Related stories:
A halting Biden sparks Democratic anxiety about his candidacy
What’s next for Biden? Post-debate reaction finds Dems mulling a different name at top of ticket
Media that repeated 'cheap fakes' talking point witnessed costly reality
In a post-debate poll conducted by CNN, respondents said 67% to 33% that former President Donald Trump turned in a better performance; and by a 42%-to-27% margin, voters who watched the debate said Trump offered a better plan than Biden for solving the country's problems. And in a separate poll by JL Partners, 32% of those surveyed believed Biden should still be the Democratic nominee – but more than two-thirds (68%) said he should be replaced.
Gary Bauer of the Campaign for Working Families has seen many debates over the years – but Thursday night's Biden-Trump tussle, he says, was in a category all by itself.
"President Biden's failure last night was epic," he tells AFN. "Both his physical weakness and his declining mental acuity were on display for everybody to see.
"Millions of people saw for the first time that we have a president that I don't see how anyone could say is capable of doing the job – and we are at a time of great threats to America, both foreign and domestic.
"[So, we need to] pray for God's hand of protection. The next seven months, from now until … Joe Biden's term ends in January, may be the most dangerous seven months in America's modern history."
Dr. Charles Dunn, professor emeritus of government at Clemson University, argues the Democrats have no choice but to try to get another candidate.
"Where can they get another candidate who could measure up in some way to compete against Mr. Trump?" he wonders. "I've never known a party to have as bad a situation as the Democrats coming out of last night."
And Robert Knight, a columnist for The Washington Times, suspects what the public saw Thursday night was part of a plan.
"They've been edging Biden toward the exit door – and I think they're preparing to crown Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, as his replacement at the upcoming Democratic convention in August. And now they have a good reason to force Mr. Biden to step down."
But the columnist contends the Democrats "still have a major problem – they've got Kamala Harris, who is very disliked by many Americans. She's obviously not presidential worthy."
Knight says to avoid being accused of racism and sexism, the Democrats might opt to put Michelle Obama at the top of the ticket.
