The Democratic Party in the US is in panic after Joe Biden’s dismal performance in the debatewhere the former president trumpoppressed him.
International networks report that there are now more voices to replace the American president and install another candidate, but probably not Kamala Harris, who in any case is not very popular, but also has no political displacement.
The impasse at the moment is even greater, as if Harris is bypassed, it will be seen by some as an internal party “coup”.
President Biden hoped to gain new momentum for re-election by agreeing to an early debate. Instead, the interruptions and his disjointed performance Thursday night set off a wave of panic among Democrats and reopened the debate over whether he should run.
“Undoing”
During the 90-minute conference call, Mr. Biden struggled to deliver his lines and squared off against a sharp-tongued former president, Donald J. Trump, raising questions about the current president’s ability to run a dynamic and competitive campaign four months into the election. Rather than dispel concerns about his age, Mr. Biden, 81, made it a central issue.
The New York Times reports that Democrats who have defended the president for months against his opponents — including members of his own administration — exchanged frantic phone calls and text messages minutes after the debate as it became clear that Mr. Trump was “in the shadows.”
In desperation, some took to social media to express their shock, while others debated among themselves whether it was too late to convince the president to step down in favor of a younger candidate.
CNN analysts noted that top communications and strategy advisers were even discussing the possibility of going to the White House that night and asking Biden to withdraw from the race.
“Biden will face increased calls for him to resign,” said a veteran Democrat who has strongly supported Biden publicly. “Joe had deep affection among Democrats. That’s over.”
“Parties exist to win,” he continued. “The man on stage with Trump cannot win. Fear of Trump has stifled criticism of Biden. Now, that same fear will fuel calls for him to resign.”
A group of House Democrats said they were watching the debate together, and one of them, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The New York Times, acknowledged it was a “disaster” for Biden. The person said the group was discussing the need for a new presidential candidate.
Biden’s team quickly sent Harris to defend the president on CNN after the debate, although even she acknowledged that “it was a slow start, that’s obvious to everyone.” Biden showed he could handle the job because of his many accomplishments for Americans, Harris argued, adding, “The Joe Biden that I work with every day is someone who delivered things in a way that brought people into the Oval Office.” . .
Pelosi intervention?
No sitting president has dropped out of the race this late in the election cycle, and there has been little consensus about what would happen if he did. On Thursday night, Democrats put scenarios on the table in which the Older of the party, such as Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, former speaker of the California House of Representatives, would speak to Joe Biden.
There was no indication that any of them would agree to do so. Other Democrats said they feared it was too late, noting that Biden is a proud and stubborn man who has long insisted he is best qualified to defeat Trump and would listen to no one other than his wife, Jill Biden.
Democrats have long worried about the lack of an obvious successor, uncertain whether Harris or anyone else in the party can rise to the challenge.
Too late
The problem for Biden is that another debate is not scheduled until September 10, meaning he has no obvious chance of recovering in the next two months.
According to the New York Times, the president’s team knows that the task in the coming days, if not weeks, will be to limit the damage and rally the party around its current leader.