Barack Obama suggests cooler heads prevail in wake of Biden's disastrous debate

The overwhelming consensus after Thursday night's presidential debate among most who watched the event unfold was that it was a devastating debacle for Joe Biden, but there are some outliers at the top of the Democratic Party who have stepped forward to argue otherwise.

Coming to the defense of the current commander in chief on Friday was former President Barack Obama, who urged Americans to give Biden a bit of grace and chalk the entire mess up to a bad night, as the Daily Mail reports.

Obama weighs in

Biden's seemingly confused, often halting performance in his debate against Trump prompted a host of catastrophic reactions, even among his own support base, with words such as “feeble,” “weak,” and “painful” used to describe what occurred.

Talk soon began of the perceived need to replace the 81-year-old president on the 2024 ticket, with names of potential options swirling at a frenzied pace.

However, in Obama's estimation, everyone simply needed to calm down, take a step back and gain some perspective.

“Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know,” Obama wrote on X. “But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who cares only about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight – and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit.”

Obama then declared, in a seeming admission of Biden's dreadful debate performance, “Last night didn't change that, and it's why so much is at stake in November.”

Fetterman concurs

Another notable Democrat who cautioned against overreaction in the wake of the debate was Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who had a car-crash debate of his own in 2022 and still managed to secure an electoral win, as The Hill reports.

Amid reports that others in his party were scrambling to oust Biden from the ticket, Fetterman suggested that they instead “chill the f**k out.”

“I refuse to join the Democratic vultures on Biden's shoulder after the debate. No one knows more than me that a rough debate is not the sum total of the person and their record,” Fetterman said.

The senator doubled down on his colorful support for Biden on Sunday, telling Fox News' Shannon Bream that the “abandon Biden” campaign that has gained steam in recent months is “the dumbest s**t I've ever heard.”

“I mean, if you are more inclined to vote for a Democrat or be a Democrat, if you're willing to walk away from Joe Biden – you're by defecting helping Trump,” and either that scenario or – even better – one in which a severely weakened president continues what many view as a political suicide mission would surely be welcomed by Republicans everywhere.