The Democrats and the media, but I repeat myself, are running around like Jamaal Bowman just pulled the fire alarm. They are in BIG panic mode.
I'm not exaggerating. The word "panic" comes up multiple times in the clips ahead.
I'll start just with one paper, the paper of record.
Here's what the NYT editorial page looks like this morning:
"God help us."
Democrats ... traded frenzied phone calls and text messages within minutes of the start of the debate as it became clear that Mr. Biden was not at his sharpest. Practically in despair, some took to social media to express shock, while others privately discussed among themselves whether it was too late to persuade the president to step aside in favor of a younger candidate.
Here's how Healy begins his piece:
Within the first half-hour of the presidential debate, I'd heard from three veteran Democratic presidential campaign officials, and all of them had the same reaction to President Biden's performance: This is a disaster.
By the end of the debate, I was hearing a level of anxiety and alarm from those Democrats and several other party leaders and operatives that I've never seen in 20 years of covering presidential politics. The discussion turned squarely to the need for the Democratic Party to replace Biden as the 2024 nominee, with four months to go to the election, and how to make that happen.
Let's leave The Times behind and check out the post-debate reaction from Politico.
Oof.
The pain here is palpable:
Poor, poor Van Jones. He's heartbroken!
CNN actually fact-checked Biden:
Here's more reaction:
Her heart is breaking! "How did we get here?"
Cenk, the Young Turks guy, thinks it'll be a bloodbath!
They WANT to replace Biden. They can't imagine actually running him after this debate.
Here's Morning Joe today after a night's sleep (this is Biden's favorite news host!):
Here's more from this morning:
And, poor Kamala, she did her best:
Even Jon Stewart! (Although he can't help but make it about Trump)
Here's pollster Nate Silver:
Guys, there are LOTS of reactions I've left out.
Safe to say, this was the biggest electoral disaster of a night in the history of US politics.
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