Collin Anderson writes for the Washington Free Beacon about Democrats’ reaction to the latest bad news surrounding President Biden.
For a short time on Friday, the Biden campaign appeared ready to turn the page from its 81-year-old leader’s horrific debate performance against former president Donald Trump. A speech from Joe Biden in North Carolina prompted positive reviews in the New York Times, the campaign announced $14 million in post-debate fundraising, and prominent Democratic leaders—including Barack Obama and Chuck Schumer—publicly defended the president.
The next 48 hours, however, indicated they won’t be able to move on so fast.
An onslaught of mainstream media reports hammered the octogenarian’s cognitive decline. Axios detailed efforts from top White House staffers to shield Biden “from people inside and outside the White House since the beginning of his presidency,” including the White House’s residential staff. The Wall Street Journal reported that a “deteriorating” Biden struggles during meetings with world leaders. And a Washington Post piece noted that Biden failed to recite rehearsed answers on his age during the debate.
Post-debate polls and surveys, meanwhile, showed that Biden’s Thursday night collapse disturbed many voters.
A survey of Democratic-leaning voters from former Bill Clinton pollster Stan Greenberg showed that respondents were less likely to back Biden after the debate. A CBS News poll found that 72 percent of registered voters do not believe Biden has the “mental and cognitive health to serve as president.” Nationally, Trump’s lead over Biden jumped to 5 points, according to an Atlas Intel poll.
Party insiders also continued to panic—at times publicly. The Biden campaign and Democratic National Committee, hoping to assuage post-debate concerns, held a Saturday afternoon call with committee members. It brought intense anger, with participants saying they were “gaslit” during a business-as-usual discussion that largely avoided Biden’s debate performance.
