President Joe Biden’s performance in the Thursday night presidential debate against former President Donald Trump has led to calls from some within the Democratic Party for a new candidate to emerge before the November election.
Critics are concerned about Biden’s age and cognitive ability to serve another term, though his supporters dismiss these concerns. A Biden aide mentioned that the president was battling a cold during the debate. Despite this, Biden faced questions from some progressives after the first half of the event.
In one particular gaffe, Biden incoherently said he “beat medicare,” stating, “Making sure we make every single solitary person eligible for what I’ve been able to do with covid, excuse me, with umm dealing with everything we had to deal with. Look, we finally beat medicare.”
Van Jones, former special advisor to President Obama, said of the debate, “That was painful. I love Joe Biden, I worked for Joe Biden. He didn’t do well at all… He had a test to meet tonight to restore the confidence of the country and he failed to do that. There are a lot of people who are going to want to see him take a different course now.”
Asian American businessman-turned-politician, Andrew Yang, took to X to call for the incumbent US President to be replaced.
“Look I debated Joe 7 times in 2020. He’s a different guy in 2024,” Yang tweeted. “Guys, the Dems should nominate someone else – before it’s too late,” adding the hashtag #swapJoeout.
Yang, who was once a candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and the 2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary, also wrote, “What’s Joe Biden’s superpower? That he’s a good guy who will do the right thing for the country. In this case, that’s stepping aside and letting the DNC choose another nominee.”
Featured image: Gage Sigmore / The White House
