On Thursday, June 27, President Joe Biden and Donald Trump met for the first presidential debate of the current general election cycle. Moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, the 90-minute back-and-forth included several bizarre moments, including two U.S. Presidents arguing about golf and Trump denying an alleged relationship with a former adult film star. However, the most lasting impression of the debate was Biden’s mental presence or lack thereof. In fact, a Pew Research study found that only 24% of voters described Biden as “mentally sharp” after the debate, a six-point decline from similar polling done in January. As a result, several members of Congress called for the sitting President to abruptly end his re-election campaign and make way for a new leader in the Democratic Party.
“Please pass the torch to one of our many capable Democratic leaders so we have the best chance to defeat Donald Trump, who is the greatest threat to the foundation of this country that we have ever faced,” U.S. Representative Brittney Peterson said.
“If he’s the candidate, I’m going to support him, but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere,” U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalva of Arizona explained.
Despite the calls for him to drop out, President Joe Biden reaffirmed his desire to run for a second term in the Oval Office. In his words, the President says he’s determined to “finish the job” that he started.
“I think I’m the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once and I will beat him again,” the President said.
“I’ve gotta finish this job. I’ve gotta finish this job because there’s so much at stake.”
As recently as July 11, many Capitol Hill reporters, including Andrew Solender, were under the impression that Biden was “poised to face ‘deluge’ of fresh calls to drop out.” However, things changed just two days later. On Saturday, July 13, a man named Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fired during a campaign rally for Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Crooks was killed shortly after opening fire, but the damage had been done. One person was killed, another was critically injured and Trump was bleeding from his ear.
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence – or any violence. An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation. It’s not America, and we cannot allow this to happen,” President Biden said after the shooting.
Moving forward, it appears the events of July 13 will have an impact not only on Trump’s campaign, but also Biden’s. While Trump makes his way to Milwaukee for the 2024 Republican National Convention, CBS News Chief Election Correspondent Robert Costa says calls for Biden to drop out have stalled in the wake of the fatal shooting that took the life of firefighter Corey Comperatore.
“I’ve been speaking with some top Democrats. They believe that those Democrats who have the concerns about President Biden are now standing down politically. [They] will back President Biden because of this fragile political moment,” Costa told Margaret Brennan of Face The Nation.
“All of the talk about the debate faded almost instantly among my top Democratic sources as this unfolded. [They] say it is time for the country to stick together and that means Democrats sticking together as well.”
