If Joe Biden agrees to step down, Democrats will replace him. It’s hard to understand why they weren’t prepared for this. They seem legitimately shocked, or at least shocked Biden couldn’t cover up his mental frailty. John Heilemann heard from Democrats during the debate and has never heard this degree of alarm even after having […] The post Heilemann: Panic and Shock at the Highest Levels of the Party appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

President Joe Biden struggled throughout Thursday night’s first presidential debate of the 2024 election season but perhaps saved his worst for last as he read his closing statement. CNN conducted a coin toss that determined that Biden would deliver his closing statement first and that former President Donald Trump would have the last word. “We’ve made significant progress from the debacle that was left by President Trump in his – in his last term,” Biden began, speaking in a hoarse, raspy voice and looking exhausted. After claiming that he did not raise taxes for people making under $400,000 a year, he said Trump was responsible for rising inflation — a crisis that did not erupt until after Biden signed his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law. “But this guy is – has increased your taxes because of the deficit,” Biden stammered. “Number one, he’s increased inflation because of the debacle he left after – when he handled the pandemic.” WATCH: Here’s Joe Biden’s low-energy closing statement in its entirety. pic.twitter.com/iBvp5Pa2Rh — Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 28, 2024 While Biden repeatedly slurred his way through his closing remarks and made vague references to alleged achievements that he claims he secured for the American people, Trump hit Biden hard in his closing remarks. “Like so many politicians, this man is just a complainer. He said we want to do this. We want to do that. We want to get rid of this tax, that tax, but he doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t do,” Trump said. All he does is make our country unsafe by allowing millions and millions of people to pour in. Our military doesn’t respect him. We look like fools in Afghanistan. We didn’t stop [what happened in] Israel, it was such a horrible thing that would have never happened. It should have never happened.” “He talks about all this stuff, but he didn’t do it. For three-and-a-half years, we’re living in hell. We have the Palestinians and we have everybody else rioting all over the place,” Trump continued. “You talk about Charlottesville. This is 100 times Charlottesville, 1,000 times. The whole country is exploding because of you, because they don’t respect you. And they have to respect their president and they don’t respect you throughout the world.” Trump then highlighted the accomplishments of his administration, including tax cuts, regulation cuts, and the revamping of the U.S. military. WATCH: Donald Trump’s full closing statement blows Joe Biden completely out of the water. pic.twitter.com/aIdJaAFSEl — Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 28, 2024

Columnists at The New York Times overwhelmingly turned on President Joe Biden following his disastrous performance during the first presidential debate on Thursday night. The two-hour event on CNN was filled with moments of Biden losing his train of thought, freezing on live television, slurring his words, and making incoherent remarks to the point where former President Donald Trump quipped that Biden didn’t even know what he had said. Reaction was overwhelmingly negative for Biden on television and social media. He did not do any better when it came to print journalism as not a single opinion writer at The New York Times said Biden won the debate. The newspaper asked 12 of its columnists and contributors to assess who won the debate. Ten said that Trump won, while the remaining two said that it was a “draw” and no one won. The New York Times opinion writers on who they think won between Biden and Trump pic.twitter.com/kuXuw6mzIS — Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) June 28, 2024 The Times’ op-ed section was littered with anti-Biden pieces following the debate. Columnist Thomas L. Friedman said that it made him “weep” and was the most “heartbreaking moment in American presidential campaign politics in my lifetime — precisely because of what it revealed: Joe Biden, a good man and a good president, has no business running for re-election.” “To give America the greatest shot possible of deterring the Trump threat in November, the president has to come forward and declare that he will not be running for re-election and is releasing all of his delegates for the Democratic National Convention,” he continued. “If Vice President Kamala Harris wants to compete, she should. But voters deserve an open process in search of a Democratic presidential nominee who can unite not only the party but the country.” He said that Biden was “clearly” not able to be president “any longer” and that his family and staff should have stopped him. “If he insists on running and he loses to Trump, Biden and his family — and his staff and party members who enabled him — will not be able to show their faces,” he concluded. Columnist Frank Bruni wrote that Biden was simply “not capable” of even winning the debate because he had been so greatly diminished. “From the moment the debate began, he seemed unsteady. Off. His expression was often frozen,” he wrote. “His voice was often flat. He garbled words. He corrected himself midsentence, over and over again. He’d clearly memorized key talking points — key phrases — but he repeatedly used them without providing adequate context, swerved from one to another without any transition, halted sentences before they reached their destination, started sentences without giving them any bearings.” Bruni said that “significant” damage was done to Biden’s re-election chances. “For most of the mere 90 minutes of the debate, Biden seemed to be grasping for something he couldn’t reach,” he concluded. “I fear that’s a metaphor. I’m sure it’s a warning.” Opinion editor Patrick Healy said that every Democrat he heard from said, “This is a disaster.” “By the end of the debate, I was hearing a level of anxiety and alarm from those Democrats and several other party leaders and operatives that I’d never seen in 20 years of covering presidential politics,” he wrote. “The discussion turned squarely to the need for the Democratic Party to replace Biden as the 2024 nominee, with four months to go to the election, and how to make that happen.” Columnist Nicholas Kristof bluntly wrote: “I hope he reviews his debate performance Thursday evening and withdraws from the race, throwing the choice of a Democratic nominee to the convention in August.” “This will be a wrenching choice,” he concluded. “But, Mr. President, one way you can serve your country in 2024 is by announcing your retirement and calling on delegates to replace you, for that is the safest course for our nation.”

Vice President Kamala Harris struggled to defend President Joe Biden following his widely criticized debate performance on Thursday night against former President Donald Trump. Appearing on CNN, host Anderson Cooper asked Harris if she thought Biden needed to step aside. “Yes, there was a slow start, but it was a strong finish,” she claimed. “And what became very clear through the course of the night is that Joe Biden is fighting on behalf of the American people on substance, on policy, on performance.” Cooper immediately interrupted her and said: “I’m sorry on substance and policy and performance tonight. I mean, the president’s performance tonight clearly was disappointing for his supporters. CNN is reporting Democratic lawmakers watching the debate were worried, worried about the president’s performance. One said it was a disaster. Another called it a train wreck. Those are Democrats.” Harris refused to push back on Cooper again after the journalist noted that Biden failed to perform on the debate stage. “I got the point that you’re making about a one-and-a-half-hour debate tonight,” she said. “I’m talking about three and a half years of performance in work that has been historic.” When Cooper again pressured her on the debate, she lashed out: “I’m not going to spend all night with you talking about the last 90 minutes when I’ve been watching the last three and a half years of performance.” She again admitted that Biden did not start well, which she said was “obvious to everyone”. When asked if that is how Biden is every day, Harris refused to answer the question and instead claimed that “Joe Biden can make it happen.” WATCH:

President Joe Biden faced negative headlines throughout the media landscape following his debate against former President Donald Trump on Thursday night. Pundits, commentators, and columnists gave their analysis, with nearly all on the Democratic side sounding the alarm and urging Biden to consider dropping out. However, the fallout from Biden’s performance was so great that it even seeped into straight news coverage. The following are some of the headlines from legacy media, left-wing outlets, and pro-Biden publications following the debate: The New York Times: “A Fumbling Performance, and a Panicking Party: President Biden’s shaky, halting debate performance has Democrats talking about replacing him on the ticket.” Politico: “Dems freak out over Biden’s debate performance: ‘Biden is toast’” The New York Times: “‘It’s Frightening’: Democratic Voters Worried by Biden’s Struggles in Debate: Democrats found President Biden’s performance disconcerting, while Republicans were in a jubilant mood. Swing voters were flummoxed.” Politico: “‘WTF’: Panicked Dems start looking for alternatives to Biden” Semafor: “The debate Democrats feared” The Washington Post: “Democrats panic over Biden’s debate performance, doubt his future: The consternation over his halting performance encompassed both the halls of Congress and the living rooms of Democratic stalwarts.” NBC News: “Alarm and amusement at Biden’s performance as world reacts to Trump debate” CNBC: “Top Democratic fundraisers sound the alarm after Biden’s debate performance” ABC News: “Swing state voters react to presidential debate, Biden’s weak performance” Al Jazeera: “Biden falls flat against Trump in first 2024 US presidential debate” CNN: “Biden’s disastrous debate pitches his reelection bid into crisis” BBC: “Democrats backed into a corner over Biden’s performance” BBC: “Analysis: Biden’s incoherent debate performance heightens fears over his age” Variety: “Biden Should Never Have Debated Trump — and CNN Did Him No Favors”

Tractor Supply, a rural retailer known for selling farming equipment, announced on social media this week that it was reversing course on woke initiatives after facing backlash from conservative activists online. The company faced potentially having to deal with the same fallout of other major corporations that embraced wokeness, including Anheuser-Busch and Target. “Every day our 50,000 Team Members take care of our customers like family,” the company said in a statement. “We deeply value our relationship with our customers and the communities we call home.” The company said it had invested millions of dollars in conservative causes, including “veteran causes, emergency response, animal shelters, state fairs, rodeos and farmers markets.” “We have also invested in the future of rural America,” the company said. “We are the largest supporter of FFA and have longstanding relationships with 4-H and other educational organizations.” The company said that it heard from customers after activists online — including Robby Starbuck, who organized the campaign — brought to their attention actions that the company took that they were disappointed in. “Going forward, we will ensure our activities and giving tie directly to our business,” the company said. The company listed the following examples of actions that it would take to remedy the situation: No longer submit data to the Human Rights Campaign Refocus our Team Member Engagement Groups on mentoring, networking and supporting the business Further focus on rural America priorities including ag education, animal welfare, veteran causes and being a good neighbor and stop sponsoring nonbusiness activities like pride festivals and voting campaigns Eliminate DEI roles and retire our current DEI goals while still ensuring a respectful environment Withdraw our carbon emission goals and focus on our land and water conservation efforts The company said it would continue listening to its customer base and work to earn their trust. The statement was well received on the political Right, including by Andrew Surabian, a top adviser to Donald Trump Jr. “This is a huge win and proof that major brands are recognizing that going woke is bad for business — a big change from 5 years ago,” he posted on X. “Credit to Tractor Supply for changing course and doing the right thing.” Conservative activist Christopher Rufo posted: “Well done. Thank you, Tractor Supply. I will be doing more business with you in the future.” Jeremy Redfern, press secretary for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, posted on X: “Cutting off the @HRC , supporting causes that make a difference, eliminating DEI, focusing on conservation. Very based.” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) also weighed in: “. @TractorSupply deserves a lot of credit for recognizing the need for major course correction. I hope other companies will follow their lead and totally abandon all the woke garbage that has rotted corporate America.”