- After a disastrous debate, many once loyal Democrats are calling on the president to drop out.
- Former Obama aides and popular commentators fear Biden affirmed fears about his age.
For months, Democrats have rallied behind President Joe Biden, insisting that in private moments he's energetic and up for the job. But after the president's abysmal performance last week, some are changing their tune — and the new melody is somber.
Here's what some of Biden's once loyal defenders are saying about the president, with some even begging him to end his campaign before the Democratic National Convention in August.
David Axelrod
A titan of the Obama administration, David Axelrod sounded the alarm during a panel discussion on CNN directly following the debate.
"I think there was a sense of shock, actually, on how he came out at the beginning of this debate," he said. "How his voice sounded — he seemed a little disoriented at the beginning of the debate. He did get stronger as the debate went on, but by that time, I think the panic had set in."
He confronted the question on nearly every Democrat's mind: whether Biden should drop out of the race.
While sparring with Republican strategists on the panel, Axelrod said that the GOP would be in serious "trouble" were the Democratic ticket to change.
The 'Pod' guys
While the former Obama aides who host "Pod Save America" typically support the president, they expressed deep concern about his ability to continue campaigning after the debate.
"Obviously that debate was a fucking disaster," Jon Favreau posted the following morning on X. "And since we haven't had the convention yet, it would be absurd if Democrats didn't at least have a serious discussion about whether Joe Biden — who's a wonderful human being and has been a great president — is up for the job."
In a blog post, Dan Pfeiffer lamented Biden's failure to assuage voters' concerns about his age, saying that he instead "exacerbated them."
Another host, Tommy Vietor, did not mince his words, writing on X that telling notoriously panicked Democrats to temper their concerns was "fucking insulting to people who care deeply about the country."
Claire McCaskill
Claire McCaskill, a former senator turned political analyst, said on MSNBC that her heart broke while watching the debate.
"Joe Biden had one thing he had to do tonight, and he didn't do it," McCaskill said. "He had one thing he had to accomplish, and that was reassure America that he was up for the job at his age. And he failed at that tonight."
McCaskill added that elected officials were pinging her phone throughout the debate, throwing around words like "crisis."
She also said that Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California projected a vitality and assuredness that may leave some questioning why their names aren't at the top of the ticket.
Thomas Friedman
By his own admission, Thomas Friedman, Biden's close friend and a New York Times opinion columnist, wept in his hotel room during the debate.
In an article published the following morning, he called on the president to step aside and let someone else run.
"Joe Biden, a good man and a good president, has no business running for re-election," Friedman wrote.
Dropping out would, he argued, save Biden's legacy and give Americans the greatest chance of keeping former President Donald Trump out of office come November. He added that while Harris should run if so inclined, voters deserved to choose a nominee from a wide variety of options.
"I had been ready to give Biden the benefit of the doubt up to now, because during the times I engaged with him one-on-one, I found him up to the job," Friedman said. "He clearly is not any longer."
Van Jones
Van Jones, a political analyst and former Obama advisor, called Biden's performance "painful" to watch.
"I just want to speak from my heart," he said on CNN. "I love that guy. That's a good man — he loves his country, he's doing the best that he can, but he had a test to meet tonight to restore confidence of the country and of the base, and he failed to do that."
Many people, Jones added, will want the president to consider stepping aside given that the Democratic National Convention is not until August.
The question is whether Biden "will allow us to do that," he said.
Joy Reid
Joy Reid, a national correspondent on MSNBC, said that she spent the 90-minute debate on the phone with Obama-era aides, Democratic operatives, and campaign officials. Their overall reaction? Panic.
Biden's primary job was to settle Democrats and their well-documented tendency to freak out.
"He did the opposite of that," she said.
Ben Rhodes
Characteristically geared toward concerns abroad, Ben Rhodes, who was Obama's deputy national security advisor, kept it plain and simple on Twitter: "Just think about what that debate looked like to people and leaders around the world."
Nicholas Kristof
Nicholas Kristof, a columnist and CNN contributor, chimed in with his own two cents in The New York Times, writing that Biden staying in the race would increase the risk that Trump wins back the presidency.
Kristof implored the president to drop out and leave his successor in the hands of delegates at the Democratic National Convention. He named Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Sen. Sherrod Brown, and Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, as prospective nominees.
"This will be a wrenching choice," he wrote. "But, Mr. President, one way you can serve your country in 2024 is by announcing your retirement."
Evan Osnos
Earlier this year, Evan Osnos wrote a considerable profile on Biden; in 2020, he published a sympathetic biography about the president, an excerpt of which he retweeted late Thursday night.
When writing the book, Osnos asked Biden how he would respond to those who believe is too old to be president. Biden answered simply, saying he would ask people, "Look at me. Decide."
Osnos, grappling with that decision himself, said on CNN after the debate that the man Americans saw onstage was a "diminished" version of the man he wrote about four years ago.
Joe Scarborough
Even Joe Scarborough, one of the hosts of MSNBC's hit show "Morning Joe," widely considered Biden's go-to morning talk show, bit into the president. He opened his show by affirming his "love" for Biden but went on to say that the president "missed one layup after another," even on should-be knockout topics, such as abortion.
"I fear Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States unless things change," Scarborough said. He joined the scores of Biden's friends candidly questioning whether Democrats should select a different nominee.
Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman, an economist and opinion columnist for The New York Times, wrote in a column that Biden, based on his policy record, should be an "overwhelming" favorite for reelection, but wasn't.
While describing him as the "best" president of his adult life, he said Biden failed to rise to the occasion when it "really" mattered during the presidential debate and said he must "very reluctantly" join those calling on him to step aside.
"In any case, although I hate to see Biden in this position, he's a good man, and I hope he'll do the right thing," Krugman wrote.
Chandler West
Chandler West, former White House deputy director of photography from January 2021 through May 2022, wrote in a now-deleted Instagram story: "It's time for Joe to go," according to screenshots obtained by Axios.
He said he knows how the White House operates, and said they will blame a "cold" or a "bad night." But White House operatives have said privately for weeks and months that Biden is "not as strong as he was just a couple of years ago," West wrote.
In a text message sent to Axios, West predicted that the debate is "not gonna be the last" bad day for Biden.
Correction: June 28, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated the role of Ben Rhodes in the Obama administration. He was the deputy national security advisor, not the national security advisor.