Above all, Joe Biden’s allies wanted him to demonstrate strength and energy on the debate stage to help put to rest questions about the 81-year-old Democrat’s physical and mental acuity.

But on the biggest stage in U.S. politics on Thursday night, Biden did not meet their modest expectations.

<div class="more-topic__title widget-title h2">Recommended from Editorial</div><ol class="more-topic__items list-unstyled" data-carousel-slide-list="" tabindex="0"><li data-evt-val="{&quot;control_fields&quot;: {&quot;mparticle&quot;: {&quot;keys&quot;: {&quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;click_source_type&quot;, &quot;data_source&quot;: &quot;data_source&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;anchor_text&quot;, &quot;widget_title&quot;: &quot;widget_title&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;target_url&quot;, &quot;target_article_title&quot;: &quot;target_article_title&quot;, &quot;target_article_id&quot;: &quot;target_article_id&quot;, &quot;target_article_position&quot;: &quot;target_article_position&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;layout_section&quot;}, &quot;mp_event_type&quot;: &quot;Navigation&quot;, &quot;extra_keys&quot;: [&quot;click_vertical_position_percentage&quot;, &quot;click_vertical_position_pixels&quot;]}}, &quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;widget-list&quot;, &quot;data_source&quot;: &quot;editorial&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;Joe Biden's long unblinking stare is fit for retirement&quot;, &quot;widget_title&quot;: &quot;recommended-from-editorial&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;https://nationalpost.com/opinion/jamie-sarkonak-joe-bidens-long-unblinking-stare-is-fit-for-retirement&quot;, &quot;target_article_title&quot;: &quot;Joe Biden's long unblinking stare is fit for retirement&quot;, &quot;target_article_id&quot;: &quot;0d35f109-bb90-476a-9c88-a357f2c03cc9&quot;, &quot;target_article_position&quot;: &quot;0&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;recommended-from-editorial&quot;}" class="more-topic__item" data-carousel-item="" data-evt="click" data-evt-typ="click"><a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/jamie-sarkonak-joe-bidens-long-unblinking-stare-is-fit-for-retirement"> <picture class="more-topic__item-image"><img alt="U.S. President Joe Biden looks on as he participates in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections with former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at CNN's studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024." data-src="https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/nationalpost/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2158931023.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=QX8SAal6RFBcSDBXM_1a4w" src="https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/nationalpost/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2158931023.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=5&amp;sig=29UjVpUV_y281MPX-B-gVQ" srcset="https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/nationalpost/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2158931023.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=QX8SAal6RFBcSDBXM_1a4w, https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/nationalpost/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2158931023.jpg?h=192&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=rrKxsScIenS8PLp8o0kJoQ 2x, https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/nationalpost/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2158931023.jpg?h=288&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=cWaGZ51xO8toLnP_S26X7g 3x" class="lazyload" height="auto" loading="lazy" width="100%"></picture> <div class="more-topic__item-text h3"><span class="more-topic__item-text-clamp">Joe Biden's long unblinking stare is fit for retirement</span></div> </a></li><li data-evt-val="{&quot;control_fields&quot;: {&quot;mparticle&quot;: {&quot;keys&quot;: {&quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;click_source_type&quot;, &quot;data_source&quot;: &quot;data_source&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;anchor_text&quot;, &quot;widget_title&quot;: &quot;widget_title&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;target_url&quot;, &quot;target_article_title&quot;: &quot;target_article_title&quot;, &quot;target_article_id&quot;: &quot;target_article_id&quot;, &quot;target_article_position&quot;: &quot;target_article_position&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;layout_section&quot;}, &quot;mp_event_type&quot;: &quot;Navigation&quot;, &quot;extra_keys&quot;: [&quot;click_vertical_position_percentage&quot;, &quot;click_vertical_position_pixels&quot;]}}, &quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;widget-list&quot;, &quot;data_source&quot;: &quot;editorial&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;U.S. presidential debate: Biden looks frail and halting against Trump bluster&quot;, &quot;widget_title&quot;: &quot;recommended-from-editorial&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;https://nationalpost.com/news/world/joe-biden-donald-trump-debate-2024&quot;, &quot;target_article_title&quot;: &quot;U.S. presidential debate: Biden looks frail and halting against Trump bluster&quot;, &quot;target_article_id&quot;: &quot;086441ba-5447-4eee-947a-37d6eaeeaf80&quot;, &quot;target_article_position&quot;: &quot;1&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;recommended-from-editorial&quot;}" class="more-topic__item" data-carousel-item="" data-evt="click" data-evt-typ="click"><a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/world/joe-biden-donald-trump-debate-2024"> <picture class="more-topic__item-image"><img alt="U.S. President Joe Biden, right, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participate in the CNN Presidential Debate in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024." data-src="https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/nationalpost/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Trump-Biden-1.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=adU0W1mDQ-vo9Gv4L5ftnw" src="https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/nationalpost/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Trump-Biden-1.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=5&amp;sig=sKZTFiuUk3MHr0a1Kr8-DA" srcset="https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/nationalpost/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Trump-Biden-1.jpg?h=96&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=adU0W1mDQ-vo9Gv4L5ftnw, https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/nationalpost/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Trump-Biden-1.jpg?h=192&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=pFyeDCyAwNDh3LIeew2NUw 2x, https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/nationalpost/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Trump-Biden-1.jpg?h=288&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80&amp;sig=gQgB3nLXfvjEphr9U9QNIQ 3x" class="lazyload" height="auto" loading="lazy" width="100%"></picture> <div class="more-topic__item-text h3"><span class="more-topic__item-text-clamp">U.S. presidential debate: Biden looks frail and halting against Trump bluster</span></div> </a></li></ol>

On the biggest stage in U.S. politics on Thursday night, U.S. president Joe Biden did not meet their modest expectations.{ai:summary}<p>Biden's allies hoped for a strong display in the debate to dispel doubts about his age, but he fell short of expectations. #politics</p>

Biden's debate performance spurs Democratic panic about his ability to lead party against Trump

Loading...