US President Joe Biden’s faltering presidential debate performance on Thursday night has intensified concerns about the 81-year-old incumbent’s suitability for office, prompting some within his party to question whether he should be replaced on the ballot ahead of the November presidential election. However, there is no indication that Biden intends to end his campaign, and it would be almost impossible for the Democrats to replace him unless he chose to step aside.
As the name suggests, the post-debate “spin room” is where rival campaigns scramble to shape the narrative of election face-offs, claiming a win for their candidate and framing the coverage in the following hours and days.
Candidate “surrogates” are expected to come out swinging after a strong performance or switch to damage control following a disappointing one. Democrats were very much in the latter mode on Thursday night, following a bruising clash between Biden and his Republican challenger, Donald Trump, that crystallised concerns about the incumbent’s age.
Cornered by a throng of reporters, Biden’s surrogates fielded questions about the president’s fitness for office and whether he should be removed from the Democratic ticket. California Governor Gavin Newsom, a high-profile Democratic supporter of Biden, was asked whether he would consider stepping in for Biden. He dismissed the notion, saying, “I will never turn my back on him.”
Asked by news media about the possibility of opening the convention to other candidates or replacing the president, Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks stated they were not going to dignify that with a response.
Biden, the oldest man to serve as US president, began the presidential debate sounding hoarse and looking every bit his age. He appeared to lose his train of thought while answering one question, drifting from tax policy to health policy. He also fumbled on abortion rights, one of the most critical issues for Democrats in this election.
The president’s sometimes halting delivery—even as he repeatedly sought to confront Trump’s falsehoods about the economy, immigration, and the January 6 Capitol insurrection—is likely to heighten concerns among many Americans that he is too old to serve as commander-in-chief.
Before the presidential debate, about 59% of US adults said they were “very concerned” that Biden is too old to be president, according to Gallup data collected in June. Only 18% had the same level of concern about Trump, who is four years younger. The poll also revealed that Biden’s age was causing alarm among some Democrats, with 31% expressing significant concern.
Outside the spin room, Biden’s performance triggered fresh calls for the Democrat to consider stepping aside.
Andrew Yang, who challenged Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary, wrote on X that the president should “do the right thing” by “stepping aside and letting the DNC (Democratic National Convention) choose another nominee.” He added the hashtag #swapJoeout.
Biden’s former communications director, KateBedingfield,d offered a candid assessment of his performance, saying that the president had failed to prove he still had the energy and stamina for the job.
The Biden campaign has just under two months to calm the waters before the Democratic National Convention, which kicks off in Chicago on August 19.
So far, no prominent Democratic officials have publicly broken ranks, and there is no evidence Biden is willing to end his campaign. It would be nearly impossible for Democrats to replace him unless he chose to step aside.
Every state has already held its presidential primary, and Democratic rules mandate that the delegates Biden won remain bound to support him at the party’s upcoming national convention—unless he tells them he’s leaving the race.
Biden indicated that he had no plans to do that, telling supporters in Atlanta shortly after leaving the debate stage, “Let’s keep going.”
Vice-President Kamala Harris is Biden’s running mate, but that doesn’t mean she can automatically replace him at the top of the ticket. Biden also cannot decree that she should replace him should he suddenly decide to leave the race.
If Biden opts to abandon his re-election campaign, Harris would likely join other top Democratic candidates in seeking to replace him. However, that would probably create a scenario where she and others end up lobbying individual state delegations for their support at the Democratic convention.