Read the room, Democrats. President Joe Biden can’t defeat Donald Trump

Ugh.

President Joe Biden’s performance Thursday night was far more painful than his supporters — perhaps anyone — could have imagined.

He was more energetic at a campaign rally Friday, where he acknowledged his poor performance the day before: “I don’t speak as well as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to,” he told the appreciative crowd in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“He was like a different person,” one Biden voter told me.

It may be a comeback, but it is the debate that will be remembered. It left an indelible impression that will be difficult, if not impossible, to overcome, especially for less-engaged voters.

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Some are calling it the worst debate of modern times.

Equally disturbing, to the point of being surreal, are the early post-debate assessments of Biden and other leading Democrats, which appear to have nothing to do with each other.

“He knew how to find rhythm where it mattered. Our president has shown that he will win the election,” said Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I thought he won the debate on substance,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom told MSNBC. “I was very, very proud that he was able to articulate the work that he did and lay the groundwork for understanding the lies and deception that continue to come out of Donald Trump. »

And this from the president himself:

“I think we did well,” he said during a stop at a Waffle House.

He blamed his hoarse voice on a sore throat and dismissed suggestions he would drop out of the race.

Unfortunately, a sore throat doesn’t explain Biden’s inconsistent responses. Neither does stuttering.

Let’s not forget that this is one of those rambling, rambling statements, this one made in response to a question about abortion rights.

“There are so many young women who have been raped, including a young woman who was just murdered and he went to her funeral. The idea that she was murdered by an immigrant who was coming in, and they talk about it. But here’s the thing, there are so many young women who are raped by their in-laws, by their spouses, by their siblings, by… it’s just ridiculous. And there’s nothing they can do about it.”

This, after days of preparation for the debate at Camp David.

Neither candidate is fit to be president

Trump, on the other hand, did not disappoint. He was his usual brash, lying, horrible, self-centered self.

He even promised to end the war in Ukraine before taking office.

“I will settle this war between Putin and Zelensky as president-elect before I take office on January 20. I will settle this war,” he vowed. “People are being killed so needlessly, so stupidly, and I will settle it and I will settle it quickly before I take office.”

Donald Trump — a convicted felon, mind you — is unfit to be president.

But unfortunately, neither is Joe Biden, and it’s time for Democrats to read the room and acknowledge that.

Stop making excuses for him or urging voters to “go home with the one who took you to prom,” as Governor Newsom said.

Emphasizing that Biden surrounds himself with smart, competent people won’t work either.

People elect a president — not his advisers — and they want a strong leader. They don’t see one in Joe Biden.

And no, this is not based on his performance on a single night. Questions have been raised for many months about the president’s fitness.

Otherwise, why would Democrats have been so worried before the debate?

Ask Biden to step down

Even those who admire him reluctantly ask him to abandon the race.

“The best president of my adult life must step down,” Nobel Prize-winning columnist Paul Krugman headlined in the New York Times.

“Perhaps some Biden loyalists will view this as a betrayal, given how strongly I have supported his policies,” Krugman writes, “but I fear we must acknowledge reality.”

The New York Times editorial board also urged Biden to drop out of the race.

“Calling for a new Democratic nominee this late in a campaign is not a decision taken lightly,” the editorial said, “but it reflects the scale and gravity of Mr. Trump’s challenge to the values and to the institutions of this country and the country”. Mr. Biden’s inability to confront him.

This is the reality we face: Biden was already behind in the polls. Following his performance in the debate, it is likely that he will fall even lower.

Unless something drastic changes the trajectory of this campaign, he will lose. The only question is: by how much?

I may be wrong. I hope I am. There are four months left until the election, and one more debate to go.

But given what happened Thursday, many Americans are legitimately wondering whether the 81-year-old has the physical and mental stamina to serve as president for four more years.

In short, they have lost confidence in the president. Reminding them of Trump’s disastrous record, whether he is in office or not, will not change that.

Would a replacement candidate have the ability to beat Donald Trump?

Maybe not.

But again, read the room.

A replacement candidate would at least give Democrats a chance.