Presidential debate was 'beginning of the end' for Biden, Georgians say
President Joe Biden attended more than 20 events in the weeks after the CNN Presidential Debate on June 27. He appeared more alert than he did that fateful night in Georgia. He stayed on message and his voice was stronger.
But it didn’t seem to matter.
As far as some Georgia politicians and voters were concerned, his matchup against former President Donald Trump that night was the tipping point for Biden as the Democrat’s presidential nominee. It was only a matter of time before he dropped out.
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“The debate was definitely the beginning of the end,” said Joe Clark, president of the local Democratic Party in Fayette County, Georgia. “If he’d had a strong debate that night, we wouldn’t be here today.”
While there had already been talk among some that Biden was too old for the job, that sentiment spread across the Democratic party on debate night. For Clark, all 150 of the attendees at his debate watch party were disappointed.
“In our political climate, people are always looking for the ‘ah hah’ or the ‘gotcha’ moment,” Clark said, “This was it.”
Democratic Rep. Edna Jackson, who represents District 165 in Savannah, agrees that the debate was a turning point for Biden and his campaign. But she says his schedule and advisors are partially to blame for his poor debate performance.
“His advisors didn’t have him rest. When you’re at that age, you have to rest," she said. "He had three events that day and it tired him out.”
Debate performance aside, Jackson believes that it was the right thing for Biden to do. “I congratulate him on making that very sound decision. I’m also very happy that the party will continue with Vice President Harris.”
Clark also was ready to throw his support behind Harris as the nominee. “We’re still enthused. We’ll coalesce around Harris,” he said. “But it will be an interesting convention.
In a statement, state Sen. Gloria Butler, the Senate minority leader who represents Georgia’s 55th District, called Biden’s retirement “an immense loss for our country.”
But like her fellow Democrats, Butler sees hope in Harris as the presumptive nominee. "We will elect Kamala Harris this November. We will stop Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. And we will continue President Biden’s incredible work over the last four years.”
Some Georgians expressed relief that Biden had dropped out.
Madison English, 32, of Atlanta, said she initially argued that Biden “couldn’t be that bad” until she saw the debate. It was his soft-spoken, trailing voice that threw her off.
English was in another room when the debate first started, she explained.
“I couldn’t hear what he was saying, so I walked into the living room where the debate was on," she said. "That’s when I realized I was hearing things fine; that’s just how he sounded. I knew after that night he’d have to drop out. I’m glad he did.”
Other Georgia voters were not feeling that same sense of relief. Natasha Bertrand, of Atlanta, said the overall mood felt “ominous” after hearing Biden’s announcement.
“It’s probably for the best since so many people were calling for it," Bertrand said. "I don’t see how his campaign could have continued anyway.”
Bertrand’s main worry wasn’t Biden’s announcement, but what comes after with a new nominee.
“I don’t think Kamala Harris can do it. They’re going to have to find someone new,” she said. “But I really can’t think of anyone off the top of my head that can beat Trump.”
Melissa Cruz is an elections reporting fellow who focuses on voter access issues for the Paste BN Network. You can reach her at mcruz@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter, at @MelissaWrites22.