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The Democrats have a lot to worry about with the upcoming US Presidential Election.

For months it was said that President Joe Biden’s acuity, physicality, alertness and political acumen were not up to the task.

On Thursday night (June 27), during the CCN Presidential debate, he proved that to be the case. This was a watershed moment in American history.

President Joe Biden looked unwell, he sounded like he had a bad case of the flu, his voice was raspy and most times he was incoherent. Biden did not project presidential vigour.

Donald Trump displayed remarkable forbearance and could have ripped out Biden’s jugular but stood his hand, probably aware that he couldn’t come across as mean and taking advantage of a decrepit old man who was confused.

The debate was an ordeal for Biden and alarm bells must be ringing for the Democrats. They would be advised not to hold a second debate because it would definitely be good night for their chances come election time.

Even the liberal media, people like Joe Scarbourogh,Van Jones, Racheal Maddow,John King, Stephanie Rhule and David Axelrod  conceded this was a horror show.

There are liberal commentators who fall back to the position that Trump spewed multiple lies and that fact checking revealed he was wrong most of the time.

They miss the point. Coming before the American people Trump was articulate, robust, energetic and lucid. Americans have always responded favourably to a muscularity, a vigour that characterises the country. A bumbling, stumbling old man is not what America is all about. Most Americans recoiled at what they saw and heard on Thursday.

 Biden had a lot to hurt Trump with going into this debate but failed to land any meaningful blows. Trump had the highest deficit, topping US$1 trillion in 2020. He also approved US$8.4 trillion in new debt.

Biden has been able to preside over job growth and low unemployment, cut child poverty in half through the American Rescue Plan, green spending has increased, inequality is narrowing, the stock market is doing well, and a sizeable amount of student debt has been written off. All this counted for nothing during the debate.

It is emphatically clear now that Joe Biden will not make it through to the end of another term. His faculties will be further diminished and he will be even more embarrassed than he is now.

His supporters say his age of 81 is a plus, that he has wisdom and experience, he knows his way around the political arena. They can no longer hold to that. Biden is the old lion whose time is up and the rest of the pride knows it—it’s just a matter of time.

Whatever misgivings Americans have about Trump, they will be overlooked. He simply has to stay out of jail. Americans will never accept decrepitude.

At this time in history, many are watching whether the United States is slipping, or whether its imperiousness is on the wane. Will other powers become emboldened watching Biden’s capacities evidently falter?

Donald Trump is clearly in the driver’s seat and he has the backing of the Republican Party whose priority is victory and securing the White Hose. Who can deliver that in 2024? Donald Trump.

Even those sympathetic to the Democrats’ cause would have watched him on Thursday and winced. It’s no longer about holding your nose and voting Biden to keep Trump out.

Moderate Republicans like Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney who do feel that Trump will be a disaster for the United States must now on some visceral level see his appeal and why voters will get behind him.

If the Gaza situation escalates, inflation remains stubborn, house prices continue to fall and Biden keeps falling over and freezing, then it will be a cold November for Biden and his supporters.

The president’s surrogates can no longer prop him up. The likes of Obama, Clinton, and Harris have nothing left in their bags of artifice to redeem a man whose better days are evidently long gone. Biden was cruelly exposed and they will find it difficult to refute what we all saw.

The one saving grace here is that it was one of the least-watched Presidential debates with an audience of around 51 million. Despite pointing out that Trump has a criminal record and is alleged to have slept with pornstar Stormy Daniels while his wife Melania was pregnant with their son Baron.

The Democrats who prepared Biden for the debate made a fatal error by pumping him with facts and bullet data points. It would have served them better to allow him to be “ Uncle Joe”, throwing out some homilies and exhibiting his warmth and bonhomie. He should have been encouraged to give his take on what America should be. He was too data-driven and that is the problem with millennials and Gen Z’s today-they fail to place stock in the human element.

On this disastrous debate showing, The New York Times editorial board is now calling for Biden to step down and for the Democrats to find a more suitable candidate. Furthermore, there are calls for Obama to stage an intervention, and convince Biden that it is better that he steps aside if the Democrats are to retain the White House.

During the debate, Trump came off as a robust patriot, a man who revels in America’s greatness. Some may look at his personal failings but that will not undo him come November 4th, 2024. “Having the morals of an alley cat” will  not stop Trump’s momentum, nor will it gain points for Biden.

The Democrats got it wrong betting on Biden who should have been a one-term president, giving the party time to anoint a new leader that could usher the country into the post-COVID era.

Both Clinton and Obama had dynamism and were fantastic communicators. They both were able to engage with Americans and provide a vision for the country.

Is there any Democrat in the party who can do that? Can Harris? Can Newsom? 

Some say it is too late to change horses midstream but is it? If the goal is to win in November, the Democrats need to find a worthy candidate and quick. Sticking with Biden is a road to nowhere and certainly spells the return of a triumphant Trump.

The salt and pepper is on his side of the table now.