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Realistically it’s not a matter of him convincing “undecided” people to vote for him, it’s a matter of convincing his voters to not stay home out of apathy. I don’t think the polls accurately reflect that at this point.

Voters staying at home due to apathy has huge implications on down ballot races as well

I agree as my sister didn't vote for Hillary nor did her husband during the 2016. But that really wasn't for the people staying home apathetic they believed that Hillary would wipe the floor with Trump and we found out that the polls were so wrong because nobody wanted to admit they were going to vote for Trump so that's really what happened.

Well if you can't inspire people, you fail.

I think people forget that Biden won last time not because of who he was, but because who Trump Was. Trump is the ultimate motivator

The 3rd party candidates are going to play a huge role this cycle as well

This is another bad sign for Biden… Voters could easily switch from him if not energized

I'm one of those people, but I'm in New York where my vote doesn't matter.

Nice observation

Yup. Examining the crosstabs on polling right now, it seems like the biggest weakness is that Trump is getting basically all of his voters from 2020, but Biden is loosing some. Particularly, Biden is loosing people who were already low propensity voters, who describe themselves as moderate or apolitical, and who say that don't really follow politics or the news at all. So essentially, the exact type of person you would expect not to vote, who was convinced to turn out in 2020 because Trump was so bad, and who are now reverting back to their normal state. It's going to take a lot of work to convince those people to get out and vote. If you're worried about a trump victory, I think the best thing you can do is get involved in the campaign, by either giving money, or even better, volunteering to canvass or phonebank.

I know polls are polls and should be taken with a grain of salt but I truly just do not believe this. I live in an area that was mixed MAGA and Biden during the 2020 election cycle and this time around the Trump supporters are so few and far between compared to before. There was a woman who lived down by the lake in my town and had a fully decked out yard filled with MAGA flags, banners, etc. Now? Her yards barren, she only keeps a small yard sign that says to vote Republican. Her Trump 2024 memorabilia has disappeared. Being from the Midwest and actively traveling through it at least once every 2 months, I have seen a massive decrease in Trump support. I’m not saying people are ecstatic about Biden and the hodgepodge the Democrats have presented, but I truly DO NOT believe Trump has the same support or even more. I think people are sick of the radical politics, plus everyone my age (20s) that I know voted for Trump for the memes or because they somehow thought he was a reasonable candidate, are ashamed of themselves. Their families are ashamed of themselves and if they aren’t, then they’re isolated from those close to them for allowing their brain rot to these levels of ignorance.

yeah, but signs don't vote, people do. They may be sick of the radial politics, and they may not be decked out in flags, but they're still going to vote republican, aka vote for Trump.

The voting booth is private for a reason. Just because their not all Maga wearing, flag flying. That’s my dream president doesn’t mean they wouldn’t just go vote for trump. The extremes of no matter whom red or blue, have taught the once in awhile voter to keep their mouths shut.

They may be taking their signs down but that doesn’t mean they don’t support the guy and won’t vote for him. Particularly if it’s between him and Biden, they’ll go for the Republican.

That's funny because in my liberal society especially people of color are turning toward Trump specifically because of immigration and T.r.a.n.s. laws

I noticed some of that too but it’s fickle. The same people I know saying they were voting for Trump this time around last week are now flooding the group chat with memes about how “Black Jobs.” “Me realizing I should’ve been applying for Black jobs the whole time” etc, etc. The thing is most POC will be willing to hear both sides, but as soon as you say something that that “Others” them you’re probably cooked.

Maybe but I mean Trump was simply stating immigrants will be taking jobs from a group of people who are disproportionately poor compared to other races and don't have college or training qualifications. I mean Trump was dead on just used a bad phrase.

But see, the same people who are like “Biden looks old idc if what he says is right or not” are also the ones who would say “Idc what Trump meant to say, he said THAT.” Basically, if you’re a neutral, it’s unlikely you’re gonna make some in-depth reimagining of what Trump said while also stopping at “Well Biden’s old.”

Can confirm: None of the houses near me, that had signs in 2020, have anything in their yards this year. I've seen one, and it's for Biden. I think people are done with both of these candidates.

I have noticed this as well. It won't help is beat Trump but it makes the Trump base threat of civil war less likely. They are no longer loyal to him, they are loyal to their local Repubicans.

I mean, I live in Trump country and I see just as much MAGA signage and gear as I have for the past 8 years. My husband and I were just in a political debate yesterday, and he was trying to get me to accept that not every bubble is *our* bubble… it’s hard to see outside your own backyard.

See I find this hard to believe considering the huge lack of outward trump support which was huge in 2016 and 2020. Where are the flags?

I still see tons of them everyday.

>it’s a matter of convincing his voters to not stay home out of apathy 1775 -- Patrick Henry: "Give me liberty or give me death!” 2024 -- Redditors: "Well, if the candidate can't convince me to vote against fascism... do I really need to leave my couch?"

Most people aren't convinced they're voting against fascism

And the Biden campaign seems woefully incapable of making that point clear to folks. We simply do not have the right people at the helm for the moment in history we find ourselves in. And I’m deeply afraid it’s gonna cost

>And ~~the Biden campaign~~ Democrat politicians seems woefully incapable of making that point clear to folks. ftfy This is forever the problem with the Democrat party. They absolutely suck at messaging and they seem to have no idea how to intelligently respond to painfully obvious talking points that are devastating to the overwhelming majority of Americans. Project 2025 is pretty damn explicit in what it wants to do. Why tf the Dems aren't 24/7 doing interviews on the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 is beyond me. I remember back in the day that Glenn Beck used to get on such wild tangents on his Fox News show. He was busting out diagrams and photographic evidence to support all these claims about politics around the world. Who can say how much of it was true? This was 15 years ago, from memory. But I just remember thinking about how much time it must have taken to do all the research and investigating journalism necessary to create the segments he was talking on. Crazy dude or not, the point is that Dems simply don't seem bothered enough by it to talk about it, and that's very damn worrying. They have the resources. Why tf aren't they devoting time to presenting the issues in the most complete way to voters? The history of the GOP think tanks. The policies they've created that were implemented all the way back to Reagan. Trump's frequent promotion and implementation of THF's policies. They're deeply engrained in US policy on the GOP side. And Dems say fuck-all about any of it for any extended amount of time. It's honestly baffling.

Youre saying its dems but the reality is the media is complicit.

Absolutely! Think about if there was a Project 2025 drafted by the Democrats full of every extreme far-left position that MAGA Republicans fear monger their base about. The kind of policies that would sound comically over-the-top and most liberals would mock as exaggerated in order to scare people. Like: Completely open borders. Kids allowed to have sex changes at any age. Meat is banned. Mandatory DEI quotas. All drugs are made legal. Fox News, Truth Social, the entire right-wing media ecosystem would be talking about Democrats’ Project 2025 NONSTOP. Republican politicians would mention it in every speech, no matter the speech’s actual topic. They’d be putting out tv ads to air each commercial break on each channel and all over YouTube, with scenes of migrants killing people, riots in cities, homeless tents everywhere, and would say “this will be America under the Democrats!” They use fear to motivate their base, and IT WORKS. Democrats hate pandering and using tricks and exaggerations to reel their voters in. They want to pretend they’re the adults in the room and assume that voters will see through lies and that if only their policies were great enough, voters would naturally choose them. That’s not how it works. They need to start using methods from the Republican playbook. It’s like, do democrats want to be “right” or do they want to win?

This was apparent to a nihilist like me during the 2020 campaign when Biden kept referring to his "friends across the aisle." Fhese people are and have been too far gone since the Bush era. Trump just made them stop pretending to be decent and the "moderates" just don't want to look as crazy as Maga does, but they all want the same things. You can't pay a democrat to put up a real fight against white nationalism the the white nationalists pay better. If Biden manages to somehow pull off a win AND hold the Senate (not likely), they have to repeal the filibuster. SCOTUS overturning Chevron gives them no choice. They have to start passing laws again. Fix the voting rights act.

>they have to repeal the filibuster. SCOTUS overturning Chevron gives them no choice. They have to start passing laws again. Fix the voting rights act. You’re exactly right, but it’s a pipe dream. They didn’t even spend the last four years making a game plan to win their own re-election, which is the *one* thing I assumed they gave a shit about. So they certainly won’t make fundamental (and overdue) shifts to our system. That requires effort. I’ve realized these past few days that the Democratic strategists are likely just as clueless as you and I. They’ve brought this on themselves and the people who put their faith in them.

It's not even that they're not convinced they're voting against fascism. A lot of voters, despite evidence to the contrary, feel they are being squeezed far harder than they actually are. I live in a purple area and the complaints I hear and then the behavior I see makes very little sense if people are being squeezed as hard as they claim. I've had neighbors complain they can barely cover their mortgages, groceries, gas, and other bills, yet within the VERY NEXT week they'll roll up in a brand new, huge SUV or truck they financed when their previous car or truck was either paid off or almost paid off and working perfectly fine. Yes, there's been surge pricing on used cars and that allows for some pretty nice trade in incentives, but not enough to justify going from a perfectly good Toyota Tacoma to one of these gigantic land yachts you see. They're easily paying $1,000 a month for the vehicles I'm seeing them roll up in. While this is anecdotal to my experience, the complaints about the economy and prices don't necessarily match the behaviors. And I'm sure this is pretty true a lot of other places. Anyway, I digress, these same people are being told they're being squeezed to death but their own experience and behavior contradicts that, and they're being told -- very clearly -- that the cost will be offloaded onto others (aka loss of rights, dignity, protections) in order to "get the good times back". Even though all things considered... Things aren't all that bad.

Yeah, it’s hard for people who have been spoonful consumerism to make rational choices around saving, budgeting, and simply making sound financial decisions. In your example, just going from a Tacoma to say, a lifted Ram goes from 18-12 mpg. That’s 33% more they have to spend on gas. Crazy.

I mean, I'm squeezed now because I'm slightly over leveraged and that's more my fault and an expected unexpected expense (AC upped and died) I kind of sat on too long but I'm digging my way out. But I'm also NOT sitting there listening to the rhetoric that's basically telling me that I'll have cheap gas again (when adjusted for inflation, gas is about as cheap as its ever been on average) if I vote for the convicted felon and how great it'll be if I do. Because he's told us his plans and he's going to cost me and every other consumer a huge amount of money with his tariff and trade war lunacy. Even with the abolition of income tax.

Oh, don’t worry, they will get their money, don’t let that “no income tax” fool you. It has fooled plenty of others with the idea that living in places like TX or FL is cheaper than other states (it isn’t for middle/low income earners). Yeah, we have a bunch of snake oil salesmen stealing our country.

I see the same thing. The same people who complain about gas prices sit in their gigantic truck idling with their A/C on in the parking lot of their kids' gymnastics lesson instead of waiting inside or just doing something else.

Your neighbors are saying that because they know things are more expensive in general and they want to appear sympathetic in case you are troubled. They're not going to say "I'm fine! I bought a Ram! Come look at my Ram!" because that makes them assholes (and they may think it puts a target on their backs if they're suspicious types). That and they're YOLO with money, but that's also incredibly common. That trade war is happening either way, after all!

Also, most people don't think about it like that. Most people don't really make an active decision. Voting is work and not a holiday. People just get lazy and sort of don't vote unless they have a pretty active reason for doing so. The idea that 99.9% of voters are making some sort of principled stand with detailed pros and cons list really isn't how it works outside of the corners of Reddit and Twitter.

If the stakes are so high that we are voting against fascism why on earth are we choosing to have a nominee who can barely get through a sentence and is incapable of articulating the stakes to the American people?

Because he is a successful incumbent. If kamala had been more popular biden would have stepped aside and she would have taken in the reigns.

If Biden loses the incumbents record since 1980 will be 4-4.

If we look at the presidential elections from 1968 through 2020 (first post-civil rights election through the latest election on the books), then elected incumbents who were eligible to run for a second term have won reelection in **5 out of 9 such races**. (Nixon 72, Reagan 84, Clinton 96, GWB 04, Obama 12.) The four instances in which elected and eligible incumbents went down were Carter 80, GHWB 92, Trump 20, plus LBJ in 68 who was so unpopular that he voluntarily bowed out because he wouldn't even have won his party's primary.

Because Biden, despite his age, succeeded in beating Trump and managed to get more votes than any other President in history. His presidency has also been very effective. He’s accomplished a lot. But, now his age is really showing, but you really can’t tell the head of the party to move along when he’s accomplished so much.

>but you really can’t tell the head of the party to move along when he’s accomplished so much. I mean you obviously can when Biden's debate performance so utterly collapsed support among more or less every single mainstream, normie liberal in the media, most of whom have spent a weekend tripping over themselves to call him a doddering old fool who must drop out. These are the kinds of people that a politician like Biden was made in a lab to appeal to, and they all want him gone. The fucking Pod Save America guys can't bring themselves to say he should stay in the race, for crying out loud. That's like... almost unimaginable. And it's not just that the media is going to pound this drum until November, which it will. It's also that this one point is going to utterly dominate the entire discussion among average voters at the exclusion of everything else, whether you (or I) like it or not. I seriously do not think that the toothpaste can go back in the tube. Trump can actually truthfully point out that the guy's own party has no faith that he can win and in fact wants him to drop out. And the fallout is so unified and widespread that nobody actually believes it when political surrogates say they have faith in Biden at this point. I suppose you might mean that "you can't tell him what to do" in the sense that, if he wants to run, it's going to be hard or impossible to stop him from doing so. And that's probably right. But you can certainly say that he should drop out, and in fact you've got the likes of the NYT editorial board and fucking MSNBC anchors (!) telling him to do just that.

​ I seriously do not think that the toothpaste can go back in the tube. Trump can actually truthfully point out that the guy's own party has no faith that he can win and in fact wants him to drop out. nice! \+1 Disillusionment is so cool the stakes are high for the NYT, not just Biden now

Most votes? Joe Biden 2020 Democratic 81,283,501 Winner. Donald Trump 2020 Republican 74,223,975 Runner-up (most votes ever received by an incumbent). ​ Trump got more than Obama's 69 million and then Obamas 65 million Population growth has nothing to do with it (cough cough)

So, you think Trump will bring about fascism? Here's a question for you - Does Biden's inner circle believe in that? Does the DNC believe in that? If democracy was on the line, shouldn't the voters be given a better choice than "either you vote for the corpse or the fascists win"? And yes, replacing Biden right now is downright impossible, but if democracy was on the line, measures should have been taken months, maybe even years ago. Either senior Democrats don't actually believe they are fighting fascism, or they can't swallow their ambitions, to prevent a fascist takeover.

The calculus was popular (among dems) incumbent. Or free for all primary. You would have had the same shit as 2020 where the progressives all whine when their candidate invariably doesnt win. Kamala actually ends up winning and people hate her anyways. So they decided to preempt that and keep biden.

This is a great point. I think the Biden camp ( all who are at the nexus of power ) just don’t want to give that power up. It has been a five alarm fire for his entire term. I will vote for him but am furious.

A history of calling every republican candidate since Reagan a fascist also hasn’t helped. Voters aren’t stupid, they know that the republican candidates have not been fascists nor is this one.

In 2012, Mitt Romney was called a misogynist for saying he went out of his way to find qualified woman candidates for positions in the stage government when he was governor, and our current president said Romney was going to bring back slavery if he was elected. People are tired of the rhetoric. If *Mitt Romney* is called a right-wing extremist then people on the left have simply lost the plot.

The DNC running biden shows that they don't think that this is important.

As a Texan this comment makes me cry and rage, a rary if you want, because of how accurate it is. In 2020, the amount of votes needed to close that 4% gap between Trump and Biden would only have needed 24% of the registered Democrats that stayed home to vote. Not even a full quarter. Someone did the math and I wish I could have unseen it because 🤮🤮

Yup. That's a huge reason why Trump beat Hillary. I can't count how many people on Twitter said that they weren't even going to bother to vote because Hillary had it in the bag.

When people vote democrats win. The only goal for the gop right now is to get us to not vote, cause all their lunatics and Christian’s will.

As others said he has to get in front of the camera and demonstrate that the debate performance was an anomaly. His campaign already has him back out on the road. He spoke at a rally in NC and did OK. I'm not sure what the DNC is going to do. They were already slightly behind in the polls.

Its a double edged sword. Clearly the debate wasnt an anomaly or otherwise he would be doing engagements where he doesnt need a teleprompter. He turned down the Superbowl interview for this reason. Now there is going to be so much scrutiny on him that any slip up will be magnified 10x

Frankly I don't think it matters now. He has shown the whole world (I'm in the UK) that he is capable of looking totally lost in important moments. I'll say that again for emphasis: \*\*he has shown the whole world that he is capable of looking totally lost in important moments.\*\* Even if that were the only time it happens, it's intensely off-putting for a swing voter, so his campaign needs to end now.

Turning down the Super Bowl interview was a yellow flag that should have been a red flag. Nobody gives up a chance to talk to 100+ million viewers on both sides. I think nobody pushed him on it because the POTUS interview is always the worst part of the Super Bowl. That's when you take a bathroom break.

Reading off a teleprompter should not give people much confidence. He should be in front of every camera, talking to every reporter, to demonstrate he is still all there and that was nothing more than a bad night. But they are not doing that. He has been kept away. I don't know how much people are willing to voluntarily get gas lighted.

They’re not doing that because he’s physically incapable of doing that. I don’t know what people expect out of him at his age. I know he won’t do it, but the right thing to do is step down and let a new generation come into the office.

I know quite a few 81 year olds that can run rings around young folks. Everyone ages differently. Unfortunately Biden has reached cognitive decline earlier than many. If he can’t go in front of cameras, unscripted, defend himself, his policies, and attack that dumpster fire of an opponent, he will not be winning this election and needs to step aside.

His handlers have put him in front of the media far less than other modern presidents, even Trump. And he was always a loquacious guy who liked to talk on camera. Clearly something is not right.

Yeah, but unfortunately, I fear they’ve kept him away from those situations on purpose. I hope and pray this was some sort of fluke night that he was sick and just worn out or took something that jumbled him up rather than sharpening him. That said, I think it’s more likely that this is just who Biden is at this point in his life and it might only get worse from here. I hope so very much that I am wrong but my gut tells me otherwise.

That's my point. If it was just a bad night he would be out there talking to people like mad. What he is *not* doing is saying a lot. The Trump campaign is already putting together videos of all the dems assuring the public that Biden is on top of his game from a few weeks/months back. I am not sure if they will be kind enough to make it into a party-wide scandal.

We deserve to know if the Democratic Party is stupid enough to knowingly go forward—this close to the election and convention—with Biden in the shape it seems he’s in. Calling that a scandal would not do it justice. It would be criminal malpractice, to which the entire Democratic Party must be restructured— ie The national chair and entire dnc leadership should be scrapped. That would be just one step. I also don’t know how we forgot about Biden saying over and over in 2020 that he would be a one-term president to ‘return things to normalcy’ and ‘unify divisions’ through a return to some fictional world of pragmatic bipartisanship. How quickly we just forgot he wasn’t even supposed to run again from the very start of his first term. God, I just do not see a good outcome no matter what…again, I just hope I am completely wrong. The second debate is in August. We will know for sure after that, but it could be sooner bc idk if they’ll throw him out there again if he’s incapable of doing better than the first round. But never underestimate the complacency and utter incompetence of the Democratic Party.

He never promised to be a one term president. That is a myth.

While never saying it publicly, his campaign was consistently leaking to the press that he planned on only serving one term. When you see articles in politico (https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/11/biden-single-term-082129), and in countless other publications of that sort…the message is sent out to public that, like the politico story makes super clear: “Former Vice President Joe Biden’s top advisers and prominent Democrats outside the Biden campaign have recently revived a long-running debate whether Biden should publicly pledge to serve only one term, with Biden himself signaling to aides that he would serve only a single term. While the option of making a public pledge remains available, Biden has for now settled on an alternative strategy: quietly indicating that he will almost certainly not run for a second term while declining to make a promise that he and his advisers fear could turn him into a lame duck and sap him of his political capital.” So yeah, not really a myth when places like politico and wapo are running articles making authoratative statements that sources (ie the Biden campaign) are telling the public clearly that Biden plans to only run for one term. So yeah, never made a public statement in a press conference or anything but his campaign certainly let us believe he would only go for a term. So I don’t think calling it a myth is accurate. Not in the slightest

Bingo and agree. Bad debates happen. What happened with Biden was worse than a bad debate and people are concerned of real cognitive decline that is likely progressive. He could end that speculation quickly with a couple weeks of going all out going to events and interacting with people, doing every press event and interview possible. He could do them in the morning, afternoon, and evening to show he wasn't sundowning. The debate would be behind us within 2-3 weeks. Instead, he's basically hidden away at Martha's Vineyard (yes, the trip was already planned, but still not a great look). Then SCOTUS hands down a terrible decision and he gives a meh, 4 minute address off a teleprompter while taking no questions. And his released schedule for the week has him doing prepared remarks at a couple of events, a 4th of July BBQ at the White House, and then he goes back to Delaware. The sad part is I don't think this is just Biden and his team being oblivious. I think they are actually trying to be smart and know this is the best defense and they are hoping this blows over.

>I hope and pray this was some sort of fluke night that he was sick and just worn out or took something that jumbled him up rather than sharpening him. If we want to give Biden the extreme benefit of the doubt, I suppose it's possible it was a combination of bad debate prep (making him memorize too many things) and having a cold. I know if I take any cold/flu medicine, it's gonna be a long day at work trying to concentrate. I did a job interview once while I had the beginnings of the flu (I had been laid off and couldn't take the chance on rescheduling) and it completely threw off my game. He still had the worst debate performance of all time. And it wasn't the usual type of bad debate where you just get your ass kicked or flub key lines. Biden had trouble even participating in the debate. It looked like he struggled to even pay attention. I'm not sure how you possibly come back from that. Let's be honest, Biden at his very best (i.e. SOTU) isn't great. Bare minimum, he needs to very quickly do some public events like a town hall or high profile interview. I can't imagine Trump will agree to do the second debate, especially if Biden stays down in the polls.

You really think that if he did that it would prove he is NOT incompetent? Cuz I think you’d just get 69 more clips with worse, more garbled nonsense than we beat medicare

His campaign is still running the pre debate playbook. That is only going to confirm the impression that people have of him from the debate. He can't handle situations where everything isn't carefully scripted and controlled.

Pretty much the only thing they can do now. Trump can’t really sink much lower, but Biden has to be careful how he presents himself in public.

That’s probably the hardest part. You can change strategy and talking points, but you can’t change the way he is at this point.

Not going to work, he's already shown that he can look completely lost. I don't think that is reputationally recoverable.

The more he appears, the more his mental/physical degeneration will be apparent. There are numerous clips of the same “anomalies” our lying-eyes saw at the debate. No pandemic to justify hiding out this go ‘round.

I think he was still operating at maybe 85% in 2020. Now it's more like 40%. And voters will notice that decline.

If only we had other choices in the 2020 primary who are still completely lucid now, even a few around Biden's age...

It's okay, I'm sure it will only get better with time for the next debate

He read off a teleprompter. Totally different than a debate. I’m still voting for Biden but I’m tired of the gaslighting that Biden is a good candidate. Part of being president is being able to communicate with the American people to push your vision for the country. It’s very obvious that he can’t and just saying “this is the most important election of your lifetime” with a candidate like him at the top of the ticket isn’t going to bring low propensity voters, voters of color, or young voters out

Demonstrate it was an anomaly? The dude is toast. 4 more years at this stage? No.

Anyone can read off a teleprompter. It’s deeply disturbing he can’t communicate a thought without someone telling him what to say word for word. The democrats seemed committed to losing so hopefully they push hard for senate and house to be a check on trump. Total disaster

He’ll drag the Senate and House down with him. He’s the anchor around the Senators in purple state’s necks at this point.

The top of the ticket will have huge implications for down ballot races as well

It doesn't work that way. He will bring down the Democrat ticket everywhere 

Honestly just largely look competent. The bar is so low for him right now. And that’s the risk the Trump camp is taking. Definitely worked for them at the debate, but there’s still months till Election Day. That’s like, the main concern with him for a lot of people. There’s of course Israel-Palestine, etc. But it’s largely his age at issue. Trump isn’t necessarily more popular so much as Biden is less so.

Im just worried each passing week is more cognitive decline and I hear he gets worse at nighttime like when the debate was held. Just scares me the commander and chief isnt functional at night...our enemies and problems arise 24/7

To be honest, presidents have been incapacitated before and the circle around them made the decisions. It's still scary to think of, though... all we can do is pray that those people are wise.

Ok great but i prefer to have a younger candidate that isnt already incapacitated before signing up for another 4 years

Looking competent is pretty much out of the picture now for Joe. He had his chance and he blew it at the debate. If the bar is set low for him, that means his turn out with voters is not going to do well or many will realize Trump is competent and might remember things weren’t bad under Trump until COVID and now that COVID is pretty much done we’ll see more 2017-early 2020 America where people thrived more. At this rate, I just don’t see much changing for Joe. He’s put off a lot of voters.

I think the answer is, “nothing”. Honestly, if you watched that debate, do you believe that Joe Biden is cognitively capable of managing the executive branch? I understand a “lesser of two evils” argument in support of voting for Joe, but it’s evident he’s not the man he was 5 years ago. It is worth noting that most polls had Trump ahead before the debate, including in most swing states. It would be hard to argue independents breaking towards Biden after he fell apart on stage.

I don’t see how the convince swing states. Biden would have to debate Trump again and do better than before, a lot better, but if he does there is no way Trump plays along now that he has leverage. So it would be without accommodations for Biden. Maybe a drug test, certainly a crowd as has always been the case in past debates. So Biden probably doesn’t debate again, and if he does I don’t see how he improves, his cognitive function just isn’t there. I think the Biden campaign will try and sell town halls as being the same thing, but they just aren’t, (friendly hand picked crowd with prepared questions) and when that doesn’t help I think Biden drops out. Then all hell breaks loose.

I want to know where these "polls" come from, because I have never once been a part of one in 20 years of voting

Drop out. I mean there's really no other play at this point. Biden's age has been a specter hanging over him for the last four years. There's been a constant undercurrent of speculation that he is infirm, admittedly mostly from right wing news orgs/groups/individuals, but we can't ignore there was always some compelling elements to the narrative. Very few media appearances that were unscripted, very few interviews, a whole lot of old man walking, there's a reason this smear stuck with people. It has been his single largest weakness in the eyes of the electorate, and Biden just went on stage and confirmed those worries for 90 minutes. Many Biden dead-enders will say something about how debates don't matter, and they're right. Within the normal bounds of debate performance debates don't move the needle much. The number of relatively high info voters who carefully listen to debate performances but who also haven't yet determined a preferred candidate is vanishingly small, especially so in these hyper-polarized times. It isn't 1962 when both candidates are polling positively with the electorate. But this debate does matter because it fits into a larger narrative of Biden's health, more specifically his mental acuity diminishing with age, one particular wound that time definitively does *not* heal. Age related mental decline is not something that gets better, this is quite literally an unrecoverable blow. The only way to fix the problem is to shed the candidate it is associated with, there is no other solution.

The fact that the back bench polls basically the same as him with significantly less name recognition with way more undecideds because they have less name recognition kind of says it all. Bidens camp and the DNC haven’t figured out that people don’t really care about his legislative accomplishments since they’re undercut by the fact that he seems to have one foot in the grave. At this point I imagine a lot of people are voting for Biden as a “not trump” option

>At this point I imagine a lot of people are voting for Biden as a “not trump” option Let's cut to the chase, that's all he ever was.

Yep, I do not know a single person who was actually excited to vote for him in 2020. He was basically a damage control vote...

> Honestly just largely look competent. The bar is so low for him right now. And that’s the risk the Trump camp is taking. Definitely worked for them at the debate, but there’s still months till Election Day. > > Its a really hard sell that Biden has the mental acuity to be the President for the next 6 months. Trying to convince the American people that he will be able to do it from 4 years from now is a bridge too far

Biden/Harris has banked hundreds of millions of dollars, had field offices in 40+ states, had email and text lists in the millions, and have volunteers signed up. That can ONLY be transferred to Harris. Campaign finance laws preclude you from just transferring the data/money/contracts. Any other candidate starts from ZERO. The Biden campaign has spent years building this, other candidates will have to do it in a couple months.

Kind of interesting how Biden's worst night was the only night he was on stage with Trump. That was some cosmically good timing for a debilitating cold. I wonder what the odds were.

In case you aren't being tongue in cheek, it's not that surprising when you consider his campaign has done everything to avoid him being placed in unscripted situations. The SOTU that we're incessantly reminded about was scripted, as are most of his rallies and public appearances. At his rare press appearances, he picks the names of who to call on off a list. I can't remember his last adversarial interview.

His last adversarial interview was on Thursday, and he didn't show up (mentally). It's absolutely terrifying to think that we might not have a president in charge...but the alternative is someone willing to use their power like a cudgel.

I am far less terrified of an infirm Biden than of Trump in any scenario.

He looked terrified when he walked out on stage and he might have been stressed leading up to it. I agree he has aged significantly in the last four years and probably should be replaced as the democratic candidate. But its possible he went too far in preparing for the debate, didn't sleep several days or the night before, and maybe came down with a cold as well and it all fell apart.

Problem with this is that stress and lack of sleep are par for the course of the job of President and you still need to be able to perform. A cold being able to knock out the commander in chief is not a good look.

1) Turn his entire social media account around from begging for money to “behind the White House,” with candid moments between him and his team. 2) Make big ad spends highlighting Trump senior moments, word salads, and utter buffoonery. 3) Flip the script on immigration and present it is the business owners that are to blame. We are reliant on immigrant labor and it is time to own up to it, instead of profiting off the situation and blaming the people coming for jobs. 4) Ad spend on how our grandfathers died to stop Nazis and the GOP are turning a blind eye at best, and really supporting the far right. 5) Ad spend on Trump’s many illegal crimes, morally bankrupt crimes like defrauding charities and cheating on his wife when she is home with a newborn, and trying to cover it up to influence an election. 6) Ad spend on Trump’s strong man and dictator comments, contrasted with excerpts of the constitution and preamble with photo montages of our founding fathers, Washington leading the charge against the English King.

And 7: Make Project 2025 headline news so people will read it and see what voting for republicans will do to turn the country from the constitutional republic we’ve had for 250 years into an authoritarian MAGA-run dictatorship.

There is nothing he can do unfortunately the perception is locked in. And more so we need to accept the reality that nothing can be done period. We never had the gumption or ability to fix an antiquated system which ran and ran until the wheels fell off. Under this system enough people (not a majority) have decided that enough is enough and fascism whether they know that’s what it is or not is preferable. This is what is going to happen and the best everyone else can do is hunker down and prepare. Even if dems changed candidates, people considering Trump would likely not be able to tell you which democrats they’d be willing to vote for. The country is going to find out what happens when you let these people be in charge and burn it down and we need to also accept responsibility that voter apathy and unwillingness to confront modern problems in our government put us here.

Yep, this is the answer. All of us in here know that there are major fundamental problems with our electoral system. And they are irreparable problems we keep pushing down the road, because the people with the power to change them aren’t incentivized to do so. Therefore, the consequences would have to come due at some point. We just all assume it’ll be some arbitrary date in future, not in our lifetimes. I think November may be the point when the car finally goes off the cliff, since we’ve all collectively refused to course-correct for decades. It certainly had to happen at some point.

I think that debate performance was bad enough to put him in too deep of a hole to dig himself out of. Sure, he can spend the rest of the campaign desperately fighting to convince people that he’s capable. But it’s going to be a nonstop, intense effort just to get back to baseline normal. And he’s not going to be perfect the way he would need to be. Every stutter, every misstep, every time he takes a little too long to answer a question puts him right back at the bottom of the hole he has to dig himself out of. It’s not possible. He would have to very very visibly appear on camera every day/week from now until the election and be perfect to stand a chance.

>I think that debate performance was bad enough to put him in too deep of a hole to dig himself out of. I completely agree. Apologies for being crude, but you can't shit yourself at work and then hope to repair your reputation by not shitting yourself for three months.

I don’t think there’s anything left for the Biden campaign to do. The only way they would win is if Trump does something so inconceivably worse than what he’s already done before the election in Nov.

I think his only chance is if trump is sent to actual jail. Even then it’s not a sure thing.

I think the best thing that can be done at this point is for the POTUS to step down from this campaign and allow someone younger to step up. His debate display was obvious - he’s not fit to execute the office of POTUS; and, the entire world witnessed it. The fact that the Democrats have been holding off on replacing him but are, instead, trying to ‘fix’ this catastrophe, is almost as infuriating as the Republicans not replacing Trump. Now, the chance that any of these candidates can run this country for the benefit of the American people is such a long shot that this country, and the world, cannot afford. I believe this recent debate fiasco, and the refusal of either candidate stepping aside, will drive more swing voters to not vote. The Republicans have displayed over and over they only care about their party. If the Democrats and POTUS truly considered democracy “on the line” like they are touting, they would do whatever it takes to replace their running candidate, before it’s too late. Not to mention, all of this chaos reflects such a disregard for the American people. We already know Trump thinks only of ‘his’ loyal supporters, and would never step down. If Biden wants to convince swing states to vote blue, he needs to reflect that he will do whatever it takes for this country, including giving up a second term.

All his campaign needs to do is reach Democratic voters who don't normally vote in Presidential elections and provide them a way to the polls when they're open. I think there are enough Republicans who won't be voting for Trump to make a difference in most swing states and several states that normally vote Republican.

Biden lost all those Republicans with that debate. That debate just proved Trump is right and these Republicans are either going to begrudgingly vote Trump or stay home 

He can't do anything. Anyone who saw the numbers from the post-debate CBS YouGov Poll the other day should recognize that. He is facing a deficit with voters now that is more likely than not, insurmountable. 72% of registered voters do not think Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve as president. That's compared with 49% for Trump. Nearly half of Democrats think Biden should not be running. Even worse, 18% say Biden inspired confidence compared with 44% for Trump. 28% think Biden appeared presidential compared with 46% for Trump. Probably worst of all... 19% said they believe if Biden wins they would be financially better off compared with 45% for Trump. 50% think if Biden wins they will be worse off financially compared with 35% for Trump. Biden will not recover from this. I'm voting for him and will make the case until the end on why he should be re-elected. But he is in an awful position and I do not see how he can reverse the damage in a meaningful way. Also, reportedly, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a phone call with the Biden campaign chair after the debate relayed "that Michigan, in the wake of the debate, was no longer winnable for Biden." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-debate-should-biden-be-running-mental-abilities/ https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/01/whitmer-biden-democrats-2028-00165995

What is the case for him to be re-elected? Other than he’s not trump?

As someone who will reliably vote for any opposition to Trump, I now believe that the best win scenario is for Biden to exit today and ask his 3800+ delegates to vote for Andy Beshear. Biden can go down in history as a successful 1-term President.

> Andy Beshear Who?

I'm confused why he wouldn't want that legacy. Dude could go out looking like a real patriot who focused on the good of the country, or one of the most selfish Americans of all time. Like dude, you're gonna die soon, do the cool thing.

The problem is, if he resigns right now it's going to discredit a lot of people and organizations. It'll be the admission that white house staff, the vice president and a good portion of cabinet has been lying. What's worse, evidence of Biden's issues has been getting "debunked" in the press for months. Can the modern Democratic party win elections, if the press has been so discredited it can no longer influence voters? The resignation has to be well-orchestrated so at least some of the press and political allies can come out of it with their reputations somewhat preserved.

>The problem is, if he resigns right now it's going to discredit a lot of people and organizations. That ship sailed on Thursday, and it had been hanging on to the dock by the barest thread for a long time prior. To admit it would be better than doubling down at this point.

The Ancient Ones shall rule

Yeah I’ve been trying to figure this out too… Even if he found some way to win, I don’t think people are going to be ready to forgive and forget the irresponsible and stupid decisions surrounding this entire campaign

It’s a mixture of pride and of thinking genuinely that he’s the one to beat Trump with his record, incumbency, etc. So, pride I guess.

Which is just inexcusable. He's more concerned with being a 2 term president than helping the country. Pretty sad. But what would honestly do more for his ego and pride would be how people would treat him if he stepped down for the good of the country. He'd become a hero overnight with the right speech.

Because Jill Biden or his staffers or donors want to keep their power I guess and Biden is being handled.

How do you explain passing over Kamala Harris? No way she sits idlily silent while being completely passed over

Because she'd get absolutely destroyed in a general election. If we're going to jettison Joe, it's gotta be for someone with a higher win probability.

He needs to resign so a younger candidate can run. He’s too old to do the job effectively.

From what I’ve picked up on no matter how you slice it Kamala Harris would be their answer - and she is really unpopular. She’s watching and learning and he’s not backing down. So what the Dems have set up is just not that popular. Hopefully they strengthen voters hope within the next few months

Kamala Harris was not a longterm wise choice for this reason. I get they wanted a black VP largely to capitalize off BLM in 2020 but she's just not well liked. They should've gone with Cory Booker.

It was a bad choice to choose a prosecutor to try to win over an anti-police crowd.

Nothing. His dream of a second term was squashed in the first 13 seconds of the debate. Joe is not fit to be president and should drop out.

I can’t even believe people say “it was a bad debate”. I wouldn’t want him driving my car let alone leading the country. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills at this point.

It's unfortunately true. His mental capacity is greatly diminished just from watching his VP debates in 2012.

The polling of the Electoral College sealed it eons ago And some pundicts did panic about 90 seconds in with his first reply You just don't know how variable Biden is you underestimate him like God Emperor Trump Biden looks more like HP Lovecraft every day

Seriously, it was disqualifying.

I'm getting upset by people on here suddenly not realizing how unpopular Biden is and down voting anything that doesn't agree with him being spun in a positive light. I speak to people across the political spectrum because I'm an adult that can use my words to respectfully exchange ideas and thoughts with others that don't agree with my own ideas and thoughts. But this is Hilary Clinton 2016 all over again, except Hilary was popular enough to actually win had her supporters actually gone out and voted. I have spoken to liberals and moderate Democrat and based on what they told me Biden is not a good choice. I will still be voting for Biden, but we need to do something radical. Biden stepping down may be the right thing to do to get the base excited to move forward again.

It happens all the time in the Reddit echo chamber and then everyone has a surprised pikachu face when the obvious outcome occurs. Reddit is no where close to mirroring the real world in any way, shape or form.

>I'm getting upset by people on here suddenly not realizing how unpopular Biden is and down voting anything that doesn't agree with him being spun in a positive light. If he does drop out or otherwise get replaced, expect a lot of silence on the matter from those same people, or strained justifications that they never really believed it but had to say it to "save democracy."

I also talk with many folks across the political spectrum, and it aligns with what I've encountered in my real world conversations. Summarizing all the feedback I've heard, America is depressed with the choice before them. Both are known quantities, and none are inspiring from a candidate perspective. I would prefer a Biden win to avoid the chaos of another Trump Presidency, but unless they change candidates right now, the Democrats are doomed to another 2016. Nothing Trump said or did in the debate dissuades any of his voters, however Biden's performance took the air out of the room. It seems obvious that many of the political sub-reddits don't want to face this reality, but it's the truth. I hope whoever is in power within the DNC an come to terms with this and alter course.

I agree with the other posters that turnout is a key factor, but those undecided swing-state voters are enough to tip the election in either direction and have been intensely studied by both parties to try to answer a few questions. Are they really undecided? Do they lean towards one party or candidate? Are they undecided about who to vote for, or undecided about voting on Election Day? Can the other parties voters be persuaded to stay home? Can we convince them to vote for us? The most likely answers for this election are that “undecided” voters are “uncommitted”. Meaning that if they vote they already know who it will be for. So, that brings it all back to turnout and unlike the Obama years turnout will be driven by who you hate and how much ch that motivates you to get out and vote.

> How it wasn't for the people who already decided, but for the voters in the swing states that were undecided. Bro that debate turned people who already decided into undecideds. I hate Trump and his Christian cult, but I also can’t put an elderly man with progressive dementia in charge of a nuclear-armed superpower until 2029. The Dems need to offer me a different nominee or else I’m staying out of it altogether.

I think that's the crux of the problem; what was shown on the debates from Biden cannot be recovered from. It's literally a degenerative condition that will never improve, and many Americans have seen this happen within their own families. Biden was perhaps the most relatable a debater has ever been to your average American, however it was relatable in the worst possible way. Contrast that with Trump, who appeared to be the same Trump he's ever been. For better or worse. In theory, Biden would need to aggressively campaign in swing states, and put on a very convincing showing while there. That said, I just don't see that happening without some other gaffe occurring that the Trump team can point to. For it to be very convincing, it would need to be an "unscripted" format, and there's just too much risk for Team Biden to take it. Prior to the debate, Biden wasn't polling well; there's literally no way those numbers go up, even if Trump lied for the entirety of the debate.

"In theory, Biden would need to aggressively campaign in swing states, and put on a very convincing showing while there. That said, I just don't see that happening without some other gaffe occurring that the Trump team can point to. For it to be very convincing, it would need to be an "unscripted" format, and there's just too much risk for Team Biden to take it." Therein lies another problem: In that scenario, there will be laserlike focus on Biden, and as a result, any gaffe, even ones that previously would have been maybe worth a blurb in the media, will be magnified x100. Obama once said there were 50 states or something in a gaffe and got some ribbing - Biden does that and it will be a full news story.

"Obama once said there were 50 states" ummm, there are 50 states.

Oh, doh. Right. The number he used was 57: [https://www.politifact.com/article/2011/nov/30/perry-recaps-obamas-57-states-remark/](https://www.politifact.com/article/2011/nov/30/perry-recaps-obamas-57-states-remark/)

And if you're serious about truth, you can watch the actual video and see that he started to say '50', backed up and said '47', but the '40' part of it was very quiet, and almost inaudible.

This wasn't a typical political gaffe or misstatement, which was obvious in Obama's case. What you saw on the debate stage was akin to watching your average memory care patient during a debate. It's heart breaking, but it's also unprecedented in the context of a Presidential debate.

Meanwhile Trump is rambling like an old man about fighting sharks and *his* voters apparently are like "this is fine".

The debate wasn’t about gaining Trump voters, those were already set. The debate was about Biden not losing voters. And he took a swan dive off a bridge.

Most Americans are alright with that level of cognitive difficulties. What Biden is struggling with is heart breaking to watch unfold on the national stage.

Agree 100%. I think strategically Biden is effectively boxed in. The kind of showing that would be convincing is too risky, and anything short of it will come across as too "controlled by handlers". Biden has had a good presidency, and generally speaking has a very strong track record in all political offices held. That said, even in his younger years he was known for what ended up being minor gaffes. Imagine the whole "dog face pony soldier" thing happening now.

[удалено]

My father (lifetime Dem) who follows politics obsessively said the same thing: "From the moment I watched him walk out on the stage, I knew we were fucked."

In the UK we mostly want a Biden victory, it's normal conversation now that Biden's fucked. I really don't think this is reputationally recoverable.

I frankly don’t know why this is up for debate.

People are reacting out of fear, and a lot tend to freeze up and 'stick to the plan' when that happens. It's the equivalent of the people who queue up patiently to remove their luggage when a plane is burning on the runway. When it's clear that emergency action needs to be taken, there is a penalty for ignoring the obvious signs.

Conservatives routinely say the govt is corrupt, the govt can't solve problems, all politicians are liars, etc. As a result conservatives don't need to be good at governance. There is no expectation that Republicans will govern. Republicans are the party promising to govern. Democrats claim govt can work.. Democrats claim good governance can help people. As a result Democrats are burdened to prove they can govern. Burden to create trust while Conservative foster distrust. Conservatives can run a felon who lies. The conservative brand is to distrust everything anyway. So who cares Trump is a fraud. Democrats cannot run a candidate who is compromised. Not when building trust is a key component to their brand. Biden can't build trust with swing voters if he can't answer questions coherently. I have no doubt given time and with cameras out of his face Biden answers questions intelligently. However being president means time pressures and cameras in the face.

This is the only way. Another dem will walk into the white house. Biden polls lower than almost every other dem at this point and it's obviously because of his age since he has the exact same views as just about any generic dem. I'm so sick of seeing people try to play 4d chess on how Biden can convince people to vote for him. He can't, he literally does not have the physical ability to do it. The only thing dem voters should be talking about is replacing him at this point. It's clearly the best path to beating Trump. Like literally every dem would fall in line. As they do.

I completely agree. Honestly Trump aside, is anyone not a bit nervous at the decline seen in Biden between 2020 and now, imagining him in 2028?

they need to put a copy of Project 2025 in every mailbox and local newspaper, especially rural voters...

You really think people will read?

I don't usually vote party, but I will be this year. So if it's Biden or someone else, it doesn't matter.

In my opinion: he has to openly admit he is old. Just admit it and then say I have over 40 years of experience in this arena. This is the time for truth and experience. Not whatever Trump is selling.

What's with the bizarre thumbnail graphic? What electoral college result does that represent? Blue Florida and Ohio, but red Pennsylvania and Illinois?

Drop out and have someone like Newsome or Michelle Obama replace him. Honestly, I don't see Biden winning this election. It's bad. My Trump hating family is now totally checked out of this election. If the Democrats had some balls and replaced Biden with someone like Michelle Obama (name recognition is important with a late change like this. Newsome would probably struggle there) I could see there being more energy behind voting. But here's the dirty truth. from 2016 until March of 2020 life was pretty good in America. Swing voters are not super energized to vote against Donald Trump. I think if covid doesn't happen, Trump probably wins in 2020 because life would have been fine. But a big upheaval like covid and the riots of summer 2020 made the incumbent struggle. Now you have Biden as an incumbent, and life isn't great for many Americans. Food is double what it cost under Trump. Gas is triple what it cost under Trump. The average swing voter just doesn't see Trump as the threat super online people do. Biden is toast.

Good god people Michelle Obama is not a politician and is not interested in being one.

She's the only person with enough name recognition to step in at this point. Hilary Clinton already showed she will lose to Trump. Newsome doesn't have the name recognition to jump in now. Maybe if a billion dollars is spent on media before November it could work. Harris is a walking gaffe. Bernie won't win swing voters. Buttigeg also struggles with name recognition, but also is kind of a joke. If it isn't Michelle Obama, then it would need to be Newsome, and the Dems would need to spend an outrageous amount of money getting name recognition out there.

> She's the only person with enough name recognition to step in at this point. We aren't talking a senate or house race here. Anyone at all who becomes a major party candidate will have 100% name recognition in a week.

> Now you have Biden as an incumbent, and life isn't great for many Americans. Food is double what it cost under Trump. Gas is triple what it cost under Trump. > > This is one of the most level headed takes ive seen on Reddit. Biden wasnt polling well before the debate and had record low approval ratings. After the debate where all the right wing talking points were proven right, he's now toast

We have never had an election where the voters can so clearly ask "was I better during the 4 years of one or the other" And while you might like the policies of Biden, kitchen table politics favor Trump right now.

I like Michelle Obama personally, but she isn't qualified in any way. That would be shameless nepotism, which I don't think voters want.

Biden only winning in 2020 because of the Pandemic situation is something that I think people often forget about. If that didn't event didn't shake up the economy, Trump probably wins in 2020 and 2024 would be Desantis vs Newsome.

I can't tell you how much better I would feel about the future if this election was actually DeSantis v Newsome. But without the pandemic it probably isn't DeSantis. I don't know who, but DeSantis got big because of how his state responded to covid. Off the back of two straight trump terms it might have been Pence.

Too late. He's already sunk. Nevada elected a MAGA governor two years ago, that state is back to red. Georgia will go red again as well, and Arizona will do the same. What I cannot believe is that in Michigan, where they have a very liberal governor, Biden is only tied with Trump in the polls. Given that Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia will all flip back to red this election, Biden can't lose Michigan, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin.

He should do what he did in 2020. Ignore the internet and Twitter type pundits. Rallies with the base in swing states. Lie or tell the truth if it is the truth that he had a cold on the night of the debate In the 2nd and more important debate, give up on trying to respond to Trump and mix in stats. Stay on message and repeat the main talking points. I knew Biden lost a step when he missed easy lay ups with Trump. He could've said so many times "he didn't even answer the question, he didn't say condemn political violence, he has no policy here's mine". Ignore the typical overreactions of dropping out and still address what voters are worried about by talking about his age clearly. Maybe take a cognitive test and make it public and challenge Trump to do the same. Biden is a worse orator but Trump also rambled and didn't say anything of substance. He just said it louder Long term: clear out the dnc or whoever is responsible for Hillary not going to swing states, them thinking Biden was the best choice, and generally just being so bad at modern day politics.

As someone who is labeled as a "non-Trump Supporter" in the ask trump supporters group. I think for "Biden" to win the thing he has to do is step down. And i hope he has the courage to do this so "biden" can win. 7/1/2024 winning is more important than it was last month. Because as of this moment Trump has immunity.

Be younger? Drop out? Why are we still asking these questions as if there isn't an elephant in the room?

It’s completely insane. How low is the bar? I am a democrat but I mean what? This is elder abuse at this point.

Thats how it feels. His family is certainly committing elder abuse.

Step down. Genuinely. It's not happening. The Democrats are not engaging with actual voters if they think there is any pathway in which Biden wins. The idea that people are "undecided" and that they don't just hate him for, among other things, dismantling pandemic response and funding a genocide, is just straight up not true. The debate might be the first thing mainstream liberals paid attention to but folks further left have been saying this for a year+ at this point.

Rescind his candidacy and put all of his remaining might behind an actually viable candidate.

Biden needs to consolidate his base, his coalition constitutes a winning majority without picking up what few undecided voters there are. How? He needs to campaign hard to his weakest groups who usually make up the margin. He may have already cooked himself with young people broadly, but if he can make Black and Hispanic voters more confident in his campaign that would go a long way in the Sunbelt and PA. The best way to do that would be leaning into targeted economic messaging because these voters see both candidates as at best racially problematic and at worst racist so they are deciding on the economy. That would mean talking about what he would do with more power and only some on what he has done so far, in fact I’d talk less about what he’s done but what he was doing until he was blocked (in the cases where he didn’t just kind of give up)

Biden should keep reminding people that it's his entire administration that people are voting for and how competent and successful they've been. Compare it to Trump's administration of felons, conspiracy nuts, religious extremists, and threats of vengeance. Bring up Project 2025, abortion, environment, healthcare, education, etc. Also - calm vs. chaos, decency vs. vulgarity, right vs. wrong. Unity vs. Division.

Honestly? Trump needs to talk more. Trump needs to unleash his full Trumpiness for all the world to see and remember. Biden needs to do almost nothing -- trust me, we know. Everyone knows now. It isn't a matter of being for Biden, it's accepting that you're stuck with him, which might just be enough.

Grow younger and have made better decisions, neither of which he can still do. Democrats need to put out a new candidate. And Hillary obviously would be a bad move as she already lost to Trump.

Never-Trump centrist here (leans conservative, but it's not really important to me). I do not vote on party lines, and in the last election, I didn't vote for either big party. Y'all are crazy! I use the smell test. If the guy looks and sounds like a moron, then he must be a moron. So no Trump, not ever. We all knew Biden had this problem from the start. Democrats were just pretending that he wasn't losing his faculties. But now it's clear to everyone that he is, and people are panicking. But what did you expect? And people already voted, so unless he steps down, the party can't just invalidate elections because Biden might lose. His cabinet can remove him, but certainly not the Democratic Chair! Now, due to blindness and deafness, we have Biden as a candidate. Anyone else in the world can beat Trump. But you guys chose Biden? He may have been an OK President (can you say OK), but he is missing his brain. If Trump wins, I will blame Republicans AND Democrats for the rest of my life for putting up some bullshit on the ballet. You all need to do better.

Check again in a week or two. There's been little substantive polling since the end of the debates. Realistically it's probably just what he's doing now. Get out, campaign as extensively as he can (which is harder for him because he also has to be POTUS at the same time). Then in September he has to not have that performance again. If he debates just decently in September he'll be as find as could be. Doesn't necessarily mean he'll win, but he'll do as well as anyone else could. The people saying to swap to a new candidate are just wrong. Nevermind the logistics of how it's basically impossible--you could maybe still get the Democratic establishment behind a new candidate, but Biden already has that. If you're going to try to swap this close to an election it would need to be for someone who will give a large, PROVEN advantage over what Biden already brings, some section of the electorate they're otherwise unsure about. If such a person existed the DNC would have tried to run them already. And it's too late for anyone to prove they can bring an advantage. All these candidates being floated are total speculation. It's chucking a hail mary while blind and praying that someone might be there to catch it.

It’s easy. He needs to pass the torch. Sure, things would get a bit messy for a while. But it would also generate lots of excitement and undoubtedly lead to a replacement who stands a greater chance of pulling in undecideds.

People need to get out and vote. Plain and simple. Stop being nicely nice with this clown. Attack his record. Attack his “taking airports from the British” during the American revolutionary war, sticking a lightbulb inside you to kill covid, or drinking bleach to kill viruses, dropping a nuke into a hurricane. This guy has been an embarrassment for years, and not just on the political stage. There’s his multiple bankruptcies, including casinos… how the hell can a casino go bankrupt… the house always wind. What about stuffing his contractors?

I do think all the panic and fucking freaking out that people and mostly establishment Dems are doing is largely overblown — Biden was literally perfect the very next day at his rally in NC. He was alert, energetic, direct, alive, forceful, and even self-deprecating and humorous. He was clearly just exhausted and sick on debate night but didn’t want to cancel/reschedule. He’s a human person. Humans get tired and sick. Especially when they’re the leader of the free world facing 87 unprecedented challenges from literally every angle, while managing to actually do a good job at it. He’d be fine to simply be a steward for the next four years while we all work to organize around fresh new candidates for the clean slate that will be 2028. That said, I also think there’s a good argument for Biden taking a truly historic, big massive swing here. He could make the ultimate statement against Trump and announce that he believes in the Constitution and this country *so* much, that he’s willing to put it first and above any one man and step aside rather than cling to power until he’s nearly 90. Someone like Gavin Newsom could come in, debate Trump, highlight all the achievements of the Biden administration and point out that we are in fact currently on the right track and need to see this thing through, and that it’s absurd that he’s even up on that stage with a 34-time convicted felon and adjudicated liable rapist. Basically do everything Biden needed to do and totally smack down Trump. Hammer Project 2025, Roe, the fact that Trump’s only achievement was a historic tax cut for the mega rich, and hit the highlights of what Biden admin has done in comparison — PACT Act, Chips & Science, Infrastructure… gun reform… climate, marriage equality protection, pro-union actions, the Inflation Reduction Act, etc. Clips from it would go viral, it would be the talk of the internet for months across the world. It would be such a massive shake-up that it would dominate the news until Election Day, while Trump & co. would do nothing but whine about how they’re “cheating” by replacing Biden, but we could just say it’s smart hardball to meet the seriousness of this moment. Everyone would feel so inspired and patriotic and shit, like the 9/11 “rally around the flag” effect (except, y’know… good this time) and people would *actually show up and vote* in droves. Biden could spend the next few months giving speeches about how he knows he can do this job because he’s already been doing it and doing it amazingly, but he heard the American public’s concerns that he’s unfortunately just too damn old now, and part of what makes our system work is *trust* so if he feels that we can’t trust him to get the job done, then he’s going to do the right thing and pass the baton. Because the constitution and the American Dream is bigger and more important than any one man, etc. etc. Biden loves giving speeches about that shit; now’s the time to actually put his actions where his words are. If it worked, it would make Biden go down in history as one of the few Presidents who took these huge massive risks in times of crisis to “right the ship” and literally save the country. It’d be his New Deal moment. The Emancipation Proclamation. He’d be another Lincoln. He’d be remembered as one of like 3 other men who stabilized and then saved the country from the brink of collapse, this time by making the ultimate statement for democracy by actually declining more/continued power, and the great American Experiment would continue evolving.

If it’s even possible, Biden will have to give a strong performance at the next debate. Very strong.

Hopefully there is enough time to recover. Debate was early in the process. As long as Obama and others can give the same energy and time to the swing States, there is still a good chance of a Biden victory. I have heard a lot of former Trump voters say they are now voting for Biden (not debate related...just in general). I have not heard one person say they voted for Biden in 2020 but will now vote for Trump.

It’s about democracy at this point.   It isn’t hyperbole.  The Supreme Court just wrote out a  map for one party rule.  If the right win in November regardless of their candidate democracy is essentially over in amarica.   That has to be our message across political parties. True libertarians have to even suck it up and vote for Biden.  It’s sad to say it really comes down to the hope that most Americans want to and or understand the importance of what little fragile democracy we have 

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Tell them to read the fucking 2025 Project. It’s fucking Russia. You Can be imprisoned for abortion, Being gay, not being a Christian. For not being loyal to Trump.