Public Reacts To The 2024 Presidential Debate: 'We Are Doomed'

U.S. President Joe Biden, 81, and former President Donald Trump, 78, faced off in the first 2024 presidential debate on Thursday, June 27. As expected, Biden attacked Trump for now being a convicted criminal, while Trump fired back, using his cognitive test scores against the current president.

After watching both Donald Trump and Joe Biden argue over various topics, including abortion, the economy, and golf, Americans have come to the conclusion that they "are doomed."

According to Gallup data collected in June, approximately 6 in 10 U.S. adults (59%) said they were “very concerned” that Biden is too old to become the 47th president, while 18% had the same feelings about Trump.

After watching the hour-and-a-half-long debate on Thursday, these concerns continued to rise as Biden looked "lost" and Trump was seemingly "not listening."

"We’re DOOMED," one American expressed on social media after watching, while another asked, "Whose idea was it for them to start this thing at 9 pm for two people 75+?"

One individual mocked both presidential candidates by saying, "Like two kids sitting in class pretending to be busy so they don’t get called on by the teacher because they don’t know the answer."

Many U.S. citizens have already expressed concern about the current president's age, with some deeming him unfit to run for office again—and these concerns resurfaced during Thursday's debate.

To kick off the event, Biden, who had a raspy voice and was seemingly fighting a cold, had lost his train of thought when speaking about the economy. Not only did he drift from tax policies to health policies, he accidentally used the word "COVID," followed by “excuse me, with, dealing with,” and trailed off again.

Throughout the 90-minute event, Biden fumbled on various other topics, while Trump was accused of lying.

By the end of the debate, Americans were left wondering why there "aren't any other presidential candidates?"

"I'm genuinely so confused. Why are these two the only choice?" one individual expressed after watching the debate go down. "I'm genuinely so scared," another admitted.

"Is there anyone else?? Like this can’t be it," a third asked.

Several others hope to vote for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., an independent presidential candidate. "RFK Jr. has my vote," one American said after watching the debate. "Y'all are sleeping on RFK Jr.," another said.

Mixed reactions of the debate surfaced following the 90-minute presidential debate, with some sticking with their votes for Joe Biden, while others are shifting gears as they now think he is too old to become the president again.

Governor Gavin Newsom of California insisted, “I would never turn my back on President Biden’s record. I would never turn my back on President Biden, and I don’t know a Democrat in my party who would do so, especially after tonight.”

Former Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, spoke to MSNBC, expressing, “Joe Biden had one thing he had to do tonight, and he didn’t do it. He had one thing he had to accomplish, and that was reassure America that he was up to the job at his age, and he failed at that tonight.”

Meanwhile, Symone Sanders, a former aide to Vice President Kamala Harris, addressed the possibility of Joe Biden stepping aside from the election. “Folks, the facts are if Joe Biden was going to step aside, he would have done so a long time ago,” she said, per The New York Times. “That’s not my opinion, that’s literally the facts. So no, he won’t be stepping aside tomorrow morning."

"He’s the nominee, and a number of Dems I suspect will be out defending him over the next few days," she concluded.

To no surprise, Joe Biden brought up the fact that Trump is a "convicted felon," claiming that he has "the morals of an alley cat" after a jury found the former president guilty on 34 counts related to falsifying business records regarding a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Biden said, "The crimes you are still charged with... How many billions of dollars do you owe in civil penalties for molesting a woman in public, for doing a whole range of things, for having sex with a porn star on the night your wife was pregnant. You have the morals of an alley cat."

Nevertheless, Trump seemed unbothered by Biden's remark, responding that he "didn't have sex with a porn star."