Vice President Kamala Harris emerged this morning as a critical figure in the Democratic campaign, after Joe Biden’s disastrous performance in the first presidential debate with rival Donald Trump.
“It appeals to the segments where Biden’s coalition is having the most difficulty,” said political analyst John King on CNN, the North American television channel that moderated the meeting. “It’s an asset that should have been leveraged from day one,” he added.
The vice president took action in the hours following the debate, where Joe Biden appeared with little energy, a hoarse voice and apparent disorientation at times.
“People can debate about style but this election has to be about substance,” said Kamala Harris, in an interview with CNN in which she was pressed about Biden’s performance.
“It was a slow start but a strong end”, defended the Democrat, highlighting that the president “marked a contrast with Trump on all the topics that interest American voters.
After CNN, Kamala Harris went to another television station, MSNBC, and once again described Biden as “very strong” against a Trump who lied.
“Kamala became much more important to the campaign tonight,” said commentator Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC.
Analyzes late into the night focused on whether the Democratic party should try to get the candidate – not yet confirmed at the convention – to drop out of the race.
“This was a game-changing debate,” noted John King on CNN. “Right now, there is panic in the Democratic party, which involves operatives, elected officials, donors,” he continued. “They consider their performance to be poor,” he added.
The CNN aftermath poll showed that voters who watched the debate gave Donald Trump the victory, with 67% against 33% for Biden. The majority (81%) said they had not changed their opinion, while 5% admitted to changing their vote and 14% may rethink.
“The panic I’m hearing is something I’ve never heard before,” said analyst Abby Phillip. “Biden’s responses were not coherent. It is deeply problematic that he was unable to respond directly,” she continued. “There was real damage here,” she added.
Biden’s faltering performance, Phillip said, “solidified the perception among voters who don’t believe he can do this for another four years.”
Democrat Van Jones, who was an advisor to Barack Obama, acknowledged that Biden’s performance was painful and that the president failed the test to which he submitted himself.
Also, veteran Democrat David Axelrod stressed that Biden’s goal was to appear energetic and capable of serving another four years. “He scored points on policy issues like abortion and the economy, but there is a feeling of shock at how he appeared at first,” he pointed out. “He seemed disoriented,” he added.
Republican strategist Scott Jennings considered that Biden’s candidacy “fell tonight” and that Harris’ position was increased, considering it notable that the campaign has to boost the vice president to mitigate the president’s shortcomings. Republican David Urban considered the debate “an absolute disaster”.
On MSNBC, Biden’s biographer Evan Osnos stated that the candidate who appeared on stage in Atlanta “is a diminished person” compared to the one he ran for four years ago.
After the debate, Joe Biden appeared at a party with supporters who gathered to watch the broadcast and then went to a restaurant to speak to voters. At both stops, he seemed to have more energy and ease than on stage.
This was the first debate ever between a former president and an incumbent president who will face each other for the White House.
The media pointed to Biden’s performance below expectations and the high number of lies told by Trump, with fact-checkers pointing to more than 30 instances in which the Republican did not say the truth.
