USA Biden's duel debacle: Democrats are preoccupied with the candidate question

After his disastrous performance in the TV duel against challenger Donald Trump, US President Joe Biden rejects calls for an alternative candidate for the presidential election. "I wouldn't run again if I didn't believe with all my heart and soul that I could do this job," the 81-year-old said on Friday during an appearance in the state of North Carolina. A few hours later, he appeared at another event in New York City together with two Democratic party colleagues. "He's the best!" shouted Senator Kirsten Gillibrand after a demonstrative hug on stage.

Biden was also supported at both events by his wife Jill. "There is no one I would rather have sitting in the Oval Office right now than my husband," emphasized the First Lady of North Carolina - with the word "Vote" printed on her dress several times. But although Biden appeared fitter the following day than during the TV duel and appeared combative, his main aim was obviously damage limitation. Unlike in the TV studio during the exchange of blows, he also read from a teleprompter.

Trump senses an opportunity

Former President Trump, meanwhile, took advantage of his opponent's failure. "The question every voter should be asking today is not whether Joe Biden can survive a 90-minute TV duel, but whether America can survive four more years with corrupt Joe Biden in the White House," the Republican said at a campaign event in Virginia, also addressing speculation about a shift in the Democratic Party.

"A lot of people are saying that Joe Biden is dropping out of the race after his performance last night," he commented on the situation. However, he did not believe that this would happen. Trump then went on to list a few of the names currently dropping out: Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Barack Obama's wife Michelle Obama and the governor of the state of California, Gavin Newsom.

Democrats on the defensive

The latter had previously publicly backed Biden. "I will never turn my back on President Biden," said Newsom, who is said to have ambitions for the presidency. The unpopular Vice President Kamala Harris had also been put through the wringer in a TV interview about Biden's performance - and had finally admitted that her boss had had a "bumpy start".

Barack Obama gave his party colleague a helping hand. "Bad duels happen. Believe me, I know," wrote the ex-president on the online platform X. "But this election is still a choice between someone who has spent his whole life fighting for ordinary people and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth, who can tell right from wrong and will tell the American people openly - and someone who lies shamelessly for his own gain." Attached to his post was the link to Biden's campaign team's fundraising website.

Panic in the party?

The Democrats on the front line were clearly trying to signal unity. However, skepticism as to whether Biden is actually the right candidate to win against Trump was omnipresent after the TV duel - in the back ranks of the Democratic Party as well as in the US media.

The New York Times published a commentary entitled: "To serve his country, President Biden should drop out of the race." The US broadcaster CNN quoted an unnamed party official: "It's hard to argue that Biden should be our nominee". Others spoke of sheer "panic" in the party. "He had one job: to convince America that he was up to the challenge at his age," said former Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill on US broadcaster MSNBC. "And he failed at that." Democrat Andrew Yang, who made an unsuccessful bid to be his party's presidential candidate in 2020, wrote on X: "Folks, the Democrats should nominate someone else - before it's too late."

During the TV duel, Biden had spoken indistinctly and in a low voice, slurring his words several times. The Democrat is running for a second term in the presidential election in early November. His age was already a constant topic in the election campaign. His political opponent Trump is only around three years younger. However, Biden's slips of the tongue and his stiff gait regularly make the headlines and raise the question of whether he could really govern for another four years in the White House after a possible election victory.

SDA