Let's be honest: Everyone has known for a long time now that Joe Biden is both physically frail and cognitively impaired. Biden's allies have merely thought they could deny it until after the election. Well, the debate made that impossible, and now there's a mad dash to do "something" about it. Calls for Biden to drop out are coming in strong from the left-wing media, and elected Democrats are freaking out privately.

How did this happen? How did we get to this point? Well, some Democratic Party insiders say that Joe Biden was set up to fail in a "soft coup" designed to oust him.

"There has never been a debate this early before. Traditionally the debates are held after the Republican and Democratic conventions, which are in July and August," a former Hillary Clinton aide told the Daily Mail. "Most years the first debate is early September ahead of the November election.Biden's inner circle demanded this early debate. There is a growing belief this was a 'soft coup' because they know he isn't fit to govern and have known for some time. They wanted to test him against Trump early, while there was still time to replace him if he failed to rise to the occasion. Which, of course, he did spectacularly."

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Another source told the outlet, "The whole thing doesn't pass the smell test. Publicly the Democratic leadership has been backing Biden because they can't appear to be disloyal to the President, but privately there have been discussions going on for a long time that he's too old to beat Trump.

The source added, "There were whispers for weeks that 'Joe's going down at the debate.'"

That certainly would explain how and why Biden was allowed to go up on stage in the condition he was in, rather than being drugged, which many suspect he was at the State of the Union.

And, according to the report, some Democrats are ready to pounce.

One of the favourites to replace Biden – Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, 52 – secretly sent an advance team to Washington DC 'weeks ago' to prepare for her possible presidential run.

The team has been 'on manoeuvres', meeting with Democratic officials. The source said: 'Gretchen was the first to act. Now the floodgates have been opened.'

While Biden has insisted the debate – seen by 48 million people – was 'one bad night', his leadership is in crisis as he faces pressure to quit.

Jill Biden has admitted her husband knows he performed badly, telling reporters on Friday: 'After last night's debate, he said, 'You know Jill, I don't know what happened. I didn't feel that great.'

Former President Barack Obama has now been called on to 'stage an intervention' to persuade his close friend and former Vice President to withdraw from the race.

The source said: 'Obama is probably the only person aside from his wife and sister who Biden will listen to.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is also reportedly open to the idea of replacing Biden, which is a huge revelation. According to a Clinton aide, new polling figures will be critical in the coming days, with significant behind-the-scenes negotiations occurring. Biden's campaign chairwoman, Jen O'Malley Dillon, attempted to reassure staff and donors that Joe just had one bad night, but the mood was reportedly not good. 

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