Members of the media are now openly calling for President Biden to withdraw from the presidential race after his “disastrous” performance in the CNN debate.
“I wish Biden would reflect on this debate and then announce his decision to withdraw from the race, thereby rejecting the choice of the Democratic nominee at the convention,” New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote on X.
“Someone like @gretchenwhitmer or @SherrodBrown or @SecRaimondo could still step up and beat Trump,” Kristof added, referring to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and Biden's Commerce Department . Gina Raimondo.
MEDIA FIGURES SHOCKED BY BIDEN’S “BAD” DEBATE PERFORMANCE: “A TOTAL AND COMPLETE DISASTER”
![Joe Biden](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/06/1200/675/GettyImages-2159612906.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
President Joe Biden leaves the stage during the CNN presidential debate at CNN Studios on June 27, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Kristof was far from alone.
“Biden will only be a one-term president,” said Steve Schmidt, co-founder of the Lincoln Project. “He still has the opportunity to attend a Democratic inauguration. There are 68 days until the DNC. Whitmer/Moore will beat Trump.”
“If Biden truly believes democracy is at stake, he should step aside and let another Democrat step in to take on Trump. Put the country first,” said Alyssa Farah Griffin of “The View.”
BIDEN TORN FOR “OLD” APPEARANCE AND “WEAK” VOICE DURING FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: “DEEPLY ALARMING”
“It’s a disaster,” Edward Luce, deputy editor of the Financial Times, panicked online. “Democrats need to end their self-imposed censorship of Biden and fix this problem. There are two months until the convention. Other countries have general elections in less time.”
“It's over. Biden looks and feels old. He's losing his train of thought. He speaks in a barely audible whisper. They have to shoot him!!!” exclaimed Cenk Uighur of the Young Turks.
![CNN debate between Trump and Biden](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/06/1200/675/TrumpBidenCNNDebate.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
President Joe Biden (R) and Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump participate in the CNN presidential debate at CNN studios June 27, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. President Biden and former President Trump face off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The popular aggregation website Drudge Report headlined “OPERATION: REPLACE BIDEN.”
“DEMS SCRAMBLE WITH 130 DAYS TO END! DISASTER DEBATE,” Drudge Report wrote in all caps.
BIDEN MAKES SURPRISING OMISSION BY CLAIMING NO SOLDIER DIED “NOWHERE IN THE WORLD” UNDER HIS MANAGEMENT
![Drudge Report Title](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/06/1200/675/DrudgeReport.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Drudge Report headlined “OPERATION: REPLACE BIDEN” after CNN’s presidential debate. (Screenshot/Work report)
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CNN commentator Van Jones, who famously cried on air when Biden was announced the winner of the 2020 presidential election, has issued an emotional plea for the president to step down.
“I love the guy, he’s a good man. He loves his country. He’s doing the best he can. But he had a test to pass tonight, which was to restore the trust of the country and the grassroots, and he failed to do that,” Jones said. “And I think a lot of people are going to want to see him consider taking a different path now.”
“We are still a long way from our convention and this party has time to find another way forward if they let us. But that's not what we needed from Joe Biden. And it's personally painful for a lot of people. It's not just panic. That’s the pain of what we saw tonight,” Jones added.