Supreme Court to decide Trump immunity decision TODAY as Biden scrambles to save reelection campaign: Follow along for U.S. politics live updates

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Democratic Party leaders desperately begged committee members not to abandon President Joe Biden despite his disastrous performance during the debate.

During a secret phone call after the CNN debate in Atlanta on Thursday, DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison and Biden’s campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez attempted to allay concerns about the president’s viability as their 2024 candidate.

But those on the call claim leaders are tricking them and asking them to ignore obvious signs of mental decline. They believe that the 81-year-old Biden may no longer be the best person for the job.

With just a month and a half left until the Democratic National Convention, many party members, strategists and donors are wondering whether they should start looking for a replacement.

Joe Salazar, a DNC member-elect from Colorado who participated in the call, said:

I was hoping for a more substantive conversation rather than, ‘Hey, let’s go out there and just be cheerleaders,’ without actually addressing a very serious issue that was playing out on American television in front of millions of people.

There were a number of things that could have been said to address the situation. But we didn’t get that. We were gaslighted.

Joe Biden feels “humiliated” and “painfully aware” of his image after his disastrous debate performance as he discusses the future of his re-election campaign.

The president has returned to Camp David with his wife, children and grandchildren to take a break from the campaign process and consider his options. NBC News reported for the first time.

Insiders described Biden’s mood as “humiliated and lacking in confidence” after his confrontation with Donald Trump, in which he stumbled over his words several times and lost his thread.