Top Biden advisor says party ‘lost its mind’ after debate: ‘It melted down’

The 2024 Democratic Debate Disaster: How Biden’s Poor Performance Changed the Race

The 2024 presidential election was one of the most highly anticipated and contentious races in modern American history. For Democrats, the stakes were particularly high, as former President Joe Biden, who had announced his bid for re-election, faced intense scrutiny over his age, health, and ability to lead. The turning point came during the first presidential debate in June 2024, hosted by CNN, where Biden’s performance was widely panned. His struggles on stage, marked by a weak voice and faltering responses, sent shockwaves through the Democratic Party, leading to a meltdown that ultimately cost him the nomination.

A Top Advisor’s Perspective: The Party’s Rash Decision

Mike Donilon, a senior advisor to Biden and a longtime confidant, later reflected on the chaos that ensued after the debate. Speaking at Harvard University, Donilon described the Democratic Party’s reaction as nothing short of “insane.” He recalled how the party seemed to lose its collective mind, despite Biden’s polling numbers not being as dire as they appeared. “If you ask people about this period of time, they’ll tell you Biden was losing the polls, he was going to lose,” Donilon said. “They were saying this in a margin-of-error race.” What struck Donilon as particularly alarming was the party’s decision to abandon Biden, a move he likened to a panic-driven overreaction.

Donilon emphasized that Biden’s performance, while undeniably subpar, did not warrant the level of hysteria that followed. He noted that focus groups conducted after the debate revealed a more nuanced public sentiment: while voters expressed concerns about Biden’s age and stamina, they were equally alarmed by Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the election and his dismissal of accountability for the January 6th insurrection. Donilon’s assertion was clear: the race was far from over, and the party’s decision to sideline Biden was premature.

Media Frenzy: Calls for Biden to Step Aside

The media’s reaction to Biden’s debate performance was swift and brutal. CNN and the BBC labeled the event “disastrous” and “incoherent,” while prominent journalists and analysts called for Biden to withdraw from the race. Stephen Collinson, a senior reporter at CNN, wrote a scathing article in which he declared, “If Joe Biden loses November’s election, history will record that it took just 10 minutes to destroy a presidency.” Collinson’s piece painted a bleak picture of Biden’s outing, describing his appearance as stiff and his delivery as the weakest in televised debate history.

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, a longtime Biden supporter, was equally devastated. Friedman admitted that the debate brought him to tears, not out of embarrassment, but because it revealed a painful truth: Biden, despite his many qualities, was no longer fit to run for re-election. “I cannot remember a more heartbreaking moment in American presidential campaign politics in my lifetime,” Friedman wrote. “Joe Biden, a good man and a good president, has no business running for re-election.” Such sentiments were not isolated; they reflected a broader sense of despair among Democrats who had once seen Biden as their best hope to reclaim the White House.

The Fallout: Kamala Harris Steps In, but the Damage Was Done

Less than a month after the debate, on July 21, 2024, the Democratic Party made the dramatic decision to replace Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris as its nominee. The move was seen as a last-ditch effort to salvage the race, but it ultimately proved too little, too late. Harris, despite her formidable political skills, struggled to gain momentum against Trump, who capitalized on the chaos within the Democratic ranks. In the end, Trump secured victory in the 2024 presidential election, leaving Democrats to grapple with the consequences of their hasty decision.

Reflecting on the Debacle: Lessons for the Future

Donilon’s reflections on the 2024 race offer a sobering reminder of the dangers of panic and overreaction in politics. He acknowledged that Biden’s campaign faced significant challenges, including the fallout from the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021 and rising inflation. However, he argued that these issues, while serious, did not justify the party’s meltdown. “I think the party lost its mind,” Donilon said. “If you actually go and look at the polling in the first couple of days after the debate, the margin between Trump and Biden got closer. It didn’t get bigger.”

Donilon’s words highlight the importance of maintaining perspective in the face of adversity. The 2024 election serves as a case study in how quickly political momentum can shift and how critical it is for parties to remain united, even in the face of setbacks. As Democrats look to the future, the lessons of 2024 will likely serve as a cautionary tale about the risks of allowing fear and doubt to dictate strategy.

In the end, the 2024 presidential race will be remembered as a pivotal moment in American political history, not just for the outcome but for the manner in which the Democratic Party responded to adversity. Biden’s debate performance was undeniably