BUMBLING Joe Biden could face a Nixon-style ultimatum from top Democrats after his disastrous debate with Donald Trump.
The US president, 81, staggered and stumbled through the first 90-minute official debate of the 2024 election cycle.
During the showdown, Biden and Trump, 78, clashed over a raft of issues - from immigration, abortion and January 6 to the economy, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the environment.
But a hoarse Biden stumbled less than 10 minutes into the debate - losing his train of thought and appearing to freeze on stage.
Questions have long swirled about Biden's fitness for office following a string of gaffs, blunders, and episodes where critics said he looked frail.
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And voters have repeatedly questioned whether the 81-year-old can manage another four years in office.
As the two oldest presidential candidates in history, both Biden and Trump were both under pressure to display their fitness for office.
But it was Biden's performance that set off alarm bells within his own party - and some commentators and political figures have suggested he should be ousted and replaced.
Bringing in a new candidate at this stage would be unprecedented - and difficult.
But some Democrats have described Biden's performance as "a slow- motion car crash", an "unmitigated disaster", and "a meltdown", Sky News reports.
Two White House officials said Biden had a cold.
But one Democratic politician told NBC News it's "time to talk about an open convention and a new Democratic nominee".
Another compared the current situation to "a champion boxer who gets in the ring past his prime and needs his corner to throw in the towel".
And a party strategist who has worked on presidential campaigns said "this debate is a nail in the political coffin" and "babbling" Biden "is reaffirming everything voters already perceived".
Nigel Farage told The Sun Biden's debate performance was "worse than anyone can believe".
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The Reform leader, and Trump ally, branded the US President "totally unfit for office".
One top Biden donor called his performance "disqualifying" and said he expected a fresh round of calls for him to step aside ahead of the party's national convention in August.
There are going to be discussions about whether he should continue
David Axelrod
Meanwhile, David Plouffe, a Democratic strategist and former Obama campaign official, dubbed the debate "kind of a Defcon 1 moment".
And David Axelrod, a former adviser to Obama, told CNN: "There are going to be discussions about whether he should continue."
Even Biden's former communications director, Kate Bedingfield, said the president's performance was "really disappointing".
And one Democratic lawmaker went further and questioned whether an "intervention" should be staged as soon as possible to get Biden to move aside, Rolling Stone reports.
This was just comprehensively bad. So bad in emphasising the concerns which American voters already had about Biden - about his age, about his physical frailty
Kim Darroch
Another Democrat simply told CNN: "We are f****d."
According to a snap poll by J.L. Partners for the Daily Mail, 68% of voters said Trump won the debate - and 62% said Biden should no longer be the Democratic nominee.
Kim Darroch, a former UK ambassador to the US, said the president gave a "historically terrible performance".
He told Sky News: "This was just comprehensively bad.
"So bad in emphasising the concerns which American voters already had about Biden - about his age, about his physical frailty."
Despite a barrage of criticism over Biden's poor performance, top Democrats have not yet called on the commander-in-chief to stand down.
But if it comes to making that decision, what steps can they take to replace him as the Democratic presidential nominee?
PARTY 'LOOPHOLE'
A potential "loophole" could allow Biden's party to replace him.
Thursday's debate took place before Biden is formally nominated at the Democratic National Convention on August 19.
It's the customary process of rubberstamping his nomination ahead of the November election.
And forcing Biden out would mean the delegates choosing another candidate - and no serious Democratic challengers have stepped up.
At this point, Biden would have to step aside if another candidate was selected.
If you think Democrats in Washington and across the country aren’t talking about the 25th Amendment right now, you’re crazy
Senator Rick Scott
A "loophole" does allow the party to act if "in all good conscience" its actions "reflect the sentiments of those who elected them".
But Democrats would have to overturn the results of the state primaries - the votes that took place to confirm Biden as the pick for November's election.
This type of U-turn would spark a frenzy among Democrats - and there's no protocol in place for him or the party to choose a new candidate before August's convention.
It's unlikely the Democrats will use the loophole, but it's an option if concerns about Biden's health reach boiling point.
If they choose to put themselves forward, two frontunners could be California governor Newsom or Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer.
'ULTIMATUM' FROM TOP DEMS
If Biden refuses to step aside, the US president could face a President Richard Nixon-style "ultimatum" from the Democrats.
As the Watergate scandal was closing in on Nixon on August 7, 1974, Senator Barry Goldwater, with Republican leaders of the House and Senate, told him he faced impeachment if he remained in office.
Nixon resigned the next day.
Biden could face a similar "ultimatum" from his party over his string of gaffes and apparent frail health.
But it's not clear whether the Democrats would have the courage to tell hard truths to the President of the United States.
25TH AMENDMENT
Another way the Democrats could oust Biden is by invoking the 25th Amendment.
Ratified in 1967, it means Biden’s cabinet could remove him from office if the vice president and a majority determine he is unfit to serve.
It allows the vice president to become acting president of the United States.
Under the amendment, the president can submit a declaration that they are able to continue their duties - and can resume office.
After the debate on Thursday, two sitting US senators said Biden's administration should consider the move.
Senator Mike Lee said: "We’ve definitely entered 25th Amendment territory."
And Senator Rick Scott added: "If you think Democrats in Washington and across the country aren’t talking about the 25th Amendment right now, you’re crazy.
"It’s not a question of whether he should be on the ballot. That ship has sailed. It’s a question of whether he can serve as president right now."
It's not the first time Republican lawmakers have called for the 25th Amendment to be used.
In February, Representative Mary Miller said if "he won’t resign, the Cabinet must invoke the 25th Amendment".
There are currently no calls from Democrats for the amendment to be used to force Biden to step aside. But it's an available option.
BIDEN'S DISASTROUS DEBATE
The televised 90-minute clash on CNN took place far earlier than any presidential debate - more than four months before Election Day on November 5.
Vice President Kamala Harris admitted the debate had "a slow start" - but still insisted there was "a strong finish".
"People can debate on style points but ultimately this election... has to be about substance and the contrast is clear," she said during a post-debate interview on CNN.
If Biden resigned now, Harris would succeed him - but she wouldn't become the Democratic nominee.
Gavin Newsom told the Mail it was a "farcical" idea that he could replace the president as he called such questions "really distressing".
The Californian Governor described Biden as "our guy" and accused critics of "muddying the waters" with "diversion tactics".
PLUNGING POLLS
Biden has been suffering from decreasing approval ratings almost since he assumed office in January 2021, according to an ongoing poll by Reuters-Ipsos.
He currently had a 36% approval rating going into the debate — his lowest in two years.
Trump too had a low approval rating at the end of his first term — just 34% when he left office after the Capitol riots on January 6.
When Biden and Trump matched up in September 2020, over 73 million people tuned into what became an infamously chaotic debate that this year's hosts have vowed not to repeat.
People can debate on style points but ultimately this election... has to be about substance and the contrast is clear
Kamala Harris
To avoid a similar showdown on Thursday, CNN decided to mute each candidate's mics when not their turn to speak and take away the studio audience.
Speakers were not allowed to bring any props or notes onto the stage and were not permitted to speak to their staff during the two scheduled breaks.
The differences led to viewers blasting the event as "dry" and even "the worst debate" some had ever seen.
Some asked whether the president's "voice is gone" while others begged, "Is Joe Biden whispering?"
BIDEN FIGHTS BACK
During the debate, Biden and Trump each called the other the worst president in history.
Biden referred to Trump as a "loser" and a "whiner" - while Trump called Biden a "disaster".
Asked how he will address concerns about his ability to handle the presidency as an octogenarian, Biden took a jab at his opponent about his own health status.
"This guy’s three years younger and a lot less competent," Biden shot back.
The pair went on to bizarrely divert the age-based questions to golf, with Biden challenging Trump to a game to test their physical skills.
At another point, Trump was asked about how he would deal with his political rivals if he returned to the White House — and he quickly turned the question into an attack on Biden.
"This man is a criminal. This man – you’re lucky. You’re lucky. I did nothing wrong. We’d have a system that was rigged and disgusting. I did nothing wrong," Trump claimed.
Biden fired back, jumping on Trump's alleged affair with ex-porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump was quick to fire back, insisting he "didn't have sex with a porn star," before moving on to discuss his pending criminal cases.
Trump's recent conviction on 34 felony counts at the conclusion of his first criminal trial in New York City last month over the payment of hush money to Daniels was also an inevitable talking point.
"The only person on this stage that’s a convicted felon is the man I’m looking at right now," Biden fired off at one point.
Biden has largely come under fire in recent months for his performance on the economy, which he has said is doing well despite consumer complaints about ever present inflation.
"We've made significant progress from the debacle that was left by President Trump," Biden said during his closing statement.
He elaborated on his policies for taxes, childcare, healthcare, inflation, and more key topics throughout the 90-minute debate.
Trump has often been seen by voters as tougher on immigration, extremism, and foreign policy.
He declared "we’re living in hell" in his closing remarks, criticising the country's current state.
And Trump accused Biden of causing national unrest due to a lack of respect.
During one particularly heated exchange, Trump brought up Evan Gershkovich — the Wall Street Journal reporter who was imprisoned by Russian authorities last year on trumped up charges of spying for the CIA.
Gershkovich is the first journalist to be arrested under such charges in Russia since the height of the Cold War.
The former president is often lauded for his handling of the economy by supporters, who say that he managed the country like a successful business.
About a fifth of voters have not picked a candidate yet, are leaning toward a third-party candidate or may sit the election out, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows.
The second and final debate in this year's campaign is scheduled for September.
