Many Democrats disagree with the narrative that President Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump can be explained as the chief executive simply having a bad night, Politico reported.
While Biden’s family members and most avid supporters are pitching that excuse, many Democrats are concerned about the 81-year-old Biden's fitness going forward.
Troubled party members worry that every future misstep or gaffe by the president will draw attention to Biden’s fragility, Politico reported Monday.
"There is an enormous amount of affection and deference to the president — but nobody thinks this is sustainable," one senior Democrat aide told the outlet.
In fact, senior Democrats are counting on Biden changing his mind about being the party’s presidential nominee if post-debate polling reveals major problems.
Party veterans are prepared to tell the president that stepping aside gracefully would be a most selfless act to save democracy, Politico reported.
Biden's team, though, is defending its candidate. Campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez and Democrat Delaware Sen. Chris Coons told a group of 40 top donors on Sunday that replacing Biden on the ticket would be "messy and impractical," NBC News reported.
However, an alarming 72% of Americans say Biden is not only mentally and cognitively unfit to be president but he also should not run for reelection, according to CBS News/YouGov poll results.
The New York Times and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution both have called on Biden to pass the torch to a younger Democrat following his universally panned debate effort on Thursday night.
Biden's family members, though, privately trashed his campaign advisers this weekend at Camp David, blamed them for his failure in the debate, and urged Biden to either fire or demote people, Politico reported Sunday.
Reuters noted that Biden's train-wreck debate followed a series of decisions by his most senior advisers that critics now point to as wrong-headed interviews with Democrat allies, donors, and former and current aides show.
Axios on Saturday quoted top White House aides saying there are "two" Joe Bidens, one that is "dependably engaged" for just a few hours in a day and another that is "slack-jawed" and "absent-minded" for most of the day.