Wow, that was brutal. Just brutal.

From the moment Joe Biden first spoke, it was clear this was going to be a bad night for him. My only conclusion is that all the talk about Biden potentially being drugged for this debate to boost his performance ultimately scared the campaign from doing just that. 

This was a huge gamble for the Biden campaign to have Joe debate Trump, and they lost big time. But don't take my word for it.

Politico reports that "Democrats expressed confusion and concern as they watched the first minutes of the event. One former Biden White House and campaign aide called it 'terrible,' adding that they have had to ask themselves over and over 'What did he just say? This is crazy.''"

Another veteran Democratic operative texted, “Biden seems to have needed a few minutes to warm up. I wonder if the lack of an audience was the right decision. And poor guy needs a tea. Maybe a whiskey.”

Jay Surdukowski, an attorney and Democratic activist from New Hampshire who co-chaired Martin O’Malley’s 2016 presidential campaign in the state, said, “Biden is toast — calling it now.”

Biden’s rambling answers provided Trump multiple opportunities to jump in with retorts. At one point, after an answer ostensibly on immigration, Trump said, “I don’t know what he said at the end there. I don’t think he knows what he said.”

The president’s performance was widely panned online and will likely reinforce the impression that he’s lost a step. The 81-year-old president’s age has long been a liability, with poll after poll showing even many Democrats concerned about his age.

The Biden campaign claimed Biden's raspy voice was due to a cold, but, as Politico noted, Biden's campaign "hadn’t mentioned that to reporters until Biden began to answer questions in the debate."

It was ugly over at the New York Times as well.

Thirty minutes into the presidential debate, I’ve heard from three veteran Democratic presidential campaign officials, and all of them had the same reaction to President Biden’s performance: This is a disaster.

It wasn’t just that Biden wasn’t landing a glove on Donald Trump on the economy, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Covid, taxes, temperament or anything else that was coming up in the questioning. It was Biden’s voice (low and weak) and facial expression (frozen, mouth open, few smirks) with answers that were rambling or vague or ended in confusion. He gave remarks about health care and abortion that didn’t make a strong point, giving Trump a chance to say lines like, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said, either.”

"It is criminal political negligence that Democrats rigged their primary to nominate Biden, who looks half-alive on the debate stage facing Trump," observed veteran Democratic strategist Peter Daou.

Over at CNN, Van Jones called for Biden to drop out.

🚨CNN’S VAN JONES CALLS FOR BIDEN TO PULL OUT OF RACE:

“There are going to be a lot of people who want him to consider taking a different course now… That was not what we needed from Joe Biden. It is personally PAINFUL for a lot of people.” pic.twitter.com/IgcnwZhCbS

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 28, 2024

CNN's Scott Jennings then stated the obvious.

.@ScottJenningsKY: We now know that every single person who said "BUT BIDEN IS GREAT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS" has been LYING to the American people. pic.twitter.com/WBh3xGheZD

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) June 28, 2024

"Tonight’s debate made it undeniably clear: Joe Biden is mentally unfit to continue as President of the United States. His cognitive decline was sad and evident tonight, and it’s reflected in his disastrous presidency," Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas) said in a statement received by PJ Media.

And the panic was felt over at MSNBC as well.

When you've lost MSDNC...... pic.twitter.com/7y4PQkBolp

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) June 28, 2024

Guys, I'm telling you, this was much worse for Joe Biden than anyone imagined it would be.

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