Lights in CNN’s Atlanta studios have long dimmed after Thursday’s first presidential debate. Yet, the public spotlight remains firmly fixed on Joe Biden, casting an unforgiving glare on his aged features and occasional vacant stare. Paired with his raspy voice and often convoluted responses, such scrutiny fuels the somewhat widespread notion that the 81-year-old president might be indeed “too old to serve” – let alone seek another term.
Last weekend, Biden retreated to Camp David with his entire family—First Lady, children, and grandchildren included. Insiders argue he needed the solace and support of his closest kin, who had been pivotal in his decision to lift reservations and run in 2020 to curb Donald Trump’s hopes of an encore. Once again, they urged him to stay the course despite mounting calls for a dramatic exit. Among his staunchest supporters is his son, Hunter Biden, who seems convinced the one seen at the disappointing presidential debate was not the “real” Biden.
Advisers indicate that the family placed the blame for Biden’s debate performance squarely on his campaign staff, whom they see as the real culprits behind the TV debacle against a much more energetic Donald Trump. John Morgan, a prominent Democratic donor from Florida, also expressed frustration with the pre-debate strategy crafted by consultants Anita Dunn and Bob Bauer.
“They should have let him rest; he was exhausted,” Morgan lamented, attributing Biden’s weak performance to an overload of statistics, excessive debate preparations, and recent international trips to France and Italy.
Despite this, no major staff changes are expected: Biden is known for his loyalty to his team, after all.
While the 81-year-old commander-in-chief might enjoy unwavering support from his own family, the same cannot be said for political allies. Some fellow Democrats have publicly started distancing themselves from their leader, particularly in swing districts where GOP margins are narrow and a visit from either the president or First Lady could be detrimental at this point.
In a bid to avoid a post-debate fallout, Virginia candidate Missy Cotter Smasal withdrew from an event on Friday. New York representative Pat Ryan dodged journalists’ questions, while Alaska’s Mary Peltola similarly stated she was focused “solely on her campaign.”
Also calling for a step back from Biden was the New York Times editorial board, in a dramatic editorial published just hours after the debate closed that explains how a “more capable” candidate represents the “best chance to protect the nation’s soul” from Trump’s “threat of tyranny”.
Biden’s re-election campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon, sought to downplay concerns, emphasizing in a memo to supporters that key swing state polls remained stable post-debate (though Trump still leads in most). An email from the Biden campaign on Sunday further claimed that they had raised over $33 million since the debate, with $26 million coming from contributions from the general public – and over half of them from people who were contributing for the first time in the 2024 election cycle.
The president’s team tried to reframe his image by scheduling a public appearance in North Carolina, where he seemed markedly different from just a few hours earlier. “I might not walk as easily or talk as smoothly as I used to. I might not debate as well as I used to. But what I do know is how to tell the truth,” Biden said in his remarks on Friday.
However, the damage seems to have been done already. And for the first time, Democratic lawmakers are openly considering alternative candidates. First among them is Vice President Kamala Harris, who could resonate with female voters concerned about the GOP’s anti-abortion stance. While the vice president’s team has thus far brushed off any discussion of a Democratic ticket without Biden and Harris, the majority of Democratic strategists contended that Harris would be the most sensible pick considering her position as vice president and cautioned against choosing a different candidate over who is already on the ticket.
However, the 60-year-old Oakland native could end up doing even worse than her boss, according to the scant polling data available. In a hypothetical contest, Harris would be 6 percentage points behind Trump in the eyes of potential voters, according to a February New York Times/Siena College survey, with 42% of respondents supporting her. At the time, Harris performed somewhat worse than Biden, who was then 4 percentage points behind Trump in that poll (44 to 48 percent).
Other possible contenders include California Governor Gavin Newsom, a leading candidate for the 2028 elections alongside Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a staunch anti-Trump figure and a progressive favorite.
Despite his reputation as a rising Dem star, even the 56-year-old Newsom could come out of a possible clash with Trump with broken bones: according to a poll conducted last February by Emerson College, the former president would beat the California Governor by about ten points. According to the same poll, Whitmer would do even worse, stopping at a meager 33 percent (-22 compared to the MAGA guru).
Both the president and Democratic strategists therefore find themselves operating in a minefield with no easy choice. Ultimately, however, the decision rests solely with Biden, who, bolstered by his family’s support, appears determined to hold on and convince the party—and the country—that he is still the leader they need. Once again.
