If there was one thing Democrats wanted to see on display from President Biden at Thursday night’s debate, it was strength.
They wanted to see Biden pummel former President Trump on the Jan. 6 insurrection, on overturning Roe v. Wade. They wanted him to knock Trump down with the “convicted felon” moniker.
Instead, most Democrats acknowledged Thursday, it was Biden who was knocked down.
Hard.
His voice was hoarse. His lips quivered. After the debate began, the White House said he had a cold.
He tripped over his words. At times, he veered off topic and in the wrong direction. During one moment, Biden declared, “We finally beat Medicare,” and went off-course about earned benefits.
“This is an honest-to-God nightmare,” one Biden ally said. “I can’t believe what I’m watching. I am watching us lose this election in slow motion.”
Another Democratic strategist put it this way: “Political suicide.”
One Democrat resorted to gallows humor in a dark moment: “I wish Jamaal Bowman was around to pull the fire alarm,” this source said about the congressman from New York.
Not only did Biden not hold Trump accountable, Democrats acknowledged, but Biden stood by and watched as Trump spouted untruths on abortion and the COVID-19 pandemic. And when Trump continued to slam Biden as “the worst president in the history of our country,” Biden looked back “almost bewildered,” as one Democrat put it.
“There are no two ways about it: That was not a good debate for Joe Biden,” Kate Bedingfield, who served as Biden’s longtime communications aide, said on CNN following the debate.
“It’s the one night that confirmed people’s fears,” David Axelrod, who served as a senior adviser to former President Obama, said on the same CNN panel.
As the debate wore on, Democrats grew increasingly anxious — some wondering if it was too late for Biden to drop out. They had thoughts about other candidates, too.
“There’s been a lot of chatter in our circles about Newsom,” one Democratic strategist said, referring to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
One House Democratic member from a swing state put it this way: “This was a disaster. Biden’s team needs to convince him to withdraw and have an open convention.”
One Democratic donor was also incensed after watching the debate.
“We need to have a real discussion about how this is going,” one Democratic donor said. “We can’t pussyfoot around this discussion of age anymore. We have to get serious. There is so much on the line here and what the f‑‑‑ are we doing?”
Biden campaign spokesman Seth Schuster said of the president, “of course he’s not dropping out.”
During the debate, Biden did try to hit back at Trump at times. “You are a child,” he said at one point. And during another moment, he called Trump out on his weight.
He also called him a sore loser, pointing to the former president’s loss in 2020.
“You can’t stand loss,” Biden said. “Something snapped in you when you lost last time.”
One longtime Biden ally said the president had gotten “a little better” as the night went on. “Trump’s relationship with the truth is really something.”
There was also plenty of frustration with CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, who did little to fact-check Trump in real time.
But mostly, Democrats were incensed and worried about the coming weeks. After the debate, Biden appeared at a watch party alongside first lady Jill Biden. And some Democrats were anxious for Biden to move forward.
On Friday afternoon, the president will hold a campaign event in North Carolina before heading to three separate fundraisers this weekend in New York and New Jersey.
For now, his supporters desperately want to forget this night happened.
“We lost tonight,” one Democrat said, referring to the race, not the debate.
Updated June 28 at 5:56 a.m. EDT