One Democratic donor texted a face-palm emoji with a single word: “Oy.” Another was more blunt, texting a yellow emoji spewing green vomit.

And by the time CNN’s 90-minute presidential debate between President Biden and former President Donald Trump concluded Thursday evening, even Biden’s former communications director Kate Bedingfield concluded on the network’s air, “It was a really disappointing debate performance from Joe Biden.”

One thing was clear by the end of the first 2024 presidential faceoff: Democrats were in a panic following Biden’s halting debate night performance. Their consternation encompassed the halls of Congress, the moneyed coastal cities of donors, the party strongholds across the country, and the bars and living rooms where Democratic stalwarts gathered to cheer on their guy.

Because Biden, 81, failed to deliver.

The president – who desperately needed to use Thursday night’s debate to reassure skeptical voters that he has the physical and mental stamina to lead the nation – instead offered a shaky performance, especially in the early minutes, when more voters were likely to be watching.

Perhaps more alarming for Democrats, Biden played into Trump’s caricature – of an enfeebled man past his prime – that has privately worried even some of Biden’s staunchest supporters.

His voice was soft and raspy, and he repeatedly tried, and failed, to clear his throat. His answers, at times, were rambling, and at one point, he froze up. At another, he began an answer on abortion before suddenly segueing into immigration. When Trump spoke, Biden often watched with his mouth agape and eyes flared wide – a split screen that gave off the impression of the aging grandfather that he is, not the swashbuckling leader he hoped to project.

Before the debate had even ended, and in the immediate aftermath, the concern pinged across social media and in private text messages.

Maria Shriver, the former first lady of California and a member of the sprawling Democratic Kennedy family, offered a tribute to Biden on the social media platform X, with a pointed and devastating subtext: He had failed to rise to the occasion.

“I love Joe Biden. I know he’s a good man. I know his heart is good. I know he’s dedicated to our country and is surrounded by good people,” Shriver wrote. “Tonight was heartbreaking in many ways. This is a big political moment. There’s panic in the Democratic party. It’s going to be a long night.”

After the debate, Claire McCaskill, a former Democratic senator from Missouri, echoed Shriver’s sentiment, saying that while the debate showcased that Trump is “a liar, a flawed character, mean, a jerk, very unlikeable,” she also had to address the “hard and heartbreaking part” of the evening.

“He had one thing he had to accomplish, and that was: reassure America that he was up to the job at his age. And he failed at that tonight,” said McCaskill, adding: “I’m not the only one whose heart is breaking right now. There’s a lot of people who watched this tonight and felt terribly for Joe Biden.”

On Capitol Hill, the panic among Democratic lawmakers and staffers was also palpable, as they privately acknowledged that calls for Biden to step aside were only likely to grow as the party fully processed Biden’s dismal debate night performance.

House Democrats especially reacted in disbelief. A number of them said their mood soured when it became clear that Biden was having a low-energy night, and worry quickly spread among their ranks about whether he should remain the party’s nominee.

Other Democrats were furious, however, blaming CNN moderators for not fact-checking Trump in real time for his myriad false statements. But they also said Biden did not push back against Trump when he should have. Other Democrats fretted about how to move forward after such a poor performance by the top of the ticket.

Across the states, operatives expressed similar concerns.

“We’re so [f—ed],” texted one Democratic strategist in a battleground state. “He has great material. He just cannot deliver a single line.”

Julián Castro, the former Democratic mayor of San Antonio who served in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet, called the debate “completely predictable.”

“Biden had a very low bar going into the debate and failed to clear even that bar,” Castro wrote on X. “He seemed unprepared, lost, and not strong enough to parry effectively with Trump, who lies constantly.”

Speaking to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, David Plouffe, a former senior adviser to Obama, described the debate as a “Defcon 1 moment.”

Other Democrats were more blunt, calling on Biden to cede the nomination to a different – and presumably younger – Democratic leader before the debate had even ended.

Just an hour into Thursday night’s presidential debate, Andrew Yang, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, called on Biden to step aside.

“Guys, the Dems should nominate someone else – before it’s too late. #swapJoeout,” Yang wrote on X.

Around the same time, Nicholas Kristof – a New York Times columnist who tried unsuccessfully to run for governor in Oregon as a Democrat but was blocked from doing so because of a residency requirement – suggested that Biden’s debate performance should lead him to withdraw from the race and allow a younger contender to run.

“I wish Biden would reflect on this debate performance and then announce his decision to withdraw from the race, throwing the choice of Democratic nominee to the convention,” Kristof wrote on X, suggesting that someone like Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo or Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer “could still jump in and beat Trump.”

Inside the Biden campaign, officials conceded that the president struggled on the debate stage. They said it took him some time to warm up and that he improved as the night went on, but they also recognized that Biden damaged his candidacy Thursday night.

Still, officials quickly moved to attack Trump for his torrent of falsehoods and expressed frustration that CNN did not fact-check the former president during the debate.

Biden’s stumbles, however, proved favorable for his rival, overshadowing a debate performance by Trump that was riddled with mistruths and grew more erratic as the evening progressed.

On Thursday evening, an adviser to Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and a Democratic donor, sent an email that counseled calm – “we all need to take a deep breath” – but also acknowledged the grim reality and missed opportunity of Biden’s performance.

“Joe had a horrible night, cementing concerns about his age, his greatest electoral weakness,” began the email. “Our odds of Trumpocalypse II just materially increased. It’s tragic since we could have chosen to let Trump and the nation marinate over him being a convicted felon.”

In an interview with Vice President Harris, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper noted that some within the Democratic Party were wondering whether Biden should step aside – and asked Harris what she would say to that.

The vice president did not directly answer the question, instead arguing that Biden offered “a very clear contrast with Donald Trump on all the issues that matter to the American people.”

“Yes, there was a slow start, but it was a strong finish,” Harris said.

First lady Jill Biden, too, tried to offer a positive spin after the debate.

“Joe, you did such a great job!” she shouted, as she beamed at her husband. “You answered every question! You knew all the facts!”

 

Washington Post writers Leigh Ann Caldwell, Josh Dawsey, Amy Gardner, Colby Itkowitz, Meryl Kornfield, Tyler Pager, Maeve Reston, Sabrina Rodriguez, Michael Scherer, Marianna Sotomayor and Dylan Wells contributed to this report.

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