A party of shameless liars, how did Dems let this happen? and other commentary

President Biden faced off against former President Trump in the first presidential debate on CNN on June 27, 2024. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

From the right: A Party of Shameless Liars

Thursday “night, over the course of about five minutes, the mainstream press and the Democratic Party’s establishment shifted positions on Joe Biden’s fitness for office,” but “that does not in any way change the fact that they have been lying to us about this,” fumes National Review’s Charles C. W. Cooke.

“When they complained about ‘right-wing media,’ they were lying to us. When they insisted that worries about Biden’s age were just cynical cover for Donald Trump, they were lying to us. When they suggested that Biden was impressive and sharp behind closed doors, they were lying to us.”

“That they have ceased lying for a moment does not change the fact that they are liars who will lie to you for any political advantage they can gain.”

Conservative: How Did Dems Let This Happen?

Just “how did the Democrats let this happen?” marvels the Washington Examiner’s Byron York.

President Biden’s performance in Thursday’s debate made clear that “there is no way” he’s fit “to serve four more years.”

Yet for years Democrats “looked the other way” and “lied to themselves about Biden’s condition.”

They cheered when journalists dismissed troubling videos of him as “cheapfakes.”

But “at about 9:01 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, the self-deception stopped. The CNN debate presented a brutal picture of the president’s condition.”

And the contrast with President Donald Trump was “unavoidable.”

Dems should “look back to 2020 and to the first three years of the Biden presidency, years in which the president was in observable decline, and ask themselves: Why didn’t we do something?”

Democrat: Joe Has Got To Go

“Nothing has made a certain type of politically-engaged Democrat angrier at me than my insistence that Democrats needed to take the electorate’s concerns about Joe Biden’s age seriously,” observes Nate Silver at his Silver Bulletin.

But “voters were incredibly consistent about mentioning Biden’s age in polls” and “it’s not just that Joe Biden is 81 now — it’s that he’s seeking a second term and wants to continue being president until he’s 86!”

This isn’t “the sort of thing Democrats were going to be able to spin their way out of.”

People “should be angry at Joe Biden.” Yes, maybe he “can still win.”

But it’s time for him “to consider what’s best for his party, what’s best for the country and what’s best for his legacy.”

Centrist: A ‘Heartbreaking’ & ‘Alarming’ Night

“The debate was not just a catastrophe for President Biden,” but “a catastrophe for an entire class of experts, journalists, and pundits, who have, since 2020, insisted that Biden was sharp as a tack,” thunders The Free Press’ Bari Weiss; rarely “are so many people exposed as liars and sycophants.”

“Jill Biden” and “all those savvy staffers” should’ve “ encouraged Biden to bow out gracefully.”

The debate “was heartbreaking. It debased Biden as a man. It was also alarming — the person we saw onstage is our commander in chief. He holds the nuclear football.”

If Democrats truly believe “democracy is on the line in a race against Trump, the solution is as straightforward as it was before the debate clock started last night on CNN: Replace Biden.”

Pollster: Trump’s Wise Decision

By the debate’s end, “President Biden’s appearance left a nation questioning his ability to govern for another term,” observes Mark Penn at Fox News.

“Just about every focus group and pundit agrees that the Biden campaign took on a lot of water.”

Yet this early faceoff “was supposed to be the game changer that lifted [Biden’s campaign] up.”

“On the issues, Trump generally played it smart” as “Biden threw every name and negative story he had in his bin against Trump.”

For most viewers, “it really didn’t matter what the candidates said, but rather how they said it.”

Trump decided “to accept the opportunity” to debate because “he was confident that he would show up stronger and more coherent than Biden. Ultimately, he was right.”

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board