Former top Obama administration official David Axelrod suggested that if President Biden doesn’t top the Democratic presidential nomination list after his sleazy debate performance, it’s Republicans who should be worried in November.
Axelrod appeared on CNN after the first debate in Atlanta, in which Biden, 81, stumbled through his responses, occasionally pausing in a way that left some Democrats wringing their hands toward the end of the pivotal 90-minute event.
After the debate, as Democrats sounded the alarm and Republicans declared Trump won, Axelrod turned to the Republican strategists who appeared on the panel with him.
“If there’s a change at the top of the ticket for any reason, you’re in trouble Donald Trump “Because the man who stood there tonight is not someone who is going to inspire people,” Axelrod said.
“He hasn’t shown any signs of changing,” Axelrod continued forcefully.
Former top Obama adviser David Axelrod said it’s Republicans who should worry if Biden doesn’t top the Democratic ticket after President Biden’s performance at the debate worried some aides.
One of the Republican strategists on the panel, Scott Jennings, pushed back.
‘Trump won several policy exchanges tonight,” Jennings said. He mentioned immigration and the economy.
Jennings, however, agreed with Axelrod’s assessment of Trump’s lack of optimism.
“He should have turned the page and sounded an optimistic note about what we could become as a people and as a country,” Jennings said. “He didn’t.”
According to Jennings, people will mainly remember the debate as a “shuffling” version of Biden.
Axelrod responded by reiterating his original point.
Axelrod did say the chances of Biden withdrawing are “pretty slim,” but some strategists called on Democrats to replace their presumptive nominee before the debate even ended after Biden made a series of early missteps.
Axelrod said Biden didn’t have a good night, but neither did Donald Trump, warning that he is not a candidate who would inspire people
“If Joe Biden wasn’t the candidate, but there was another candidate, I think Donald Trump would be in big trouble,” the veteran political activist said.
Axelrod acknowledged it wasn’t a good night for the Democratic president, but he said Trump didn’t have a great night in the first debate either.
He also pointed out that it is “pretty remote” that Biden would walk away.
Axelrod wasn’t the only one who said Republicans should be concerned about the idea of Biden not being on the Democratic presidential ticket.
Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley reacted strongly to X.
“Biden will not be the Democratic nominee. Republicans, beware!” she wrote.