WASHINGTON, June  28, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Joe Biden's presidential campaign
was in full damage-control mode Friday as he sought to recover from a
disastrous debate showing that triggered alarm among Democrats and talk of
replacing the 81-year-old on the White House ticket.

       The verdict on Biden's performance against Donald Trump was damning, with
party strategists admitting "consternation" within the ranks as the election
looms a little over four months away.

       "Democrats panic over Biden, doubting his future," ran the Washington Post
headline.

       Thursday evening's showdown with Trump had been touted as an opportunity
for Biden to allay qualms about his advanced age, and to paint his rival as an
existential threat to US democracy.

       Instead, his hesitant delivery, which saw him tripping over words and
losing his train of thought, underlined concern about his ability to serve
another term and raised the question of whether he should even remain the party
nominee.

       Throughout the 90-minute face-off, Biden struggled to counter a typically
bombastic performance from Trump who seemed energized and forceful in
comparison as he delivered -- unchallenged -- a reel of false or misleading
statements about everything from the economy to key electoral issues like
immigration.

       A split screen often showed Biden staring, open mouthed, as Trump held
forth.

       "I thought it was sad," Trump supporter Rhonda Kundrat, 51, told AFP as she
waited for her candidate to speak at a rally in Virginia on Friday.

       "There's no way they should have put that old man out there."
       
       - 'Heartbreaking' -
    
       
       Thomas Friedman, a New York Times columnist who is close to the president,
said the debate was "a heartbreaking moment."

       "Joe Biden, a good man and a good president, has no business running for
re-election," he said. "It's time for him to keep the dignity he deserves and
leave the stage at the end of this term."

       As both candidates returned to the campaign trail, Biden headed to the
battleground state of North Carolina.

       Even as the critics were quick to plunge their knives into his performance,
Biden insisted he had done "well" as he stopped at a Waffle House with First
Lady Jill Biden for post-debate snacks.

       He attributed his raspy-voiced delivery to a "sore throat" and added that,
in any case, it was "hard to debate a liar."

       But as the disappointment over Biden's showing registered with Democrats,
there was growing talk of how to find a new candidate before the party's
convention in August.

       Democrats -- including members of his own administration -- traded
"frenzied" phone calls and text messages as the debate unfolded, the Times said.

       So far, no senior Democratic figure has publicly called on Biden to
withdraw, with most toeing a party line about sticking with the existing ticket.

       "I will never turn my back on President Biden," said California Governor
Gavin Newsom, who has figured prominently on lists of possible replacement
candidates.

       "I don't know a Democrat in my party that would do so," Newsom told
reporters in the spin room after the debate.

       Analysts say forcing a change in the ticket would be politically fraught,
and Biden would have to decide himself to withdraw to make way for another
nominee before the party convention.

       A strong -- but not automatic -- candidate to take Biden's place would be
his vice president, Kamala Harris, who loyally defended his performance
Thursday while acknowledging he had made a "slow start."

       Republican politicians sought to project calm assurance as the Democrats
scrambled.

       House Speaker Mike Johnson, a senior party figure, said it was clear that
Biden was not "up to the job."

       "Donald Trump is the only man on that stage that's qualified and capable of
serving as the next president. The election cannot get here soon enough."