MSNBC host Joe Scarborough warned the morning after a disastrous debate for President Biden that former President Trump will win the presidency this fall if the incumbent does not step aside and let someone else run on the Democratic ticket.
Scarborough said on his morning talk show Friday that Biden can govern and run the country, but then asked, “Can he run for president in 2024?”
Reacting to the president’s performance during Thursday night’s debate, Scarborough criticized Biden for not responding more forcefully to untruths on the stage from Trump.
“Donald Trump lied over and over and over and over again, and Joe Biden couldn’t respond to any of those lies,” he said.
“The door was open so many times” for Biden to push back on Trump’s claims, and he failed to meet the moment, he said.
“We’ve been asking, ‘Why is this race close? We have no idea why this race is close.’ We saw last night why this race has been close, and why I fear Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States, unless things change,” the pundit said.
Scarborough’s comments were first highlighted by Mediaite.
Biden during the 90-minute debate at times struggled to speak coherently, sounded horse and lacked energy. Trump meanwhile, floated baseless or misleading claims about his presidency and policies that went largely unchecked by the moderators, CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, or the incumbent.
In the immediate aftermath of Thursday night’s debate, many Democrats and liberal commentators expressed concern about Biden’s performance, with a growing number suggesting he should drop out of the race and clear the way for another candidate.