On Thursday, June 27, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump faced off in the first debate of a tense presidential race. The ripple effects of Biden’s performance in the debate could impact New Mexicans and local political races.
Biden underperformed compared to Trump, voters say: 67% of those who watched the debate said they believed Trump performed better, according to a CNN poll. This is an uptick compared to the 2020 debates, when 39% of voters believed Trump won.
Biden seemed unfocused and unenergetic through much of the debate, offering a “shaky performance,” according to the Washington Post.
When not speaking, Biden tended to look down at the podium rather than at the camera. He had several misspeaks. At one point, he appeared to lose his train of thought, mentioning COVID-19 during an unrelated issue.
Biden had a few stronger moments — like describing Trump’s morals as those of an alley cat and mentioning the former president’s recent felony conviction. Some Democratic strategists felt Biden came into the debate with relatively strong points, promises and facts, according to the Washington Post, but failed to deliver them convincingly.
The day after the debate, the New York Times editorial board urged Biden to leave the race and allow another Democrat to become the nominee. On Tuesday, July 2, Texas Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett became the first Democratic member of Congress to call for Biden to step down, according to CNN.
In New Mexico, Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich and Democratic Reps. Gabe Vasquez, Teresa Leger Fernández and Melanie Stansbury will be up for reelection in November, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
During the debate, Stansbury took to X, formerly Twitter, to share support for Biden. She responded to Trump’s statements about jobs and water quality during his time as president.
“I stand with our president. Joe Biden is a fighter — when he gets knocked down, he gets back up,” Stansbury wrote in a statement to the Daily Lobo. “Donald Trump is unfit to serve. I’m riding with Joe this November.”
Vasquez opted not to talk about Biden’s debate performance. When asked about it and Biden’s fitness for office, Vasquez said he intended to stay focused on the second district of New Mexico – the reason he said he was in Congress in the first place – according to a Fox News clip.
In response, Vasquez’s 2024 opponent Republican Yvette Herrell posted to X, “Biden clearly doesn’t have the mental acuity to serve, and Gabe is putting political allegiances over the good of #NM02.”
Republicans may use Biden’s poor debate performance to criticize New Mexico Democrats seeking reelection, James Hernandez – secretary of the University of New Mexico College Democrats – said.
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Republican campaign attack-advertisements, some of which target Biden and fellow Democrats over his debate performance, will likely not sway voters, according to Hernandez.
“Every single president who's at the top of the ticket, whether they're performing great or poorly, is going to have an influence on down-ballot races. However, I trust our state party to be able to push for these progressive policies at the local and the state level,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez said he predicts New Mexicans will vote for a candidate who matches their preferred policy preferences rather than focusing on how a candidate performed at a debate.
“Once the election does come around, people (will) realize who is going to be the best candidate and the best party when it comes to these issues. I think (many) are not going to look to Donald Trump; they'll instead look to Joe Biden and the platform of the Democratic Party,” he said.
Multiple modern presidents lost their first debate, Hernandez said.
In 2012, then-President Barack Obama faced his opponent Mitt Romney in a debate that both Democrats and Republicans considered a victory for Romney, according to Time Magazine. Obama later won the election with the popular vote and a 126-electoral-vote lead, according to 270 To Win.
“Would we love a younger candidate with a fresher face? Of course we would, but we're going to stand by our Democratic nominee come November,” Hernandez said.
Nate Bernard is a beat reporter with the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @natebernard14
Addison Fulton is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com
