Granite Staters were stunned by President Joe Biden’s halting, angry performance in Thursday night’s debate with former President Donald Trump, and many politically active voters expect the Democratic Party to drop him from the ticket before November.
That’s the view of New Hampshire Journal readers in a survey taken immediately after the debate. While it’s not a scientific sample, it is a glimpse into the thinking of center-right voters who closely follow Granite State politics.
“Joe Biden is mentally failing, and it was on display for the country to see,” one respondent said. “There’s no way the Democrats don’t nominate someone else for president. Which was probably the whole point of doing this debate so soon, to test the waters. Biden failed, plain and simple.”
Not surprisingly, the vast majority (88 percent) believe Trump won the debate. Asked to predict what the final outcome will be in November, just 10 percent expect Biden to carry New Hampshire — a state the GOP has only won just once since George H.W. Bush’s 1988 victory. The rest of the respondents were evenly split at 45 percent between predicting a Trump win or declaring the Granite State too close to call.
On the question of Biden’s age and fitness, nearly 90 percent said the incumbent president is too old for the job.
“I must admit that I thought Biden would have a better night,” one respondent said. “He seemed very weak, unfocused, he stumbled, and he made bizarre comments that made absolutely no sense. He is the biggest train wreck of any presidential debate ever.”
Doubts about Biden’s mental fitness from a largely GOP sample aren’t a surprise. But at least one prominent New Hampshire Democrat is also expressing doubts about her party’s nominee and his ability to do the job.
Asked on WBUR radio Friday if Biden “is fit to serve another term as president of United States,” U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) declined to answer. She instead attacked Trump’s record and fitness for office. When the reporter noted that Shaheen had deflected the question about Biden’s fitness, Shaheen reluctantly replied, “I can’t answer that for you today.”
“He had a really bad night last night. So the question is, is that going to disqualify him for the next four years? I think that’s going to be determined,” Shaheen added.
The senator’s equivocation comes just six months after she helped push a write-in effort to rescue Biden from his decision not to participate in New Hampshire’s First in the Nation presidential primary. Now, she says, the voters are unhappy with the choices they have, and she’s not sure she would support Biden’s nomination, either.
“All of the polling that we’ve seen, consistently, since this election cycle started, was that the voters want a different choice,” Shaheen told WBUR. “They don’t like Donald Trump, and they don’t like Joe Biden. So I think you know, if you and I were going to decide who got to be nominated, maybe we would come up with a different answer.”
Many NHJournal readers agreed with Shaheen.
“That debate was horrifying and a sad day for our country,” one respondent wrote. “Really – these were the best our country can get for presidential candidates? I cannot vote for either candidate right now – I don’t want the chaos of another Trump presidency and Biden does not seem capable of leading our country for another four years. Please, let us have better candidates!”
About 13 percent of the respondents are either voting third party or say they’re still undecided.
Asked to name their favorite moment from the debate, the two most common responses by far were Trump’s snarky comment regarding one of Biden’s less-than-clear answers (“I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said, either”); and the mini-debate the two candidates had over golf.
“I liked it best when they really went at it, when it really got personal,” one respondent wrote. “Of course, I’m talking about the argument over their golf games. Now, if they could replace the second debate with a round of golf, that’s something I’d want to see!”
Another reader said it may seem like a laughing matter, but golfers take this very seriously.
“Biden had his Kim Jun Un moment tonight when he claimed to have a six golfing handicap. Kim has told his people that he shot 18 holes-in-one in one game. Oddly enough, I believe that this will be the lie that destroys Biden. You can lie to the people about the economy, the border, wars, etc. But don’t ever lie about your golf score. ”
NHJournal readers find it hard to believe Biden will still be on the ballot in November. Asked if they had to bet $100 on a series of possible outcomes, ranging from Biden beating Trump in the general election to Biden being forced off the ticket, 61 percent predicted Biden would be pushed off the ballot, but Vice President Kamala Harris would not be his replacement. Another 28 percent said Biden would remain at the top of the ticket but lose the presidency to Trump.
“The only way that Biden is removed as the Democrat nominee is if he agrees to drop out. He is too full of pride to do that,” a reader said. “The DNC won’t go with Harris because she is the least popular VP in history–including Dan Quayle.”
Another reader made the issue more personal to Biden and his family.
“Biden’s performance was an embarrassment for America. Jill Biden should take some ownership and have an intervention.”
