ABC’s ‘The View’ erupts with calls for Biden to step aside after debate: ‘Maybe he needs to go’
Several anti-Trump pundits on ABC’s "The View" said President Biden should abandon his re-election campaign following his widely panned performance at Thursday’s debate.
The reliably liberal daytime gabfest aired a montage of news-making moments from the CNN Presidential Debate, which went so poorly for Biden that many of his media allies have expressed concern about his fitness to serve another term. Biden has been criticized for looking and sounding too old, repeatedly losing his train of thought mid-sentence, and overall doing nothing to diminish concerns about his age and mental viability.
Co-host Sunny Hostin, a strong Biden supporter, told the panel "most of us are mourning."
"It was really hard to watch and it kind of pains me to say this today, but I think President Biden needs to step down and be replaced," co-host Sara Haines said.
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"If we want to defeat Donald Trump in November, I absolutely think that," she continued. "And I think Biden’s team saw it coming. I think that’s why they pushed for an earlier debate, so they’d have time to change course if needed."
Haines urged people close to Biden to have the "very hard conversation" that he needs to step aside.
"Democrats need to stop spinning the age problem," Haines said.
"Joy Behar at 81 is not Joe Biden at 81 and that was on full display last night. But let me be clear, if November comes and President Biden and President Trump are on the ticket, I will 100% be voting for President Biden, because the alternative is too scary for me, but I fear many people in this country do not feel the same way," she said.
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, who worked for the Trump administration but has since emerged as an outspoken critic of her former boss, said she was in "shock" watching the debate.
"I’ve had concerns for a couple of years about Biden’s age. It was stunningly worse than I expected, the performance," Griffin said.
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"He needs to put country before his own ambition and he needs to step aside and pass the baton," Griffin added. "If it’s Trump versus Biden, Trump is gonna [win]."
Hostin conceded Biden "lost that debate."
"Maybe he needs to go," she said, echoing what several Biden allies in the media have said.
"Maybe he needs to be honest with himself and the American people," she continued. "He can bow out at this time with grace and dignity. He has a record he can be proud of."
As they called for Biden to step aside, Hostin and Griffin noted they still loathed Trump, calling him a "racist" and a threat to democracy. Hostin believes both parties should be looking to change the top of their tickets, but co-host Ana Navarro, a token Republican on the show who supports Democrats, wasn’t ready to pull the plug.
"I love Joe Biden, and I’ve known Joe Biden for over 20 years, I’ve never seen Joe Biden like I saw him last night. It is worrisome, but … until Joe Biden tells me he is giving up, I’m not giving up on Joe Biden," Navarro said.
"He looked elderly yesterday, he sounded elderly, he is elderly, but the choice is no different, he is a very old man versus a very bad man," Navarro said. "I’m not going to judge Joe Biden on 90 bad minutes."
Griffin disagreed and said the "stakes are too high" for Democrats to stick with Biden.
Joy Behar insisted Biden looked better later in the evening when he addressed supporters at a watch party and pondered what went wrong on the debate stage.
"Suddenly no cold. Suddenly he was 63," she said. "So, what happened?"
"Where the hell was that, Joe?" Navarro asked.
Griffin said Biden was "historically bad" and said she feels "duped" by the White House after months of claiming Biden is sharp as a tack.
After a commercial break, the ABC News program discussed who could replace Biden on the ticket, with Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg getting mentioned.
If Biden stays in, Griffin reiterated, "he will lose to Donald Trump."
There has been no indication, however, that Biden is stepping aside from his campaign, and he has already clinched the 2024 Democratic nomination.