Staff Reports
Be careful what you wish for. The Democrats wanted an early debate, and boy, they got it – but not how they hoped. President Joe Biden thought he could recover from any stumbles if he got an early start, but his 2024 campaign is now hanging by a thread after a disastrous performance against former President Donald Trump.
Biden’s confidence was sky-high when he threw down the debate gauntlet, bragging about his 2020 victories over Trump and pushing for a debate without interruptions, live audiences, or conservative moderators. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, accepted Biden’s conditions and proceeded to put on a clinic while Biden imploded. It seems the controlled environment Biden demanded served only to put his struggles on full display.
3/ 🎤Debate Impact: Post-Debate CNN Flash Poll: 67% believe Trump won, 33% for Biden. Biden's collapse & Trump's decent performance appear to be tangibly reshaping the race.
— Dustin Olson (@DustinOlson) July 2, 2024
After a pathetic showing, Biden scrambled with excuses. His aides suggested preparation overload, but it’s hard to excuse a sitting president needing six days at Camp David to prepare. Despite all that “prep,” Biden seemed utterly unprepared, stumbling over answers on key issues like abortion and immigration. One moment, he’s confusing facts; the next, he’s blaming a busy travel schedule – even though he’d had twelve days to recover from his jet-setting. The real kicker? He was unaware that Snopes had debunked claims about Trump’s “very fine people” quote from Charlottesville. Looks like even quasi-news outlets are sharper than Team Biden.
Meanwhile, Democrats are flipping out. Former top Obama advisor David Axelrod openly laid out the nightmare scenario on CNN. If Biden steps aside, Trump’s path gets trickier, but Biden refusing to bow out might just lead Democrats straight into an electoral buzzsaw. Obama himself couldn’t sugarcoat it, either. Behind the scenes, he’s worried sick about Trump’s political resurgence and the likelihood of Democrats getting thumped come November.
The polls paint an even grimmer picture. Biden’s already slipping numbers took a nosedive post-debate, with Trump extending his lead in national surveys and battleground states. It didn’t help that Biden’s son Hunter was back in the news with his shady business dealings and colorful past – a sharp contrast to the Democrats’ attempts to paint Trump as the only scandal-prone candidate.
Then there’s the drama within the Democratic Party. A third of Democrats want Biden to drop out, according to recent polls. Figures like Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer and California’s Governor Gavin Newsom are being eyed as potential replacements, but even they fare poorly against Trump. Although slightly polling better than Biden post-debate, Vice President Kamala Harris remains unpopular, complicating any straightforward swap at the top.
It’s a mess that hasn’t been seen before. While Biden clings to the notion that no major party nominee has been ousted this late in the game, the whispers are growing louder. With the party grappling with existential questions about their chances in November, the only clear thing is that Biden’s vision for a redeeming debate backfired spectacularly. As the Democrats scramble, it’s Trump who stands to gain from this debacle, marching confidently toward what could be a stunning political comeback.
