First Lady Jill Biden has come under fire for allegedly "babysitting" her husband, President Joe Biden, after she was seen guiding him off the debate stage and praising him "like a child" after the first presidential debate of 2024.
The president's showing on Thursday evening has drawn heavy criticism, being described as "horrific" and "terrible" following moments where he jumbled his words and seemed to lose track of his thoughts, particularly on topics like abortion, which is typically a strong point for Democrats. Post-debate, concerns around President Biden's age and mental agility re-emerged as he looked to be having trouble exiting the stage.
Jill Biden promptly intervened, aiding him down the stairs to meet the two CNN moderators. Later on, at a "Let's Go Joe" rally in Atlanta in the wake of Biden's problematic debate performance, the First Lady seemingly coddled her husband once more as she lauded his effort during the event.
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With a microphone in hand but speaking directly to her husband, Mrs. Biden praised: "Joe, you did such a great job answering every question. You knew all the facts."
Her words were met with raucous applause and chants from the supportive crowd, who had viewed the debate, shouting down Trump for his "told lies" throughout. Viewers were left squirming during the moment, with some Democrats slamming the First Lady for seemingly patronising her husband. One Democrat likened the scene to a mother promising their child "two scoops of ice cream instead of one."
Meanwhile, another commented: "This intro of Joe by Jill sounds like a mom congratulating her toddler for using the potty for the first time." Joe Biden is now facing pressure to resign as the Democratic presidential candidate following his debate performance, which has caused widespread concern among Democrats, who seemed to be in "deep panic" from early on as Biden came across as weak and subdued.
"This was a game-changing debate in the sense that right now as we speak, there is a deep, a wide and a very aggressive panic in the Democratic Party," CNN's chief national correspondent John King remarked.
"I don't know if high-level conversations are happening right now about Biden's concerning performance, but it would be political malpractice to pretend tonight advanced the Biden campaign," observed MSNBC contributor and Democratic strategist Max Burns on Twitter.
"Biden looks and sounds terrible. He's incoherent," a Democrat who previously worked in the Biden administration confided to CNN. Another Democratic operative branded Biden's performance as "horrific," and a Democrat campaign official bluntly stated: "We are f*****."
Meanwhile, David Axelrod, who previously served as a senior advisor to President Barack Obama, admitted that Biden's initial debate showing had harmed his image. Speaking on CNN, Axelrod highlighted the reaction: "I think there was a sense of shock actually how he came out at the beginning of the debate, how his voice sounded, he seemed a little disoriented," noting the likely party discussions post-debate about continuing Biden's reelection campaign.
MSNBC's Nicole Wallace weighed in on Thursday night, declaring that talks of substituting Biden are a current hot topic among top Democrats, relaying that the discussion is "live and active at the highest levels of the Democratic party."