(PartiallyPolitics.com) – Biden’s supporters hoped Thursday’s debate would eradicate voters’ fears about his age, but they’re second-guessing those hopes.
When President Joe Biden, 81, and former President Donald Trump, 78, debated Thursday night, the President’s hoarse voice, tentative performance, and, at times, difficult-to-understand speech magnified concerns he’s too old for a second term.
Although White House officials dismissed Biden’s hoarse voice as a cold, they couldn’t rebut him stumbling over questions, hurrying through some talking points and trailing off in others.
Liberals and progressive TV pundits panicked afterward.
Minutes after the debate ended, CNN analyst John King described it as “game-changing,” suggesting it would lead to “a very aggressive panic in the Democratic Party.”
King noted that panic began “minutes into the debate,” explaining Democrats were discussing Biden’s performance, “which they think was dismal,” and what to do about it.
The CNN analyst suggested some of the conversations included questions about asking Biden to “step aside,” and whether “prominent Democrats” should “go public with that call because they feel this debate was so terrible.”
On the even more progressive MSNBC, King’s sentiment was echoed.
Nicole Wallace explained Biden’s circle was having conversations about their concerns over the President’s performance. Conversations that she suggested “range from whether he should be in this race” to queries about “‘What was wrong with him?'”
MSNBC’s Joy Reid noted, “Democrats are always panicking [and]… scared,” explaining Biden’s job is to “reassure them” and “calm his party,” but he hadn’t done that and instead, “did the opposite of that.”
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