Read the room, Democrats. President Joe Biden has already lost the race | Opinion

Ugh.

It’s mourning in America — among Democrats, anyway.

President Joe Biden’s performance on Thursday night was far more painful than his supporters — maybe anyone — could have imagined.

Opinion

Some are calling it the worst debate performance of modern times.

Equally disturbing, to the point of being surreal, are the nothing-to-see-here, post-debate assessments by Biden and other top Democrats.

“He got into a groove where it counted. Our president showed that he will win the election,” Vice President Kamala Harris said.

“I thought on the substance he won the debate,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom told MSNBC. “I was very, very proud that he was able to articulate the work that he’s done, and lay a foundation of understanding of the lies and the deceit that continue to come out of Donald Trump.”

And this from the president himself:

“I think we did well,” he said during a stop at a Waffle House.

He blamed his raspy voice on a sore throat, and brushed off suggestions that he drop out of the race.

Sadly, a sore throat does not explain away Biden’s incoherent responses. Neither does a stutter.

Lest we forget, here is just one of those babbling, disjointed statements, this one made in response to a question about abortion rights.

“Look, there’s so many young women who have been — including a young woman who just was murdered and he — he went to the funeral. The idea that she was murdered by a – by – by an immigrant coming in, and they talk about that. But here’s the deal, there’s a lot of young women who are being raped by their – by their in-laws, by their – by their spouses, brothers and sisters, by – just – it’s just – it’s just ridiculous. And they can do nothing about it.”

This, after days of prepping for the debate at Camp David.

Trump, on the other hand, did not disappoint. He was his usual brash, lying, awful, egomaniacal self.

He even promised to end the war in Ukraine before he takes office.

“I will have that war settled between Putin and Zelenskyy as president-elect before I take office on January 20th. I’ll have that war settled,” he vowed. “People being killed so needlessly, so stupidly, and I will get it settled and I’ll get it settled fast before I take office.”

Donald Trump — a convicted felon, mind you — is not fit to be president.

But sadly, neither is Joe Biden, and it’s time for Democrats to read the room and acknowledge that.

Stop making excuses for him, or exhorting voters to “go home with the one who brought you to the dance,” as Gov. Newsom put it.

Pointing out that Biden surrounds himself with smart, capable people won’t work either.

People are electing a president — not his advisers — and they want a strong leader. They do not see one in Joe Biden.

And no, this is not based on his performance on a single night. There have been questions about the president’s fitness for many months.

Why else would Democrats have been so worried going into the debate?

Even those who admire him are reluctantly calling for him to drop out of the race.

“The best president of my adult life needs to withdraw,” is the headline on a New York Times piece by Nobel prize winning columnist Paul Krugman.

“Maybe some Biden loyalists will consider this a betrayal, given how much I have supported his policies,” Krugman writes, “but I fear that we need to recognize reality.”

Here is the reality we face: Biden was already behind in the polls. Following his debate performance, he will surely sink even lower.

Unless something radical happens to change the trajectory of this campaign, he will lose. The only question is, by how much?

I may be wrong. I hope I am. There are, after four months until the election, and one more debate to go.

But given what happened Thursday, many Americans have legitimate questions about whether this 81-year-old man has the physical and mental stamina to carry out the duties of the presidency for four more years.

In short, they have lost confidence in the president. Reminding them of Trump’s egregious record, both in and out of office, is not going to change that.

Would a replacement candidate have the ability to beat Donald Trump?

Maybe not.

But again, read the room.

A replacement candidate would at least give Democrats a fighting chance.