High-ranking Democrats are reportedly considering pressuring Joe Biden to drop his re-election bid after a disastrous performance in tonight’s presidential debate.
Biden struggled from the very beginning, his voice unusually soft and raspy, his answers often non-coherent.
And most tellingly, he failed to land a meaningful blow against Donald Trump, whose own answers were riddled with inaccuracies and bizarre claims.
READ MORE: How Biden and Trump’s first presidential debate played out
At one point early on, Biden lost his train of thought and gave a baffling sentence on illegal immigration.
“I’m going to continue to move until we get the total ban on… The total initiative relative to what we’re going to do with more border patrol and more asylum officers,” he said.
Trump replied: “I don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows either.”
White House sources later said the president was battling a cold.
The debate soon became personal, with Biden invoking Trump’s criminal record.
Trump hit back, pivoting to the president’s son Hunter.
“But when he talks about a convicted felon, his son is a convicted felon at a high level,” Trump said.
“His son is convicted, probably be convicted numerous times.”
Trump then said Biden himself would likely be convicted once he left office.
Biden said Trump had the “morals of an alleycat”.
He invoked the sexual abuse Trump was found criminally liable for against E. Jean Carroll.
He then took a swipe at Trump for having sex with a porn star when his wife was pregnant.
And a heated argument about who is the better golfer is unlikely to have swayed any voters.
“He can’t hit a ball 50 yards. He challenged me to a golf match, he can’t hit a ball 50 yards,” Trump said.
Biden jabbed back.
“I’d be happy to have a driving contest with him. I got my handicap when I was Vice President down to a six.
“By the way, I told you before, I’m happy to play golf if you carry your own bag.”
The debate was held unusually early in the campaign season, with neither candidate having officially cinched their party’s nomination.
READ MORE: Biden, Trump face off in first debate
Now Democrats are in the position to replace Biden at the convention, though it would be an unprecedented move.
Former Obama cabinet member Julian Castro has come out publicly with a scathing critique.
“Biden had a very low bar going into the debate and failed to clear even that bar,” he said.
“He seemed unprepared, lost, and not strong enough to parry effectively with Trump, who lies constantly.”
The question of whether Trump has won over any voters is a difficult one.
This election is going to be decided by the “double-haters” – voters who dislike both candidates but are going to vote for one of them.
READ MORE: Trump, Biden argue over who is the better golfer
While Biden appeared infirm, Trump did not give those voters much reason to support him.
Trump appeared fixated on immigration and border security, several times ignoring direct questions on other topics to speak more on the issue.
Recent polling has shown the election is a tossup.
Election Day is not until November 5.
links to content on ABC
9News
