Democrats’ hard questions after trainwreck debate

US President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina, after his disastrous debate with Donald Trump. Picture: AFP

Election leadership debates can be game-changers. That may prove the case with the encounter between Joe Biden, 81, and Donald Trump, 78 – if it propels the Democratic Party to do what its politicians, officials and donors were canvassing even before the contest ended on Friday AEST. That is, persuade or compel the President to stand aside in the interests of the party, the US and the free world. They have two months to do so, until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.

Mr Biden’s performance was excruciating. He lost his train of thought 12 minutes in, and his string of gibberish, ending in the comment “we finally beat Medicare”, will not be forgotten. In light of the grave strategic dangers facing much of the world, in the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Ukraine, it was alarming. After a week hunkered down at Camp David preparing, he failed the most basic test – speaking coherently. And for much of the time when Mr Trump was speaking, Mr Biden had a blank stare.

Mr Trump stumbled badly over one of his main weaknesses – his supporters’ violent riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, when he, and they, refused to accept the 2020 presidential election result. But he cut through on the economy, especially inflation, nailing Mr Biden’s policies as the main cause of inflation hitting 9.1 per cent in mid-2022. It has since fallen to 3.3 per cent. Mr Trump’s argument that his lowering corporate taxes encouraged business activity and brought in investment was a strength for him. Likewise the porous US border, which has allowed at least 10 million illegal immigrants to enter the US on Mr Biden’s watch.

Mr Trump was articulate and on message, generally, and kept his nasty side in check, which allowed Mr Biden’s fumbling and mumbling to speak for itself. Their age gap seemed much larger than three years, though it is concerning that should Mr Trump win, he would be 82 when his term ended. Mr Biden would be 85, which, judging on his dismal showing, would be untenable. Mr Trump sensibly toned down his US isolationism rhetoric.

Mr Biden looked a feeble man no American should want going head to head with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin or Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Wall Street Journal noted: “It was clearly a selfish act for him to seek a second term.” Did those closest to Mr Biden really think they could hide his decline from the public for an entire election campaign, the Journal asked. The Democratic Party clearly made a bad mistake in seeking this early debate (they normally take place after the party conventions, where the candidates are officially confirmed).

While the choice of president is up to American voters alone, this newspaper has argued for more than a year that our greatest ally deserves better than the current choice. That view has not changed as a result of the debate. Mr Biden’s cognitive function is no longer up to the world’s most important job; and Mr Trump, the first convicted felon to contest the Oval Office, has so much legal baggage that his doing so could prove impractical. On July 11, he will be sentenced on 34 offences in the tawdry Stormy Daniels “hush money’’ case in Manhattan. He could become the first former president ordered to jail or house arrest. How such an outcome would play out logistically as regards the campaign, or the presidency, would take the US into uncharted territory. It would not be in Mr Trump’s nature to stand aside.

Nor, it appears, is Mr Biden inclined to put patriotism and Americans’ best interests ahead of ego. That, too, would take the US into uncharted waters. No incumbent president has dropped out of an election race so late. Mr Biden has the delegates to win the Democratic nomination. The only way he won’t be the nominee is if he decides to withdraw. If he refuses to do so, in private some Democrats are already urging such prominent figures as Barack Obama, the Clintons and Nancy Pelosi to speak out, in the national interest.

Part of the Democrats’ problem is Vice-President Kamala Harris, who Mr Biden wants as his running mate again and who would take over as president if he could not complete a second term. Mr Biden tasked Ms Harris with overseeing immigration and dealing with border crossings. She was not up to the job, and is not an alternative president. For Republicans, Mr Trump’s legal problems and age make his selection for his vice-president crucial also. Two-thirds of US television viewers believe Mr Trump won the debate, a poll conducted by host broadcaster CNN showed. That was a sharp reversal on 2020, when the two men last faced off. Mr Trump may find himself fighting a younger, more able opponent as a result of Mr Biden’s failure in the debate. A stronger contender would be in the best interests of the US and its people.