By Updater
Joe Biden gave a stumbling performance in a 90-minute showdown with Donald Trump – the first televised debate of the 2024 presidential election campaign as Trump avoid key quastions.
- Democrats expressed concern at the president’s performance – with party insiders saying his early answers triggered panic
- But Vice-President Kamala Harris defended Biden, saying it “was a slow start, but there was a strong finish”
- Trump repeatedly attacked Biden on the economy and his foreign policy record, while Biden took aim at his rival’s criminal conviction and alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election
- Trump also repeated falsehoods – from abortion, to taxes and the deficit – and at first avoided answering if he would accept the 2024 election result
- Biden called Trump a “sucker”, a “loser,” and said he had the “morals of an alley cat”
- Trump hit back, and said at one point: “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence, and I don’t think he did either”
Thus, some Democrats in the United States are actively discussing replacing incumbent President Joe Biden on the ticket after his faltering debate performance, three strategists close to the party told Politico.
According to them, Biden’s fellow party members “are so panicked” over his poor performance in the debate with former US President Donald Trump that some are now are actively discussing “what was once unspeakable:” replacing the incumbent head of state with an alternative candidate.
“Biden needs to drop out. No question about it,” the newspaper quoted a donor as saying.