President Joe Biden, right, and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, left, are seen on a television at Tillie’s Lounge during the presidential debate on Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Cincinnati. For many voters in the U.S., there’s despair in the air after the presidential debate this past week.
| Photo Credit: AP

Following a disastrous performance at the debate stage in Atlanta, there is a growing clamour within the ruling Democratic party and the mainstream American media for President Joe Biden to step down from the presidential race.

However, the 81-year-old President and his campaign have asserted that he is not giving up and is determined to successfully run for the November 5th presidential elections.

“Mr. Biden is the nominee (of the Democratic party. No switching of the nominee,” campaign leadership has asserted.

Mr. Biden, the 46th President of the United States, has won the Democratic presidential primary.

As of June 29, he had 3,894 delegates as against 1,975 delegates required to win the nomination of the party. These delegates would meet in Chicago from August 19 to 22 to formally nominate the winner of the primaries to run for the November 5 presidential elections.

Mr. Biden, seeking a second term in the White House, stumbled and fumbled during the televised presidential debate with his predecessor Donald Trump on Thursday night in Atlanta, setting off alarm bells among top Democrats about whether he can stay atop the gruelling months ahead of the elections on November 5.

The 78-year-old Mr. Trump, who is the presumptive Republican Party candidate for the presidential election, clashed right from the start with Biden and by the end of the 90 minutes debate, gave enough fodder for serious editorials and opinions as well as memes on social media.

Over the last 50 hours after the first presidential debate in Atlanta on Thursday night, wherein his performance was seen far below par against his rival Mr. Trump, multiple media outlets, including The New York Times and his own party supporters and key decision makers, are calling him to step down from the race.

“Dropping out is Mr. Biden’s most patriotic option,” The Atlantic said Saturday.

“To serve his country, President Biden should leave the race,” The New York Times editorial board wrote Following the debate.

The New York Times wrote, “That is no longer a sufficient rationale for why Mr. Biden should be the Democratic nominee this year.” Similar messages are coming from inside the party as well.

However, his inner circle is standing by the side of Mr. Biden.

A post-debate poll says that 10% of the independent voters have moved towards Mr. Biden after the debate, a point that is being made by his team.

“It wasn’t my best debate ever as Barack (Obama) pointed out. I understand the concern after the debate,” Mr. Biden told his fundraisers in New Jersey. “I get it. I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to be fighting harder,” he said.

“Research during the debate shows us converting more undecided voters than Trump did, in large part because of his conduct on January 6,” Mr. Biden said. He argued Mr. Trump’s lies were the biggest takeaway: “People remember the bad things during his presidency.”

“I didn’t have a great night but neither did he,” he said again of Mr. Trump.

Several prominent columnists — Paul Krugman, Tom Friedman, Nicholas Kristof, Jonathan Alter, and David Ignatius — argued that the chance of a diminished Mr. Biden losing to Mr. Trump is too high to risk.

Democrat presidential candidate U.S. President Joe Biden listens as Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during their debate in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., on June 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Former President Donald Trump gloated on Friday over President Joe Biden’s often halting performance at the first debate ahead of the November election, saying Democrats have no better choices while calling the Democratic incumbent “the most incompetent president” in U.S. history.

Trump spoke to thousands of supporters Friday at a rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, a day after President Biden’s disappointing performance sparked concerns among his allies and other Democrats who were hoping for a more vigorous candidate to secure and improve his chances at reelection. President Biden repeatedly stumbled, paused and could not complete sentences, prompting some people to wonder whether they could replace him ahead of November.

“The question every voter should be asking themselves today is not whether Joe Biden can survive a 90-minute debate performance, but whether America can survive four more years of crooked Joe Biden in the White House,” Trump said.

Trump repeated several of the false claims he made on Thursday, including about abortions later in pregnancy, and again referred to rioters who have been charged with storming the Capitol to try to overturn his 2020 loss as “hostages.” He applauded a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that came out earlier on Friday, limiting a federal obstruction law that has been used to charge Trump and hundreds of Capitol riot defendants. And he called for their release.

“Free the J6 hostages now. They should free them now for what they’ve gone through,” he said, adding that the ruling “was a great thing for people that have been so horribly treated.”

Trump has long suggested the people charged in the riot have been unfairly prosecuted and continues to promote lies and unproven theories about voter fraud.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin appeared alongside Trump on Friday, saying he was going to work to secure a Trump victory in a state Biden won in 2020. The Republican governor, who was once a favorite potential presidential candidate for anti-Trump Republicans, notably waited during this year’s primary and only endorsed Trump in March.

“This is about strength versus weakness,” Youngkin told Trump supporters. “We have seen the weak America that Joe Biden has created, and we all lived through the strong America that Donald Trump built.”

Trump said he did not think President Biden could drop out of the race, mentioning the demands from some Democrats and opinion writers calling for Biden to step aside. He then criticised other high-profile Democrats such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Vice President Kamala Harris and former first lady Michelle Obama.

Trump said he would be very happy going against Ms. Harris, who is Biden’s running mate.

Ms. Harris can’t just swap in for him at the top of the ticket by default should President Biden decide to step aside. Individual state delegations would need to be lobbied to replace Biden ahead of a virtual roll call where the party intends to nominate Biden. The exact date for the roll call has not yet been set.

There is no evidence President Biden is willing to end his campaign. And it would be nearly impossible for Democrats to replace him unless he chooses to step aside.

Christopher James Caton, 49, of Virginia Beach left his home at 4.30 a.m. to see Trump speak on Friday.

“Trump was unbelievable,” Caton, wearing a Second Amendment ball cap, said of Thursday night’s debate. “He was on fire. He was steady. He didn’t stutter.”

Even Democrats have to admit that President Biden performed poorly, Mr. Caton said.

Tokyo:

While the first US presidential debate of the 2024 race dwelled little on foreign policy, a shaky performance by President Joe Biden will have America’s allies steeling for the return of Donald Trump, analysts say.

Biden’s supporters had hoped the debate would erase worries that he was too old to serve, but several lawmakers, analysts and investors said the event had given Trump a boost.

“Mr. Trump didn’t win but Mr. Biden might have imploded,” said Kunihiko Miyake, a former Japanese diplomat and now research director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies, a think tank.

“Unlike eight years ago, we are much more prepared, as are other European and Asian allies. Still, Mr. Trump is unpredictable.”

For Japan and South Korea, among the closest U.S. allies in Asia, relations with Trump’s administration were at times strained by his demands for more payments towards military assistance as well as trade tensions.

“The biggest question for Japan would be whether Trump will truly value and maintain the security alliance,” said Takashi Kawakami, a professor at Japan’s Takushoku University in Tokyo.

Peter Lee, research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said the debate had put into “much more stark relief” the possibility of a second Trump administration. Lee said he expected Trump to be “very tough” second time around in pressuring allies to up their defence spending.

Trump also started a tariff war with China, the world’s second largest economy, and has floated tariffs of 60% or higher on all Chinese goods if he wins the Nov. 5 election.

Overseas firms dependent on U.S. markets, such as automakers, would also be wary of the heightened possibility of Trump’s return given the “myriad” of tariff-related policies he imposed during his previous term, said Lee Jae-il, analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities.

“Trump, like a trade war maniac, might not just target China but impose tariffs against other countries as well under the concept of American exceptionalism,” added Stephen Lee, chief economist at Meritz Securities in Seoul.

WAR IN UKRAINE

In Europe, Trump’s criticisms of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and demands that other members pay more dominated his previous administration. His scepticism towards NATO is causing further anxiety this time, as Russian’s war in Ukraine has brought conflict to the bloc’s doorstep.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz previously cheered on Biden’s prospects for re-election. But on Friday a senior defence figure in the ruling coalition lamented Biden’s performance and urged Democrats to find another candidate.

“The fact that a man like Trump could become president again because the Democrats are unable to put up a strong candidate against him would be a historic tragedy that the whole world would feel,” Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, of the liberal FDP party, told the Rheinische Post paper.

A spokesperson for Scholz did not comment on the specifics of the debate, but stressed the chancellor valued Biden highly and that Scholz had never spoken to Trump as their terms did not overlap.

During the debate, Trump accused Biden of not standing up to China on trade. He also said China’s Xi Jinping, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin “don’t respect” Biden and that he was driving the country “into World War Three”.

Biden retorted by saying Trump’s tariff proposals would result in higher costs for American consumers, and that he “cuddles up” to the likes of Kim and Putin.

Putin has said it made little difference to Russia who was in the White House, and on Friday the Kremlin declined comment on what it said was an internal U.S. matter.

U.S. allies including Japan and Germany have in any case started laying the groundwork for a possible Trump return in recent months.

“The possibility of a Trump comeback may have increased. High tariffs and support for Ukraine will also bring about major changes,” said Kazuhiro Maeshima from the Sophia University in Tokyo.

“The Japanese government has also been anticipating various developments in the event of a Trump and has been gradually taking steps to deal with them, including making contact with people close to Trump.”

‘TRUMP 2.0’

In Sydney, several Australian officials and experts had attended a workshop titled “Trump 2.0” as the debate was aired.

“The overwhelming feeling from today is that it was a disaster for Biden,” said Peter Dean, a professor at the United States Studies Centre in Sydney who was at the workshop.

“The mood has changed considerably after the debate and the general view is that if you weren’t preparing for a Trump 2.0 then that is the smart play and the smart move now.”

Keir Starmer, the leader of Britain’s Labour party and the frontrunner in an election due next week, was asked on BBC radio if he was concerned about Biden after the debate.

“I’ve got enough on my hands with our own election campaign at the moment…The relationship between the UK and the US is strong, it’s historic, and obviously, it’s above the individuals,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

U.S. President Joe Biden, right, and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, left, during a presidential debate hosted by CNN, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta.
| Photo Credit: AP

U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump opened their first 2024 Presidential debate without shaking hands and went right to mixing it up on policy Thursday night. Some key moments from their 90-minute faceoff.

Economic fireworks

Their first exchange delved into the economy. Mr. Biden spoke softly, in a hoarse voice, as he talked up the economic gains on his watch, saying he rescued it from “free fall” and “chaos” when he took over the presidency from Mr. Trump in 2021. He cleared his throat several times.

Mr. Trump listened with a bemused expression but did not try to interrupt, though his microphone was muted while Biden spoke.

When it was his turn to speak, Mr. Trump bragged about the state of the economy during his term, saying “everything was rocking good.” He blamed Biden for rising prices that have frustrated Americans.

“Inflation is killing our country,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s absolutely killing us.”

Candidates tangle over who’s extreme on abortion

Mr. Biden blamed Mr. Trump for eroding abortion rights after the Republican’s three appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court voted to reverse Roe v. Wade, which had recognised a nationwide constitutional right to abortion. The reversal has energised many voters who support abortion rights and it helped power Democratic victories in the 2022 midterms and special elections.

Also read | The Hindu editorial on the 2024 U.S. Presidential election as a Biden-Trump rematch

“It’s been a terrible thing what you’ve done,” Mr. Biden said, turning to his rival. He pledged to restore the law under Roe if given a second term but didn’t say how he’d accomplish that. He said the idea of turning abortion laws back to states “is like saying we’re going to turn civil rights back to the states.”

Mr. Trump said his presidency returned the issue of abortion to the people through state laws. He said he supports abortion ban exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, and he repeated his claim that Mr. Biden supports abortion up to and after birth.

“We think the Democrats are the radicals, not the Republicans,” Mr. Trump said.

Trump pushes January 6 falsehoods

Mr. Trump lied about his role in the January 6, 2021, attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol, and tried to deflect by pivoting to other issues. Pressed on his role, he said he encouraged people to act “peacefully and patriotically,” then changed the subject to launch an attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

He said Mr. Biden ought to “be ashamed” for the way the January 6 defendants have been handled.

Mr. Trump, who has floated the idea of pardons for the 6 rioters, suggested his supporters who stormed the Capitol were actually peaceful and are now being politically persecuted.

In fact, the rioters engaged in hand-to-hand combat with police and used makeshift weapons to attack officers. More than 1,400 people have been charged with federal offenses stemming from the riot, and more than 1,000 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial.

“The only person who’s on this stage that’s a convicted felon is the man I’m looking at right now” Mr. Biden said of his rival.