Foreign diplomats, media and New York Times Editorial Board express concerns about Biden after CNN debate

In an unusual rebuke of the Biden presidency, The New York Times's Editorial Board published an editorial signed by the longtime newspaper’s Friday night that called upon the commander in chief to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election.

The newspaper’s surprising editorial was joined by a wave of criticism including comments from foreign diplomats, media, and Democratic strategists who all expressed concerns about the president's coherence after Thursday night’s CNN debate against former President Donald Trump. 

The event has left the Democratic National Committee and party leaders in a complicated position in which they are left debating as to whether to try and compel the president to step down and nominate another candidate who has a better chance of defeating Trump in November.

New York Times Editorial Board

The editorial, titled, “To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race,” argued that Biden’s argument, that he is the best candidate to defeat President Donald Trump because he did so in 2020 “is no longer a sufficient rationale for why Mr. Biden should be the Democratic nominee this year.”

The Times’ call comes in the wake of what many Democratic operatives, U.S. and foreign news outlets and even foreign ambassadors are calling a concerning CNN debate performance Thursday night as the president struggled to answer basic questions about policy and hesitated at times to even respond as he stared blankly into the cameras.

“The president appeared on Thursday night as the shadow of a great public servant,” the New York Times Editorial Board wrote.

“He struggled to explain what he would accomplish in a second term. He struggled to respond to Mr. Trump’s provocations ... More than once, he struggled to make it to the end of a sentence.”

The Board then added, “As it stands, the president is engaged in a reckless gamble. There are Democratic leaders better equipped to present clear, compelling and energetic alternatives to a second Trump presidency.”

After his performance, CNN cameras captured First Lady Jill Biden helping the president leave his podium and depart from the stage to where the debate hosts were sitting.

Democratic Strategists

The event also concerned many Democratic strategists, including a panel of several pundits on CNN, the network that hosted the debate. Many of the strategists on the panel such as former Obama adviser David Axelrod sounded the alarm about the president’s performance.

Shortly after the debate, Politico reported that it spoke to nearly a dozen Democrats, about the president’s performance. The beltway news publication said that many Democrats expressed concern even in the first few minutes of the debate.

One former Biden White House and campaign aide called it “terrible,” adding that they have had to ask themselves over and over: “What did he just say? This is crazy.”

New Hampshire Democratic activist and attorney Jay Surdukowski, who co-chaired former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s 2016 presidential campaign, said Biden’s bid for re-election was officially over.

“Biden is toast — calling it now,” he said.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) concurred, writing, “Not good.”

One “prominent operative” texted Politico reporters, arguing that Democratic Party leadership needed to step in and take control of the situation.

“Time for an open convention,” they wrote.

An open convention is a process permitted under Democratic Party rules that allows delegates to nominate a candidate at the actual convention. The last time such an event occurred was 1952 when the Democratic Party drafted then Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevensonwho was ultimately defeated by then Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Stevenson unsuccessfully challenged Eisenhower again in 1956 and was ultimately appointed by Democratic President John F. Kennedy as Ambassador to the United Nations in 1960.

Foreign Diplomats

CNN, the national news network that hosted the debate, subsequently published a report citing critical quotes from various foreign diplomats who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

One diplomat said the debate was “hard to watch” while another from the Middle East said, “Trump ate him alive.”

“I was shell-shocked. I could not believe my eyes,” an Asian diplomat said of Biden’s performance.

One European diplomat, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he could not follow what the president was trying to say.

“It is a sad reality that Biden is old, and he is getting older. We saw it. I had difficulties understanding what he was saying, and I understand English pretty well,” said the unnamed European diplomat.

Foreign Media

Even foreign media commented on the president’s performance, according to a report published by Politico.

Swedish broadcaster SVT called Biden’s showing “near-catastrophic,” and Finland’s Yle called his performance a “disaster.”

Italian newspaper Corriere della Serra wrote that Biden was acting “confused” and spoke with a “hoarse voice,” while Poland’s Onet wrote that Trump “put [Biden] on his back,” saying it was “sad to watch.”

Biden dismisses criticism in North Carolina campaign stop

In his first campaign stop after the debate, the president gave a more vocal performance at the North Carolina state fairgrounds in Raleigh.

“I know what millions of Americans know,” Biden said to his audience amid unusually warm temperatures. “When you get knocked down, you get back up.”

“I don’t walk as easily as I used to, I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden said, responding to concerns about his Thursday performance on CNN. “But I know what I do know. I know how to tell the truth.”

He then turned the tables on his rival, saying that Trump was dishonest.  

“I spent 90 minutes on a stage debating a guy who has the morals of an alley cat … I think he [former President Donald Trump] set a new record for the number of lies told at a single debate.”

Despite the criticism of the debate, Biden campaign Communication Director Michael Tyler insists that President Biden will remain in the race and face off with the 45th president in November.

“Obviously, I think the president said himself he’s not as good as a debater as he used to be,” Tyler said. “He doesn’t walk or talk as smoothly as he used to.  But he knows how to fight like hell.  And I think he showed that today in North Carolina.”