President Joe Biden’s disastrous Atlanta debate against former President Donald Trump plunged Democrats in Georgia into turmoil, as some openly discussed whether to abandon the 81-year-old while others insisted he could still reassure an uneasy electorate.
Biden’s halting, shaky answers throughout the 90-minute showdown came at a critical moment in the campaign, with the Democrat hoping to change the trajectory of a race where he faces deficits in the polls in Georgia and other battleground states.
Instead, his rambling answers and failure to counter Trump’s stream of misleading statements ensured that questions around Biden’s biggest vulnerability — his health and mental fitness — will get even more attention in the march to November.
It prompted immediate backlash from all corners of Biden’s coalition, spanning from liberal loyalists who could show their disdain by refusing to cast a ballot to disaffected Republicans who were already reluctant to ally with the Democratic incumbent.
“America does not feel comfortable with either candidate,” said Chris Bruce, a left-leaning activist who is the political director for the Georgia ACLU.
Former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, one of the few GOP officials who have endorsed Biden, sounded the alarms after the debate.
“It was a difficult night for levelheaded Republicans that can’t imagine giving Donald Trump four more years in the White House,” said Duncan, who briefly flirted with a third-party bid for president.
“The Democrats are going to have to chart a course going forward that either improves the performance or the ticket if they want a chance to win in November.”
In private, senior Democrats in Georgia expressed deep concerns about Biden’s ability to remain in the race and discussed potential alternatives, though they conceded any chance of ousting the incumbent from the ballot was far-fetched.
No incumbent president has abandoned the race at this juncture in the campaign cycle and, complicating those efforts, there’s no consensus backup waiting in the wings.
Some party leaders have expressed reservations about Vice President Kamala Harris, and about elevating other potential contenders, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, over the nation’s first Black female No. 2 could alienate the party’s base.
And party rules are designed to insulate nominees from outside challenges, meaning that Biden would only be replaced if he consented to it — a notion he has unerringly rejected.
He has long cast himself as the only Democrat who can smother Trump’s comeback bid, addressing his vulnerabilities head-on at a fiery North Carolina rally the day after the debate.
“I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” he said. “I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job.”
Behind closed doors, Biden’s campaign leaders huddled with influential donors and party officials at Atlanta’s Ritz Carlton early Friday to reassure them that he still has a path to victory in November.
And in public, Georgia’s top Democrats urged the party faithful to stick with Biden and swallow the concerns rippling through the party.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who attended Biden’s watch party at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Atlanta, downplayed the “small few” encouraging a change.
“Biden has shown over the last three and a half years that he’s right there with the American people,” he said.
“Democrats have to ride with who we’re with right now,” the mayor added, “because Joe Biden has earned the respect of the American public and has earned the respect of Democrats.”
State Rep. David Wilkerson, a Democrat from Powder Springs, also attended Biden’s watch party. He said Biden’s debate performance should be put in context.
“You had two completely different debates. You’re having one person who did not tell the truth and didn’t answer questions. And then you had somebody else who’s actually articulating answers on policy,” he said. “If you’re looking for policies, then the president did a great job. It was a lot more difficult for someone to actually answer questions that they’re being asked, about very important policy decisions.”
And Stacey Abrams, who was twice the party’s gubernatorial nominee, reminded loyalists that Biden was the first Democratic presidential contender to win Georgia in nearly three decades when he narrowly captured the state in 2020.
“He is going to do what he has been doing, which is invest in Georgia,” she said at a small news conference at an unassuming Biden field office near the Georgia state Capitol Friday.
Abrams and Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison, along with Democratic State Sen. Josh McLaurin, planned the event before the debate to focus on “Trump’s threat to Georgia.” But it also became a forum to respond to worried Democrats.
“It’s not time to wring hands. It’s about rolling up your sleeves and doing the work,” Harrison said.
After Biden’s lackluster performance, Democrats may need to work overtime to persuade some voters to show up for their candidate.
Lauren Colby, 19 of Savannah, will be voting in her first presidential election this November.
“I will be honest. I watched for a few minutes and then had to turn it off,” she said in a text to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It didn’t change how I’m looking at the race, but it did make me dread voting in November even more than I already was.”
Trump supporters projected an aura of confidence in Georgia, where an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released before the debate showed the Republican with a five-point edge over Biden.
Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper was among a handful of senior Republican leaders at a debate watch party hosted by former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler that also drew several of Trump’s potential running mates.
He said Republicans were undoubtedly buoyed by Thursday’s debate, but cautioned the GOP not to get boastful.
“The debate set the stage for the tone of the rest of the campaign. It gave us even more momentum,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we can’t take our eyes off the ball. We can’t rest on our laurels.”
Staff Reporter Adam Van Brimmer contributed to this story.
