Who could replace Joe Biden? Reaction to Trump v Biden debate – as Democrats ‘shocked’ by ‘car crash’ performance | US News

Joe Biden’s debate performance was among the worst by any presidential candidate in history, if not the worst, our US correspondent Martha Kelner written in the aftermath.

She said she was “literally gripping the sides of my seat at times it was so excruciating”.

Here are all the ways it went wrong for the president, according to his analysis.

Damning verdicts from Democrats

It was an “unmitigated disaster”, “a meltdown”, and “a slow-motion car crash”.

Those are not descriptors from Republican voters, they are the words of Democrats. Even former aides of President Biden admitted it was a truly horrible night for him.

Biden’s best self failed to reappear

Team Biden hoped to see State of the Union Joe on the stage, when the president gave a slick, impassioned and well-delivered speech.

Right from the start it became apparent this would be an entirely different version of him. His voice was hoarse, he was stumbling and there were long pregnant pauses.

Age fears dominate

Kelner was struck by how much older Biden looked than the last time he was in the same room as Donald Trump four years ago.

“We finally beat Medicare,” he said with a misspeak that is sure to go viral, a sentence that does not make sense and was pounced upon by Donald Trump.

Open goals missed

Biden was asked by the debate moderator about abortion, one of the strongest issues for the Democratic Party, a subject where he has the opportunity to really nail Donald Trump to the wall.

He somehow managed to ramble his way off-topic to talk about immigration, one of his biggest vulnerabilities. It was an open goal missed in spectacular style.

A trivial focus on golf

The debate descended near the end into a row between two senior citizens about who had a lower golf handicap and who could drive the ball further.

It summed up the quality, or lack thereof, of this debate. It might have been funny if it weren’t so depressing for American voters.

A gamble gone wrong

It is hard to believe that President Biden fought for this debate at this time, the earliest there has ever been.

His team calculated that, given he was trailing Trump in the polls and there were growing questions about his age and vitality, it was a risk worth taking.

But it was a huge gamble, given that this format is so exposing on the national stage. It might well be a gamble they come to regret.