Zheng Ke, a special correspondent of this newspaper in the United States, Yu Wen
A televised debate has put US President Joe Biden's election in jeopardy. According to the latest poll results released by CBS on June 30, after the first round of televised debates on the 27th, 72% of registered voters believe that Biden's mental and cognitive health is not suitable for the presidency. Among Democrats, the percentage has also increased substantially. Biden launched crisis public relations on this. According to CNN, on June 30, Democratic bigwigs poured into TV stations for interviews to express their support for Biden and try to divert attention from Biden's chaotic and painful debates and redirect the spotlight to the possible consequences of Trump's re-election. They also found a new reason for Biden's poor debating performance: the advisers "overtrained" Biden before the debate, leaving him too tired. It remains to be seen whether these PR efforts will succeed. According to CNN, the top Democrats are in a dilemma, they are afraid of "replacing Biden" and "keeping Biden".
The family encouraged Biden to continue his campaign
CBS said that after the first round of televised debates on June 27, the media and YouGov polled 1,130 registered voters across the United States on the 28th and 29th, showing that 72% of voters believe that Biden's mental and cognitive health is unsuitable for the presidency, compared with 49% who have this opinion on Trump. Among registered Democratic voters, 41 percent of respondents said Biden doesn't have the mental qualities needed to be president — up from 29 percent in a poll in early June. The poll also showed that nearly half (45%) of Democratic voters want Biden, 81, to give way to a younger nominee, and 55% of Democratic voters said they want Biden to continue running.
A USA Today poll shows a similar picture. The newspaper said on July 1 that a poll conducted in conjunction with Suffolk University showed that Biden's poor performance in last week's debate had shaken his core support, with 41 percent of Democrats saying the party should nominate other candidates, 37 percent of whom had planned to vote for Biden.
According to the New York Times, Biden's family urged him not to give up. On June 30, Biden met with his wife, children and grandchildren at the presidential resort Camp David. One of the strongest voices persuading Biden to resist the pressure to withdraw came from his son, Hunter, whose advice the president has always taken seriously, a person familiar with the matter said. Hunt wants Americans to see the father he knew—full of fighting spirit and knowing the facts—not the stumbling, aging president he saw on the night of the 27th. This is the first gathering of Biden's family since Hunter was convicted of illegal possession of a firearm, and Hunter is still facing a verdict, as well as a trial on another tax charge, the report said.
At the same time, several of Biden's party allies and top Democrats flocked to the media to loudly express their support for the president. Senator Warnock said on NBC, "Biden showed his character and courage, not in those 90 minutes, but over the last (near) 4 years." According to CNN, many Democrats who are considered a possible alternative to Biden have publicly expressed support for Biden's continued campaign, and they are afraid of being called "traitors."
The only less harmonious voice came from Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin. He told MSNBC that it was unclear where President Biden would go from here, and that "there is a very honest, serious and rigorous dialogue at all levels of our party, whether or someone else is running," and that the Democrats will be united.
A new version emerges: Blame the advisors
According to the British newspaper The Guardian, on Sunday, a narrative accusing Biden of being too harsh in the preparation of the debate during the six-day quarantine at Camp David began to emerge.
According to the American "Political News Network", three days after the disastrous debate, Democrats began to shirk responsibility for Biden's poor performance. The top party members do not deny that Biden is doing badly, but they are increasingly pointing to factors other than Biden's age or cognitive abilities, arguing that the president is not to blame for his failed debates, and that the real reason is that he was "overprepared", that the CNN moderator did not adequately verify Trump's statement, etc.
"I've been involved in debate preparation before, and when I see the so-called over-preparation, I know what's going on," Rep. Claiburn said on CNN on Sunday, adding: "And that's exactly what happened that night." According to the report, after the debate on the 27th, Biden's campaign almost immediately shifted responsibility, including saying that the president had a cold. Over the next few days, Democrats kept looking for topics to deflect the discussion about Biden — including that the president's accomplishments should not be overshadowed by the 90-minute debate and that Trump's performance, while stronger, was full of lies. According to CNN, Biden's family was disappointed with the team preparing for his debate, and they privately discussed whether the advisers should be fired and whether the campaign should be adjusted. However, Biden is known for his loyalty and protection of his close advisers and does not like to fire aides. As of the 30th, there do not appear to be any major personnel changes on the horizon.
Florida lawyer John Morgan, one of the most prominent donors of the Democratic Party, publicly accused several advisers who were in charge of preparing for the Biden debate on the 30th. "Biden has long been fooled by the values of Anita Dern and her husband," Morgan wrote on social media, "and they need to leave...... Leave today, outrageous liar, this is political malfeasance. Morgan further explained in a subsequent interview, "It's like putting a boxer who's going to fight a championship in a sauna for 15 hours and saying, 'Go fight.'" I think this debate is entirely the responsibility of Ron Klein, Bob Bauer, and Anita Dunn. The White House did not comment on this statement.
The Democrats are in a dilemma
Agence France-Presse said on July 1 that so far, no senior Democratic Party has publicly called for Biden to withdraw from the race, and most people have followed the partisan line and stuck to the existing campaign lineup. Forcibly changing the list of candidates would be politically controversial, and Biden would have to decide for himself to withdraw to make way for another candidate before the party congress in August. According to the report, many election gamblers have also abandoned Biden and chosen to bet on Trump or other Democratic leaders. Prior to the debate, bettors on the Smarkets platform were pricing in a 35% chance of Biden winning in November, but that number has since dropped below 20%.
According to CNN, some Democrats are angry that Biden has shown himself too egotistical. Top Democrats are also concerned that if Biden withdraws from the race at this point and holds a new race for the nomination, it could spark an internal feud that could effectively lead to Trump taking the presidency. At present, the Biden team seems to have avoided immediate danger, the report said. According to his team, he raised more than $33 million in the days after the debate. The heavyweights who are willing to defend him on television show that he hasn't lost his party yet – even as a total collapse is taking place behind the scenes. ▲