President Joe Biden’s debate performance on Thursday night has sparked serious concerns on both sides of the aisle about his mental acuity and physical well-being. Some have gone as far as calling for a new candidate to replace Biden on the Democratic ticket.
While former President Donald Trump’s performance did not draw overwhelming praise, that was overshadowed by the concerns prompted by Biden’s showing. Many are questioning if the president voters saw at the debate is the same one running the country on a daily basis.
Here is what some of the most influential people in politics are saying about Biden and his campaign after the debate.
Kellyanne Conway
Former Trump aide Kellyanne Conway blasted Biden and his team Friday, calling his performance a “disgrace.” She said the nation has been “gaslit” on Biden’s mental well-being, suggesting his team knows more than being made public.
“There is no breaking news in what we saw last night,” she said on Fox’s Hannity. “It is an unforgivable, inexcusable disgrace that we as a nation have been gaslit.”
Biden aides told Axios on Saturday that he is functional and engaged from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., which coincides with the hours many of his on-camera events are held. Outside of that time period, or while traveling abroad, aides said, the president is more likely to have miscues.
Barack Obama
Former President Barack Obama admitted his once-vice president had a rough night, but said that “last night didn’t change” the choice people have to make “between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself.”
“Bad debate nights happen,” Obama said. “Trust me, I know.”
Glossing over Biden’s performance, he shifted focus to framing the election as a choice between “someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit.”
John Fetterman
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said Biden had a “rough debate,” but refused to pounce on him for it like the “Democratic vultures on his shoulder” following the Thursday night showdown.
Reacting to a Politico article about Democrats looking for Biden alternatives, he said, “No one knows more than me that a rough debate is not the sum total of the person and their record.”
James Carville
Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville said he never thought Biden running again “was a nifty idea.” He offered one reason that sentiment may not have gotten through to the octogenarian president: There are very few people Biden actually listens to.
“He doesn’t have advisers,” Carville said. “He has employees.”
Axios reported that ultimately, the “only Biden deciders” are a small circle of the president’s closest allies, featuring his wife Jill Biden, his sister Valerie Biden, and longtime friend Ted Kaufman.
Mitch McConnell
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blamed the first lady in particular for the president’s unwillingness to drop out of the race, despite the growing public concern for his mental acuity.
“Joe Biden is going to be the nominee,” McConnell said. “Joe Biden is not going to give it up. Why? Because Jill does not want to give it up either.”
McConnell said that from their time together in the Senate, he learned that “you can’t negotiate with him … you have to negotiate with staff.”
Kamala Harris
Vice President Kamala Harris admitted that Biden had a “slow start” and argued that “for the last 3 1/2 years, up until today” the president had performed well at his job.
“It was a slow start,” she said. “That’s obvious to everyone — I’m not going to debate that point.”
Like Obama, she shifted toward framing it as a “choice in November.” Harris called the 2024 election “one of the most important elections in our collective lifetime” and criticized Trump.
Bob Woodward
Journalist Bob Woodward, of Watergate reporting fame, chimed in on Biden’s debate performance, calling it “so bad, so awful,” labeling it a “political hydrogen bomb,” and demanding answers on “what happened” from his staff.
“I think the answer here is in reporting, in seeking very aggressively, an explanation — what happened here?” Woodward proposed. “We don’t want it to come out in some book or some memoir in a couple of years or a decade. We’d need to know now.”
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According to Democrats, Biden had a cold. His aides also claimed he was “over-prepared when what he needed was rest.” Biden himself blamed his old age for the poor showing, admitting, “I don’t debate as well as I used to.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for comment.
