‘Deep Panic’ Among Democrats after Biden’s Debate Performance, CNN Says

There is a “very aggressive panic” throughout the Democrat Party following the first presidential debate Thursday, according to panelists on CNN.

Many commentators agreed that President Joe Biden‘s demeanor caused “damage” for his party ahead of the election in November. Questions were again raised about the president’s health early into the night, and some progressives called for Democrats to pick a different candidate before voters head to the polls.

“This was a game changing debate in the sense that right now as we speak, there is a deep, a wide and a very aggressive panic in the Democratic Party,” said John King, chief national correspondent for CNN.

“It started minutes into the debate, and it continues right now,” he continued. “It involves party strategists. It involves elected officials. It involves fundraisers. And they’re having conversations about the president’s performance, which they think was dismal, which they think will hurt other people down the party in the ticket, and they’re having conversations about what they should do about it.”

CNN’s Abby Phillips said that she agreed with King’s takeaways and that the “panic” she was receiving from members in the Democratic Party “is not like anything that I have heard in this campaign so far.”

David Axelrod, who served as the chief strategist for former President Barack Obama‘s campaigns, said that he could not “argue” with King and Phillip’s points regarding how Democratic leaders were “reacting” to the debate.

This is a developing story that will be updated as information becomes available.