Several members of the media and Democrat officials pointed out that President Joe Biden may need to be replaced in light of his performance at the presidential debate.
People such as former Democratic Party presidential candidate Andrew Yang, MSNBC host Joy Reid, and Kate Bedingfield, the former communications director for Biden, were among the people who weighed in on Biden’s performance.
At several points in the debate, Biden appeared to freeze, and to mumble, and he spoke with a hoarse voice.
Yang noted in a post on X that he had debated Biden “7 times in 2020,” and noted that he’s a “different guy.”
“Look I debated Joe 7 times in 2020,” Yang wrote. “He’s a different guy in 2020. #swapJoeout.”
Look I debated Joe 7 times in 2020. He’s a different guy in 2024. #swapJoeout
— Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) June 28, 2024
Reid admitted on MSNBC that Biden had entered the presidential debate with “certain deficits,” such as stuttering,
“Obviously, Joe Biden comes in with certain deficits,” Reid said. “He has a stutter, it is more difficult for him to communicate for that reason. So, there’s a lot to mitigate the way that he speaks, and you can understand it.”
Reid added that she had been “on the phone throughout much of the debate, with” former President Barack Obama, “world people, with Democrats, with people who are political operatives,” and with campaign operatives.
“The universal reaction was somewhere approaching panic,” Reid admitted. “The people who were texting with me were very concerned about President Biden seeming extremely feeble, seeming extremely weak.”
MSNBC's Joy Reid says Democrats are now "approaching panic" by Biden's "extremely weak" debate performance @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/1Yj4q9kPho
— Nicole Silverio (@NicoleMSilverio) June 28, 2024
“Look, it was a really disappointing debate performance from Joe Biden,” Bedingfield said on CNN afterward. “I don’t think there’s any other way to slice it. His biggest issue that he had to prove to the American people was that he had the energy, had the stamina. And, he didn’t do that.”
"Look, it was a really disappointing debate performance from Joe Biden. I don't think there's any other way to slice it."
— The Recount (@therecount) June 28, 2024
— President Biden's former communications director, Kate Bedingfield, reacts to the CNN presidential debate pic.twitter.com/FnY1POhC3E
CNN Senior Political Commentator Van Jones also admitted that it had been “painful.”
“That was painful,” Jones said. “I love Joe Biden. I worked for Joe Biden. He didn’t do well at all. He did not do well at all.”
CNN's Van Jones rips Biden's debate performance:
— Bobby LaValley (@Bobby_LaVallley) June 28, 2024
"That was painful. I love Joe Biden. I worked for Joe Biden. He didn't do well at all. He did not do well at all." pic.twitter.com/qNFHNcJxAc
A February survey from the Economist/YouGov showed that 54 percent of American voters feel that Biden’s age and health would “severely” limit his ability to carry out the duties of President of the United States, while only 12 percent said there would be no effect.
In a recent DailyMail.com/TIPP poll, 70 percent of people expressed that they wanted Biden and former President Donald Trump to be tested for drugs, while 18 percent said drug tests were not needed.