Donald Trump and Joe Biden square off in presidential debate (CNN)
Joe Biden has acknowledged his poor performance in Thursday night's presidential debate, but he also is seeing encouraging signs that he might be able to move forward with his campaign, even as some Democrats have developed a "sense of doom" regarding Biden's post-debate chances against Republican Donald Trump. Biden spent the day after the debate trying to soothe the nerves of Democrats who seem to think all hope is lost if Biden remains their nominee.
It remains to be seen how effective Biden's efforts to calm nerves will be, but in a report at the Axios AM newletter, Mike Allen reports that the sense of despair among Democrats is deep and widespread. Under the headline "Dems' Sense of Doom," Allen writes:
President Biden (Friday) acknowledged his poor performance in last night's debate — and tried to calm Democrats' panic with a comparatively high-energy rally and a plug from former President Obama.
Biden's mindset was best described in a quote that surely will be the most memorable one from the North Carolina rally. Here is how The New Yorker reported it :
“I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious.” The crowd tittered and built to applause. "“ Folks, I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong, I know know how to do this job. and I know how to get things done."
Will the task before Biden be an easy one? No, Mike Allen reports:
Biden's halting, stammering performance forced Democrats' once-hushed fears about November into the open.
- There has been private, theoretical discussion about Biden being replaced on the ticket, several Democratic lawmakers told Axios — though they acknowledged the decision is ultimately his to make.
- "There's a lot of chatter out there about whether we can do something, just a general unanimity that it was bad and a sense of doom," one lawmaker said.
️ The intrigue: Top Democrats told Axios today that First Lady Jill Biden would be the only person who could persuade her husband to step aside.
- "Joe, you did such a great job," Jill Biden told him when they visited a post-debate rally party 9Thursday) night. "You answered every question. You knew all the facts.