Campaign

Trump doubts Biden will be replaced as nominee after debate performance

President Biden and former President Trump participate in the CNN Presidential Debate at the CNN Studios on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta. (Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)

Former President Trump on Friday dismissed the prospect of President Biden being replaced atop the Democratic ticket after his lackluster debate performance a night earlier.

“Yes, I think he will be the nominee,” Trump told Fox News Digital when asked if he thinks Biden will remain atop the Democratic ticket.

Asked about chatter from Democrats about replacing Biden following his rocky showing Thursday night, Trump said he did not think the president would be replaced.

“No, I don’t think so,” Trump said. “They wouldn’t have done any better. No one else would have been better.”

Biden’s debate performance was largely panned by Democrats, some of whom have acknowledged it will stoke conversations about whether the president should be replaced atop the Democratic ticket before August’s convention.

The president’s voice was often raspy, which the White House later attributed to a cold, and he at times lost his train of thought or struggled to make his point clearly.

White House and Biden campaign officials sought Friday to shut down any notion that the president will step aside or drop out of the race.

“That’s not happening. The only things being replaced are recession-causing MAGAnomics and radical abortion bans. These people have panicked as we won all along,” a White House official told The Hill.