'May God have mercy on our souls,' says Democrat of Biden's debate performance
Former Rhode Island representative says Biden must step down for the good of the party and the country
If Joe Biden is, indeed, the "good and decent man" his party proclaims him to to be, then he must step down from the U.S. presidential race, says Democrat Aaron Regunberg.
Biden, the 81-year-old Democratic incumbent, repeatedly stumbled, stammered and lost track of what he was saying during Thursday night's CNN debate against his 78-year-old Republican rival and presidential predecessor, Donald Trump.
The president, however, has shown no sign he intends to call it quits after his widely lambasted debate performance. At a campaign stop in Raleigh, N.C., on Friday, he told his cheering supporters: "When you get knocked down, you get right back up."
Regunberg, former member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, spoke to As It Happens host Nil Köksal and the future of the Democratic Party. Here is part of their conversation.
I know, heading into this debate, you were supporting Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee. How do you feel about that now?
I think it is radically clear to most people I talked to that the Democratic Party needs to find a new nominee. And my interest is pushing for that however I can right now, because I think it was pretty clear last night that we have an unacceptably large chance of losing to Donald Trump if Biden remains at the top of the ticket.
What was the moment you thought this is not just a so-so performance — that, in your view, this was a very poor, even catastrophic, performance?
I think I said within the first minute, "May God have mercy on our souls," because it was very clear that it felt like, oh, this was what we all feared.
What did you see and hear in that first minute that made you think that?
The first question was on the economy, being able to present a clear, compelling argument for the incredible things this administration has done. They've done some wonderful things — taking on corporate power, standing up for regular people. It's really a strong record. And in that first question, there was no ability to articulate it.
And then, I think what made [it] clear to me, "OK, this is this is a disaster," was the question about abortion. Donald Trump has taken away the right to choose for millions of American women. This is his weakest point. And he basically won that exchange. Biden was unable to make the easiest, most simple argument that we need to be making relentlessly between now and November. It's stunning.
And for everyone who cares about democracy in the United States, and I would argue, the world, and a liveable future, it was a heartbreaking night.
You sound frustrated and heartbroken, as you said, but also angry. Is that a correct assessment of what I'm hearing?
I'm profoundly angry. I mean, I have a three-year-old son. And the idea that Joe Biden and his team are putting his future, and the future of every child around the country and world, in danger because he wants four more years?
Donald Trump did a bad job last night. He did not win that debate because he was so effective. He was awful, as he often is. He's not a strong candidate. There are a number of competent, talented Democratic leaders in our party, in our country, who could have mopped the floor with him last night.
It makes me mad because Joe Biden and his team are responsible for it. And he has a chance to step aside now, to do the right thing, to have a great legacy of a successful term that accomplished a lot. Or he could have the legacy of someone who sacrificed everything. He threw the door open to fascism because he wanted four more years in the spotlight.
It is unfathomable to me that anyone who's a good and decent person could make that decision. And yet that's the decision he's currently making. And I'm still holding out hope that he'll shift.
Biden on his own … could not have made that decision if [he] didn't have [Democratic National Committee] support or other support across the party. So it's not that there were dozens of candidates that were potential candidates, right? They thought he was best positioned to beat Donald Trump.
The entire Democratic establishment has a lot to answer for and feel responsibility for and shame about, I think, right now. There was not the effort that there should have been to push him out by folks who were more in the know than, you know, regular people like me, about what the actual state of affairs was.
Democratic strategists, as you may have heard, are pointing out that Biden had a cold and saying, you know, candidates shouldn't be discounted based on one debate performance that wasn't great. How do you respond to that assessment?
That wasn't one bad performance. It was a disaster…. A cold is not an excuse for that.
Do you think it's unfair that [so much] of the coverage has been on Biden's performance … and less coverage of the lies we heard — repeated lies — from Donald Trump?
It's insane to me that CNN, you know, just let a constant deluge of lies go without challenging them. That doesn't seem right. But … people expect Trump to be horrific. And whether that's fair or not, is not the point. I mean, none of this is fair.
The only question that matters is what are we going to do about it, and how do we make sure we win? And so it doesn't actually help to complain about the media and the lack of fact-checking. We can control what we can control. And, as a party, what you can control is who you put forward.
So let's talk about what could happen next. The convention delegates are already pledged to support Joe Biden. So, as I understand it, the only way to get a new nominee is for him to step aside.
Yes, I think that's right.
Do you think he's going to do that?
I think it was hard to conceive of that happening before last night. And the fact now that major players in the party are openly talking about this means that things have shifted.
I think the fact that you have some powerful, ambitious Democratic leaders who maybe see a path for themselves — that can shift the dynamics, because those are people who have a say in the party.
In an ideal world, there would be people coming together and figuring out a ticket and going to President Biden graciously and making the case.
And again, in an ideal world, President Biden — who I have long thought, and we are constantly told, is a good and decent man — will hear that and do the good and decent thing.
If he doesn't, then it's hard for me to keep saying that he's a good and decent man. Because I don't think you risk everything that he's risking for the desire for four more years for himself versus caring about the future of all of the rest of us.
Interview produced by Chris Harbord
