California Governor Gavin Newsom responded to President Joe Biden's disastrous performance at Thursday's presidential debate against former President Donald Trump during an appearance on MSNBC.
Newsom appeared on MSNBC's debate analysis program and was asked about Biden's performance in the first presidential debate against Trump and his thoughts about feelings among some that Biden should "step down" before the November election.
"I think it's unhelpful and I think it's unnecessary," Newsom, a Democrat, said on Thursday night regarding speculation that Democrats could look to replace Biden on the ticket.
The governor added: "We've got to have the back of this president. You don't turn your back because of one performance. What kind of party does that? Democrats deliver. This president has delivered. We need to deliver for him at this moment. With all due respect, the more time we start having these conversations, go down these rabbit holes, it's unhelpful to our democracy, our fate and future of this country. The world, they need us right now to step up and that's exactly what I intend to do."
Newsom has been seen by some as a possible replacement for Biden if Democrats were to remove him from the ticket. However after the debate, Newsom insisted he wouldn't be the Democratic candidate in November and said: "That's a non sequitur." He also praised Biden, saying he was "very proud of the president."
Biden, 81, who has faced concerns about his age, faced a wave of criticism following his debate performance against Trump in Atlanta as viewers noted the president sounded hoarse and that he lacked energy throughout the night. Biden, at times, also stumbled over answers and occasionally appeared to lose his train of thought. Trump, meanwhile, has also faced criticism about his age from some, as he recently celebrated his 78th birthday earlier this month.
A Biden aide told Newsweek late Thursday night that the president was battling a cold during the debate. However, Biden still faced calls for his replacement from some Democrats.
"Guys, the Dems should nominate someone else - before it's too late," Andrew Yang, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Yang added the hashtag "#swapJoeout" in his post.
Progressive politician Cenk Uygur, who previously ran for California's 25th Congressional District, said his talk show, The Young Turks, plans to "start talking about who should replace Biden" following Thursday's debate.
"Because at this point it's obvious that it definitely MUST happen," he wrote in a X post.
Some Republicans, such as Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, also criticized Biden's performance.
"I think they're going to desperately try to get Joe Biden off the ticket because he was such a disaster tonight. But they can't, it's too late. They have let their voters—basically they gave them one choice, they gave them the Joe Biden choice, and that's what they're stuck with," Vance said on Fox News.
Newsweek has reached out to Biden's campaign via email for comment.
Meanwhile, a CNN poll following the debate found that 67 percent of debate watchers said Trump won the debate, compared to 33 percent that sided with Biden. The poll found that ahead of the debate, 55 percent of respondents believed Trump would better perform in the debate, compared to 45 percent that sided with Biden.
Biden and Trump are expected to face off in a second debate on September 10 as the two remain the presumptive nominees for their respective political parties.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
