Disappointing appearance, there are calls for Biden to withdraw from the presidential candidacy
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4 months ago
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The potential candidates to replace Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee have become more engaged after a night in which there were calls for the president to withdraw from the 2024 election after a disappointing performance in the first televised debate of the campaign.

Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill said on MSNBC that she wasn't sure "if things can be done to fix this" after Biden appeared to be beaten by Donald Trump, who, despite numerous false claims, still appeared to be most coherent of the senior perspective candidates.

Biden's voice sounded raspy at times, and at times he didn't make sense, saying "We finally beat Medicare" at one point. Trump regularly answered direct questions — about the economy, abortion or the opioid crisis — with non-sequitur, but after the debate, it was Democratic commentators who seemed more concerned about the potential impact on voters.

Maria Shriver, California's former first lady, said she loves Biden but that the evening was "heartbreaking in many ways" and that there was "panic in the Democratic party." David Plouffe, a Democratic strategist and former Obama campaign official, called the debate "kind of a Defcon 1 moment."

There is no easy process to replace Joe Biden at this late stage in the process, with him winning largely unopposed in the primaries and all set to be confirmed as the nominee at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.

The only significant difference would be if he voluntarily stepped down, or even left the presidency.

Possible alternative names being floated include Vice President Kamala Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and veteran Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown have also been discussed.

But at least on debate night, Harris and Newsom seemed firmly behind the embattled president. Harris acknowledged that Biden got off to "a slow start," saying "That's obvious to everybody. I'm not going to argue that point."

However, she went on to tell CNN that "people can argue about points of style, but at the end of the day this election and who the president of the United States is should be about substance and the contrast is clear. Donald Trump lied." continuously, as he wants to do. He could not deny what happened on January 6. He did not give a clear answer if he would stand by the election results.

Newsom said talk of a change of candidate was "nonsense speculation," adding "I will never turn my back on President Biden. Never turn my back on President Biden, I don't know a Democrat in my party who would do that .” /The Guardian/

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