MAGA supporters are rejoicing after President Joe Biden delivered a faltering performance in the first presidential debate against Donald Trump.
Biden has long faced questions about his age and mental acuity, and the debate displayed a shaky Biden at times stumbling over answers and occasionally appearing to lose his train of thought.
His performance has sparked concern among Democrats as well as prompted conversations about whether Biden could be replacedbefore November. Newsweek reached out to representatives of the Biden campaign via email outside of regular working hours.
The Trump-allied Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado commented on Biden's performance in a post on X, formerly Twitter, writing: "Everyone that watched knows President Trump destroyed Biden tonight and was the undisputed winner. The Democrats freak out and scramble confirms this and proves Biden is toast."
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump's staunch allies, claimed that Democrats had hidden Biden's "severe age related issues" from voters in a post on X.
"The Democrats have LIED to America about Joe Biden. Now they're going to try to replace him. NONE of the Democrats can be trusted," the Georgia Republican wrote.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the businessman who initially ran for the Republican presidential nomination before withdrawing and endorsing Trump, voiced a similar sentiment in a post on X.
"The fact that anyone is shocked by Biden's brain-dead performance tonight is a scathing indictment of the media which has gone to great lengths to cover this fact up for the public," he wrote.
Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, whose name has been floated as a potential running mate for Trump, told Fox News that the Democrats had painted themselves into a corner by not offering voters another option.
"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.
Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna took the moment to call for the release of the "Hur-Biden tapes," referring to the president's interviews with Special Counsel Robert Hur about his handling of classified documents.
Biden used executive privilege to block House committees from obtaining the audio recordings, and Republicans have repeatedly claimed that the tapes are being withheld because they would fuel concerns about Biden's age.
"After tonight's debate, it's clear: America cannot go ONE MORE DAY without hearing the Hur-Biden tapes," Luna wrote on X.
If elected again, Biden, 81, would become the oldest president to assume office in the United States—beating his own record that he set when first elected in 2020.
Trump, now 78, was also the oldest person to assume office when he won in 2016 but has not faced the same age-based scrutiny as Biden.
