President Biden’s debate performance shocked voters in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, leading even some supporters to call on him to drop out of the 2024 race, according to a new report.
“Last week hurt so much that he’s really got to think of the party and the country before he thinks of himself,” Troy Reissmann told CNN’s John King on Tuesday.
King spoke to voters in the battleground state to see whether they felt the president is still fit to serve another term as he faces mounting calls to drop out of the race after his debate disaster. Troy Reissmann and his wife Lisa, who both supported Biden in 2020, admitted the president’s performance that night frightened them and made them nervous about his chances at beating former President Trump.
“He didn’t seem as strong as what he has been in the past,” Lisa Reissmann said. “I was really having a hard time watching it. Because he did seem a little off.”
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“Yeah, it was definitely scary,” Troy Reissmann added.
While the couple said they liked Biden, they felt he wasn’t the best candidate to beat Trump this time around.
“Think of the future. Think of our kids and grandkids,” Troy Reissmann said. “Maybe you should step aside only because there’s — the future doesn’t look too bright with the other side taking over. And maybe I’m wrong, and I hope I would be, but you know, it’s scary.”
“I think it is time. We just need fresh leadership, new leadership,” Lisa Reissmann added. “I think he stands for good things. But I am just not sure he’s there anymore to lead the country.”
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Biden’s “painful” debate performance set Democrats into a “very aggressive panic,” former Obama adviser Van Jones said on CNN following the debate.
Democrats are set to meet on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to discuss Biden’s candidacy and fitness for office after several ranking House members reportedly said that they wanted him to step aside.
Biden has defied calls from within his party to drop out and told critical party members in a letter on Monday that he believes he is the best candidate to beat Trump.
Voters in the CNN report signaled they would reluctantly back the Democratic Party if it was a choice between Biden and Trump.
“Let me put it this way: I’m voting for the party right now,” Independent voter Allen Naparalla said.
A Fox News poll in April showed Biden deadlocked against his GOP rival in Wisconsin, a state he narrowly won in 2020. The race remains tight in the state, with Trump barely ahead of Biden, according to polling tracker FiveThirtyEight.
Trump holds a 9-point advantage with voters 50 years old and up in the state, according to an AARP poll released this week.
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