Biden rasped. “In fact, he says he’ll now forgive them for what they’ve done. He’ll … and they’ve been convicted. He says he wants to commute their sentences … and say that … that no, he went to every single court in the nation, I don’t know how many cases, scores of cases, including the supreme court. And they said, they said: ‘No, no, this guy, this guy is responsible for doing what is being that was done.’”It is generally the case that the substance of the issues discussed in presidential debates matter far less than a few one-liners and soundbites that might travel well. That will be especially true of this debacle ⁠– a joust between an inveterate liar and a man who couldn’t manage to deliver more than garbled responses even on what his campaign would like journalists to believe is his best topic.Unfortunately, it’s doubtful that Biden’s capacities will improve by November. Although he does sometimes have a command of facts and figures, Biden has lost his ability to communicate effectively ⁠– not something one wants in a political candidate or, for that matter, a president.
Osita Nwanevu is a Guardian US columnist More

The reality of the 2024 presidential contest is setting in now that the first debate of the election cycle showcased the two main options voters have in November.Joe Biden, apparently sick with a cold, mumbled through the debate, failing to land otherwise well-crafted lines. Donald Trump, a prolific purveyor of falsehoods, repeatedly told lies and avoided answering tough questions.The prevailing reaction to the debate was one of resignation and disbelief that these two candidates were their parties’ choices to lead the country at one of its most critical moments.Whether the debacle will sway undecided voters toward one candidate or the other remains to be seen.1. Biden performs poorlyThe president joked about the rightwing conspiracies that he would take some kind of performance-enhancing drugs before the debate, posting a link to a can of water for sale on his campaign website called “Dark Brandon’s Secret Sauce”.But his low-energy, muted and garbled performance didn’t live up to expectations. And keep in mind: Biden challenged the former president to the debate, which looks like a strategic error in retrospect.Voters regularly say they are concerned about Biden’s age and fitness for office. This debate will not assuage their fears.If someone were reading a transcript of Biden’s remarks, some of his lines would sound smart and aggressive. But the delivery failed – and for a visual medium like TV, that’s critical. He failed to sell his signature accomplishments, like his infrastructure plan.From the start, Biden’s voice was muffled. He trailed off. In one gaffe, attacking Trump on his tax cuts and the national debt, he confusingly ended his remarks with: “We finally beat Medicare.”Trump jumped on the moment: “He did beat Medicare. He beat it to death, and he’s destroying Medicare.”On an abortion question, which should be one of Biden’s strongest assets for voters concerned about rolling back reproductive rights, Biden brought up girls killed by migrants – pivoting, for some reason, to one of his weakest areas.He became more lively over the course of the evening, but not enough to change the narrative of how the debate went down optically. The evening will undoubtedly lead Democrats to debate whether Biden should somehow be replaced at the convention.2. Trump lies endlesslyAs expected for a politician so consistently factchecked, Trump repeatedly tried to sell falsehoods and half-truths to voters.When questions were posed that would require tough answers, like one about the January 6 insurrection, he deflected and talked about something he could attack Biden on.CNN’s moderators did not factcheck statements live. At times, when he avoided the question, they would reiterate it – sometimes successfully getting Trump to answer.He falsely claimed Democrats want abortions up until and after birth. He said without evidence that Nancy Pelosi refused his offer for national guard troops on 6 January 2021 to respond to an insurrection he encouraged. He said his administration had the “best environmental numbers”, whatever that means.And his promise that retribution would mark a second term in office surfaced too, in what seemed to be a veiled threat of prosecution: “He could be a convicted felon as soon as he gets out of office. Joe could be a convicted felon with all of the things that he’s done. He’s done horrible things.”3. Different visions were starkly on displayThe two men showed the distinctions of the two Americas in which they live.Trump repeatedly talked about how the US had failed, how Biden was the worst president in the country’s history and how the world views the country dismally now.“Joe, our country is being destroyed. As you and I sit up here and waste a lot of time on this debate. This shouldn’t be a debate. He is the worst president, he just said about me because I said it. But look, he’s the worst president in the history of our country. He’s destroyed our country.”Biden disagreed, offering an optimistic view of the US on the world stage.“We’re the most admired country in the world. We’re the United States of America. There’s nothing beyond our capacity. We have the finest military in the history of the world, the finest in the history of the world. No one thinks we’re weak. No one wants to screw around with us, nobody.”4. The adult film actor momentTrump’s convictions and varied court cases didn’t come up in the debate until it was well underway, a missed opportunity from Biden to hammer on one of Trump’s key liabilities.When the issue finally surfaced, Biden hit at Trump for having sex with an adult film actor while his wife was pregnant, referring to Stormy Daniels and the hush-money trial that concluded in 34 felonies for Trump.“You have the morals of an alley cat,” Biden quipped at Trump.Trump responded with a line that surely has not been uttered at presidential debates in decades past: “I didn’t have sex with a porn star.” More

It could be the moment when a rematch that few seem to want finally comes to life: like two ageing prizefighters, Joe Biden and Donald Trump will enter the arena of political bloodsport on Thursday evening to resume a verbal sparring bout that will revive memories of the ugly exchanges when the two debated face to face four years ago.A CNN studio in Atlanta will host the first presidential debate of the campaign between the same two candidates who contested the last election, which Biden won.With more than four months to go until polling day in November, it is the earliest in any US presidential campaign that a debate between the two main candidates has ever been staged.While some see the timing as premature, it could provide a chance to open up a contest that has become overshadowed by, among other things, Trump’s recent felony conviction, as well as assorted other legal travails that see him facing 54 criminal charges for trying to overturn the last election and for retaining classified documents.Knife-edge polls indicate a race essentially tied, with a national polling average for May and June showing the candidates at 46% each. Polls in seven key battleground states – Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina – give Trump a narrow advantage, though usually within the margin of error.For non-Trump supporters, it is a troubling scenario given he incited a violent insurrection against the US Capitol to stop Congress certifying the results of the 2020 election that he refused to accept that he lost, despite Biden winning by more than 7m votes.Both candidates are deeply unpopular: Trump because his opponents see him as an aspiring dictator who threatens democracy, Biden because, at 81 (although just three years older than his Republican opponent), he is viewed – even among many Democrats – as too old for another term as president.Both will attempt to change their respective narratives in the debate. Trump, openly hostile towards immigrants, will probably attack Biden over an uptick of migrants at the border, despite Biden’s recent moves to tighten it. But Trump advisers know he needs at least some moderate voters to win, and will be hoping he can tone down his most virulent rhetoric, such as saying immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country”.Biden, for his part, will be aiming to dilute criticism of his age with an energetic performance along the lines of his State of the Union address earlier this year. He could be prepared to go on the offensive regarding Trump’s criminal record, and for how Trump takes credit for stacking the supreme court with conservatives in order to overturn the right to abortion.The stakes for both could not be higher. “We have a majority of voters who are unhappy with the incumbent, but they don’t have great recollection of what the prior officeholder did either,” said Patrick Murray, head of the Polling Institute at Monmouth University. “That sets us up for a very tight race where people just don’t know when they want to go.“Very rarely do you have anything like 18, 19, 20% of an electorate who say [as they do now] ‘I don’t like the fact that I could vote for either one of these.’ We’ve only seen this phenomenon one other time in living memory, which was eight years ago, with the Clinton-Trump race.”The two men will meet in transformed circumstances from 2020, when the world was still grappling with the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdown rules limited political campaigning.Since then, Russia has invaded Ukraine and Israel has become embroiled in a long and devastating war in Gaza, developments requiring US military aid and diplomatic commitment.The lingering effects of inflation, fuelled by Covid-era public spending, is partly dousing the otherwise rosy economic situation, pulling down Biden’s approval ratings even as the US outgrows other developed economies and unemployment sees historic lows. Meanwhile, Biden – contrary to his pre-election promises – has embraced some of Trump’s fiercely anti-immigrant policies by temporarily shutting the southern US border to a tide of asylum seekers should a number of daily crossings be exceeded.Many of these changes have rebounded to Trump’s advantage, with polls showing a majority favouring him on the economy over Biden, a trend Murray attributed to “rosy retrospection”.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“You think you’re not happy with the way things are right now and you automatically remember the past as having been better. We’re seeing that now with Donald Trump,” he said. “When we ask [voters] looking back to Donald Trump’s presidency, to approve or disapprove of the job he did, he gets 48% approval. He never got a 48% approval rating when he was president.”Trump’s achilles heel – and the possible key to Biden’s salvation – may lie in arguably the most startling domestic change to have happened since the last election, the US supreme court ruling in 2022 overturning the landmark Roe v Wade decision that guaranteed women’s right to abortion.“It’s a good issue for Democrats in an election where they’re hunting for issues that are good for them,” said Kyle Kondik, of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. “Pretty clearly the public opinion is closer to them on abortion rights than it is to the Republican position.”That advantage was illustrated in a campaign video Biden released on Monday that blamed Trump personally for the court’s abortion ruling, pointing out that the decision had depended on the votes of three conservative justices appointed by him when he was president.The video followed an equally personalised attack in another television advert released and widely circulated in swing states the week before. Titled Character Matters, it targeted Trump’s criminal status arising from his felony conviction in a New York court last month of falsifying documents to cover up hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actor who testified that the pair had sex.According to Murray, the president’s only route to victory is to intensify and broaden such attacks to woo a bloc of an estimated 6-7 million anti-Trump voters who backed Biden last time but have cooled on him and are inclined to sit out the forthcoming election.“Those are the voters I’d be going after, if I was Biden,” he said. “There’s a host of issues – Roe v Wade, January 6, book banning – but the real issue is that Donald Trump represents a change in how the government deals with your personal freedoms.“That’s the kind of thing that can move this, this group of voters sitting on the fence. This group was for Biden; if he can win them back, he moves the needle four points in his direction and we’re talking about an entirely different ballgame.” More