Biden frozen on stage during debate draws criticism on social media

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, frozen on stage as he discussed health care and the economy, quickly caught the attention of X, formerly Twitter.

The freeze came as Biden criticized the former President Donald Trump for having high debt levels under his administration and mentioned raising taxes on billionaires. He concluded his answer after a brief pause with “if we finally beat Medicare.”

Mike Murphy, a Republican strategist and NBC News analyst, wrote: “Sorry, I’m voting for President Biden, but it’s been a disaster so far.” Stephen Hayes, editor and CEO of The Dispatch, tweeted: “Let the Democrat panic begin.”

Johanna Maska, Obama's former communications chief, wrote: “What the hell is he talking about? The Democrats don't work. Another Twitter user, @AidanThompsonKS, wrote: “Biden is freezing for 10 minutes.” It's embarassing. »

Some have even called for Biden to be replaced. American journalist Nicholas Kristof wrote on X that he would like “Biden to reflect on his debate performance and then announce his decision to withdraw from the race, leaving the choice of the Democratic nominee to the convention. Someone like @gretchenwhitmer or @SherrodBrown or @SecRaimondo could still step in and beat Trump.”

Alyssa Farah Griffin, former White House strategic communications director during the Trump administration, said: “The consensus, based on countless viewers of all political persuasions, is that Biden needs to be replaced. It’s worse than most people imagined.”

Civil rights activist DeRay McKesson said, “There is too much at stake to let the Democratic Party continue to pursue the 'strategy' that got us into this position tonight in this 'debate.' »

This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Biden frozen on stage during debate draws fire on X