Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - "Right from the start, I thought how is he going to get through 90 minutes of this?" Political strategist Carl Calabrese on WBEN Friday. "It was that obvious, that early," he said.
President Joe Biden's debate performance against former President Donald Trump has set off alarm bells for Democrats.
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"In all of the debates I've watched at the presidential level, I've never seen
such a poor performance on the part of a candidate, let alone the president of the United States. It's both sad and concerning," he added.
Are we in a different place today, with the presidential race?
No question said Calabrese. "If nothing changes in terms of who the candidates are, this is certainly going to move the polls which have been stuck since January. It's a fluid race but I believe Trump is going to get a bump from this because that was a slam dunk win for him."
Ted Lina, Debate Moderator at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, told WBEN there was a winner Thursday night.
"It was the double haters and those who do not vote. We have a very large number of people who do not vote in this country. And last night they were given ammunition because when you look at both of these men, you have to ask yourself, is this the best our nation has to offer?"
Will Biden be on the ticket in November?
"That discussion has really been going on for months," noted Calabrese. "If Joe Biden doesn't want to leave, then he's going to be their nominee. I think the only way it happens is if his wife says to him, we have to end this and get out with dignity. It's very tough to remove a sitting president."
Calabrese ended the interview this morning with this point. “If you and I were brother sister and Joe Biden was our dad, we’d be having a discussion this morning about taking the keys away.”