Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., described the Thursday night showdown this way: “Two candidates had really crappy performances at last night’s debate.”

Casten continued, “One of them had a crappy performance because he was a terrible president and he lied about everything about his past and history. The other one had a crappy performance because he has an amazing record to run on and seemed to have not even prepared for the debate. And it’s, I think, it’s frustrating. Because we all know how competent Biden is, we all know how good he is in those rooms. And he wasn’t prepared.”

Biden repeatedly struggled to speak clearly and finish his points despite spending a week at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, preparing with a group of his most trusted aides. White House aides said Thursday night that the president had a cold and the president later told poolers, during an unscheduled stop at a Waffle House, that he had a sore throat.

The duo was face-to-face for the first time since a pandemic-era 2020 debate and traded barbs in Atlanta as they stood just a few feet apart on a CNN-assembled set with no live audience. They battled during the prime-time spectacle on issues ranging from abortion to the economy to immigration to foreign policy to their golf games.

Trump struggled to tell the truth or recount parts of his presidency accurately, giving Democrats political ammunition with which to give Biden cover.

‘People are not pleased’

Several Democrats muttered “bad night” before quickly disappearing into the House chamber to vote.

Rep. Gregory W. Meeks gave reporters a sketch of the attitude inside the chamber on the Democrats’ side. But he didn’t say there was a widespread call for the president to drop out of the race.

“People are not pleased. … Nobody’s in there jumping for joy, saying, you know, that was a great night last night. So, yeah, there’s concern because we know how important it is to make sure that we win this election,” the New York Democrat said. “And so is angst up today? Yes. But it’s also about the focus because we care about this country and we care about people.

“We know the differences between us and the MAGA Republicans and those that support Donald Trump, and we’ve got to make sure that that message continues to get out, and that has not happened,” Meeks added. “And we’ve got to make sure that we continue to do that because it is so important not for these individuals but for our country, for the future of our country, for our allies. We’ve got to get this done.”

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