They started the night hoping that President Joe Biden would use the first debate of 2024 to his advantage, that he would finally quash fears about his age and give the impression of a determined statesman compared with former President Donald Trump.
But for the roughly 40 Democrats who gathered on Thursday night at a union hall in Sacramento, California, it did not take long for the mood to descend into something between grim despair and mild panic. Within minutes, even ardent supporters in the capital of California fell silent, exchanging glances and acknowledging quietly that Biden, his virtues aside, seemed less forceful than Trump, and weary. Toward the end, some of the younger attendees left before the debate was over.
“Neither of them inspires confidence,” said Dubrea Sanders, 25. “It’s going to be a very scary November for a lot of people, including myself.”
The crowd, mostly state workers, policy analysts, labour activists and members of a local Young Democrats organisation, cheered from white folding chairs when the president took the stage and heckled Trump’s false claims, roaring with laughter as Trump mispronounced “China” and talked about “immaculate water”.
But the frailty in Biden’s voice gave them pause.
“Have you seen Twitter?” winced Nancy Van Leuven, 72, a retired media and communications professor, pointing to early criticism of Biden’s performance. “The thing is, Biden looks older. And Trump is still resolute; even if he’s not telling the truth, it still looks believable.” Danielle Newton, 55, said she felt Trump was evasive and played to his base while Biden tried to answer the questions directly.
“But it’s terrifying, obviously,” Newton said. “I’m not excited about Biden being in his mid-80s. We could do better across the board, Republican or Democrat. That these two are our options? It’s frightening.”
Still, she and others in the audience said they were more opposed than ever to a second Trump term.
Perhaps, they said, Democrats could put their faith in voter turnout.
“I’m trying to be optimistic,” said Ethan Lares-Salinas, 26, a legislative assistant. “But I was optimistic in 2016.”
The highly anticipated first presidential debate on Thursday night left many Americans stunned, disappointed and even less happy than before about their choices this election.
It deflated Democrats loyal enough to attend a debate watch party with like-minded voters, as they watched fears over the age of their candidate terrifyingly come to pass on live television. And it gave no comfort to voters in swing states who were already flummoxed over how their country had arrived at such a political crossroads.
Kristen Morris, 60, a nursing student in a suburb outside Charlotte, North Carolina, who is deeply unsettled by both presidential options, said halfway through the debate that “the hyperbole on both sides is just really, really hard to stomach”. By the end of it, she said the intensity of her concerns had only increased.
Morris, an independent voter, supported Biden in 2020 but now feels troubled by his cognitive abilities and by his stream of verbal stumbles on Thursday night.
New York Times News Service
