Post-Debate: Are Democrats Seeking Biden's Replacement?

When he agreed to a debate with his rival former President Donald Trump, U.S. President Joe Biden hoped to build new momentum for his re-election campaign, nearly two months before his official nomination in August 2024.

Instead, his stumbling and incoherent performance in the debate held on June 27, 2024, sparked panic among his Democratic Party members and reopened the discussion about whether Biden is the best candidate or needs urgent replacement.

The goal of these debates is usually to determine which candidate deserves to win the November 2024 elections. However, after this debate between Biden and Trump, the question in America is no longer “Who is likely to win?

Rather, who will be the Democratic Party's presidential candidate instead of Biden during the party's general convention in August 2024, after the president appeared expired, looking weak and absent-minded during the debate with Trump?

Many political experts close to the Democratic Party, and even Biden sympathizers on social media, felt that Biden should be replaced with another Democratic candidate due to his old age.

Stumbling and Disjointed 

Before the debate, polls indicated a close race between Biden (81 years old) and Trump (78 years old), with a significant portion of voters undecided just five months before the November 5, 2024, elections.

This was the first time in history that a sitting American president faced a former president in a presidential debate. Joe Biden agreed in the hope of settling the matter against Trump, capitalizing on the latter's trials and conviction in one of his cases.

Biden's aim in accepting the debate was to exploit Trump's conviction in a pornographic case to position voters early between choosing him or electing a criminal who tried to overturn the elections and would destroy American democracy if given the presidency again.

But what some party supporters feared happened, with Biden's age overshadowing his ability to respond to Trump, despite the latter lying 26 times during the debate, according to The New York Times on June 27, 2024.

The American president, who desperately needed to use this debate to reassure skeptical voters of his physical and mental capacity to lead the country, instead delivered a "fragile performance."

Everyone forgot Trump's lies and the charges against him and focused on Biden's failure, viewing his failure in the debate as potentially leading to his loss in the presidential election and Trump's victory.

Trump's campaign focused on convincing Americans that Biden was unfit for the presidency because he was mentally expired, which Trump successfully reinforced during the debate when Biden appeared unable to show mental presence.

Instead of dispelling concerns about his age's impact on his mental capabilities, Biden made this issue "central," overshadowing other American concerns like the economy, raising doubts about his ability to run a strong and competitive campaign just two months before the elections.

Andrew Yang, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, called on President Biden to step down quickly.

In a tweet on June 28, he said, “Dems should nominate someone else - before it's too late.”

The New York Times confirmed on June 27, 2024, that Biden's stumbling and disjointed performance during his debate with Trump sparked a wave of panic among Democrats, reopening the discussion on whether he should even run.

“Democrats who have defended the president for months against his doubters — including members of his own administration — traded frenzied phone calls and text messages within minutes of the start of the debate as it became clear that Mr. Biden was not at his sharpest. Practically in despair, some took to social media to express shock, while others privately discussed among themselves whether it was too late to persuade the president to bow out in favor of a younger candidate,” according to the magazine.

Disastrous Performance 

“Biden is about to face a crescendo of calls to step aside,” said a veteran Democratic strategist who has staunchly backed Mr. Biden publicly. “Joe had a deep well of affection among Democrats. It has run dry.”

“Parties exist to win,” this Democrat continued. “The man on the stage with Trump cannot win. The fear of Trump stifled criticism of Biden. Now that same fear is going to fuel calls for him to step down.”

A group of House Democrats watched the debate together, and one member, speaking on the condition of anonymity, called it a "disaster" for Biden. The member noted that the group was actively discussing the need for a new presidential nominee.

Mark Buell, a prominent donor for Mr. Biden and the Democratic Party, said after the debate that the president had to strongly consider whether he is the best person to be the nominee. “Do we have time to put somebody else in there?” Mr. Buell said.

He added that he was not yet calling for Mr. Biden to withdraw but that “Democratic leadership has a responsibility to go to the White House and clearly show what America’s thinking, because democracy is at stake here and we’re all nervous.”

However, when asked about the possibility of leaving the race and nominating a replacement, Biden indicated that he had been battling a cold. “I have a sore throat,” he said. But he expressed satisfaction with his showing, adding, “I think we did well.” 

Biden's advisers have consistently dismissed any speculation about him withdrawing from the race, viewing it as unjustified nervousness, even as he has trailed Trump in critical battleground states necessary for victory this fall. 

The U.S. President's aides and allies have repeatedly challenged the accuracy of the polls and argued that past predictions of Democratic defeats have been exaggerated. They also cited the early debate as a strategic move to clarify to the public that the choice is between Biden and Trump, with no other nominees being considered.

“Folks, the facts are if Joe Biden was going to step aside, he would have done so a long time ago,” said Symone Sanders, a former aide to Vice President Kamala Harris. 

“That’s not my opinion, that’s literally the facts. So no, he won’t be stepping aside tomorrow morning. He’s the nominee, and a number of Dems I suspect will be out defending him over the next few days,” Sanders added. 

The Wall Street Journal said Biden crashed in his first direct confrontation with Trump and delivered an unstable performance during the debate.

On June 28, 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that Joe Biden lacked the vigor and ability he displayed in his State of the Union address in March 2024, which had given Democrats some optimism about the strength of his campaign.

The same source noted that Trump sought to highlight Biden's stumbles and portray him as weak and incapable of handling a second term, which further disoriented Biden.

Under the title "Panicked Democrats Begin Searching for Biden Alternatives," Politico reported on June 27 that Democrats found the debate performance unbelievable and that it was time for Biden to step aside.

The magazine quoted three strategists close to three potential Democratic presidential candidates who said, “they had been bombarded with text messages throughout the debate.” One adviser said they received pleas for their candidate to step forward as an alternative to Biden.

Another adviser said they had “taken no less than half a dozen key donors texting ‘disaster’ and the party needs to do something,” but acknowledged that “not much is possible unless” Biden steps aside.

They were among more than a dozen Democrats who spoke with Politico, most of whom were granted anonymity to speak freely.

One major Democratic donor and Biden supporter said it was time for the president to end his campaign. This person described Biden’s night as “the worst performance in history” and said Biden was so “bad that no one will pay attention to Trump’s lies,” as quoted by Politico.

“Biden needs to drop out. No question about it,” the donor said in a text message, proposing an alternate ticket led by the governors of Maryland and Michigan.

The Hill reported that the debate was one of the most dramatic presidential debates in decades, leaving Democrats in a state of anxiety.

Axios confirmed on June 28 that Biden's major blunders dominated the debate, and his sometimes stumbling answers caused his allies to express serious concerns about his ability to compete with Trump.

Temporary Setback 

However, The Washington Post on June 27, 2024, pointed to strengths in Biden's favor during the debate when he discussed the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters and Trump's legal troubles.

The newspaper noted that Biden highlighted Trump's criminal convictions and other issues, including having sex with a porn star and publicly harassing a woman.

It also suggested that this might be a temporary setback for President Biden, especially since this was the first debate, and another one would follow in a month.

Presidents often stumble in their first debates during the general election season, either because they are hesitant or overly confident, but in many cases, they make up for it with stronger performances later, according to the newspaper.

The Washington Post focused on Trump's mistakes, stating that he didn't have strong responses except for citing his claims that the cases were brought by a politicized judiciary.

It also mentioned that Trump's performance was centered on false and misleading claims that he often tells his supporters, such as saying he capped insulin costs before Biden did, no terrorist attacks occurred during his term, and Biden wanted to quadruple people's taxes.

CNN reported on June 27, 2024, that Trump repeated the same lies such as denying the results of the 2020 election and stating he would accept the 2024 election results if they are fair and legal.

Axios warned that Trump's repeated evasions on the question of accepting election results raise concerns of potential political violence after the November 2024 election if he loses again.

A report by National Interest on June 28 noted that although Biden's debate performance was the worst in American history and caused Democrats to consider a replacement, the only hope Democrats have at this point is that Trump may have peaked too early and could falter, despite delivering a strong blow to Biden in the first debate, making it difficult for him to recover.

Regarding the issue of age, Biden responded that he was heavily criticized when he was the youngest in the Senate, and now he is the oldest and that Trump is only three years younger than him, but he hasn't achieved what he has in his administration (Biden administration).

Alternative Candidate 

Following Joe Biden's "poor and alarming" performance, as described by Democrats, in the first presidential debate, there is talk about finding an alternative candidate, though there is little time for the Democratic Party to replace Biden.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, 56, and former First Lady Michelle Obama are mentioned as prominent candidates.

Other potential candidates include Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof advocated for nominating Senator Sherrod Brown, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, or Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, asserting their ability to defeat Trump.

California Governor Newsom, who is often mentioned as a potential alternative candidate, ruled out running instead of Biden, telling reporters that Biden should not step aside.

The Democratic Party rules prohibit replacing candidates without their consent. If such a scenario were to occur, it would overturn the results of the primary elections where Biden was overwhelmingly nominated by 99% of the party delegates.

Therefore, the only realistic scenario for Democrats to get a new candidate is if Biden decides to withdraw, which he has repeatedly ruled out. He could withdraw from the presidential race while remaining for the remainder of his current term in the White House, similar to what Lyndon Johnson did in 1968.

American newspapers mention that the Democratic National Committee's charter includes provisions in case the party's candidate becomes incapacitated or chooses to step aside. Theoretically, a scenario could unfold where there is a movement against Biden at the party convention, although this is largely unlikely.

If Biden were to withdraw, Vice President Kamala Harris wouldn't necessarily be the automatic nominee because party rules do not grant significant automatic advantage to the Vice President over other candidates, and her polling numbers are worse than Biden's.