Moments after concluding their presidential debate Thursday night, CNN journalists were in a full-blown panic over President Biden’s performance. They were disturbed by Biden’s “problematic” and “dismal” performance and admitted they were hearing from very senior Democrats that they were seriously thinking about removing Biden from the top of the ticket.
“Anderson this was a game-changing debate in the sense that right now as we speak, there is a deep, a wide, and a very aggressive panic in the Democratic Party,” chief national correspondent John King announced.
King admitted that he was hearing from Democrats that they were scrambling for a way to install a different candidate:
It started minutes into the debate and it continues right now. It involves party strategists, it involves elected officials, it involves fundraisers. And they're having conversations about the President's performance, which they think was dismal, which they think will hurt other people down the party in the ticket and they're having conversations about what they should do about it.
Some of those conversations include: should we go to the White House and asked the President step aside? Others are other the conversations are about should prominent Democrats go public with that call. But because they feel this debate was so terrible. They do say in moments in a debate later, the President got better and got his footing. But then at the end, even his closing statement was a little halting.”
“And it involves very senior people in the Democratic Party, including elected officials saying we have a problem,” he added.
Anchor Abby Phillip said she wanted to “co-sign” King’s assessment and confirmed the panic. “I mean, the panic that I am hearing from Democrats is not like anything that I have heard in this campaign so far,” she warned.
She lamented that while Trump lied a bunch of times, “Biden's answers were in a lot of cases, not coherent.”
Phillip also proclaimed that Biden confirmed many Americans’ fears about his age:
Deeply problematic that he was not able to take pretty straightforward answers and answer them to the American public. And then also at some points bringing things up that teed up Trump attacks. So, there's a real concern here tonight that there's been some real damage done that cannot be undone. Biden solidified the perception among voters, but especially among his base. They were hoping that tonight would be a game-changer.
“They are now seeing a president who was in the White House do they do not necessarily believe can do this for another four years,” she said.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
CNN Post-Debate Analysis
June 27, 2024
10:40:10 p.m. Eastern(…)
JOHN KING: Anderson this was a game changing debate in the sense that right now as we speak, there is a deep, a wide, and a very aggressive panic in the Democratic Party. It started minutes into the debate and it continues right now. It involves party strategists, it involves elected officials, it involves fundraisers. And they're having conversations about the President's performance, which they think was dismal, which they think will hurt other people down the party in the ticket and they're having conversations about what they should do about it.
Some of those conversations include: should we go to the White House and asked the President step aside? Others are other the conversations are about should prominent Democrats go public with that call. But because they feel this debate was so terrible. They do say in moments in a debate later, the President got better and got his footing. But then at the end, even his closing statement was a little halting.
The contrast between the two candidates. Let me be clear. None of them and a lot of Republicans don't think Donald Trump had a great night. Donald Trump broke the fact check machine more than I can count tonight. That will be on the record as we go forward. He refused to answer some very specific and direct questions about his conduct, about January 6, and what all. So, that will be dealt with out there.
And sometimes there's a parallel universe between the political elites and the American people. Be nice to see what the voters say. But I can tell you it started minutes in, it started with the first couple of answers and it has continued throughout the night from a “my oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god,” to, “what do we do about this?” And it involves very senior people in the Democratic Party, including elected officials saying we have a problem.
ABBY PHILLIP: And just to co-sign what John is saying. I mean, the panic that I am hearing from Democrats is not like anything that I have heard in this campaign so far. And a lot of it has to do with, first of all, there was a deep frustration about Trump's lies. I mean, he lied a lot tonight, but the problem for Biden was that Trump was able to take some sometimes incredible falsehoods and turn them into some kind of argument. Whereas, Biden's answers we're in a lot of cases, not coherent.
Deeply problematic that he was not able to take pretty straightforward answers and answer them to the American public. And then also at some points bringing things up that teed up Trump attacks. So, there's a real concern here tonight that there's been some real damage done that cannot be undone. Biden solidified the perception among voters, but especially among his base. They were hoping that tonight would be a game changer. They are now seeing a president who was in the White House do they do not necessarily believe can do this for another four years.
(…)
