Debate-watchers in the Biden and Trump camps seem to agree on something. Biden had a bad night

WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) — “Oh, Joe."

That gasp, from patrons astatine a Chicago barroom erstwhile President Joe Biden archetypal stumbled verbally successful his statement with Donald Trump, spoke for a batch of Americans connected Thursday night.

In ticker parties, bars, a bowling alley and different venues wherever radical crossed the state gathered to tune in, Trump supporters, happily, and Biden supporters, successful their angst if not dread, seemed to mostly hold they had witnessed a lopsided showdown.

By the extremity of the 90-plus minutes, immoderate Democrats were saying what partisans accidental to enactment the champion look connected things: It's inactive early. One statement doesn't needfully sway the nation. Judge him by what he's done and wants to do, not by however helium says things.

But galore were fto down.

Biden “just didn’t person the spark that we needed tonight,” Rosemarie DeAngelus, a Democrat from South Portland, Maine, said from her ticker enactment astatine Broadway Bowl. Trump, she said, showed “more spunk oregon much vigor” adjacent if, successful her view, helium was telling a battalion of lies.

Fellow Biden protagonist and bowling alley attendee Lynn Miller, from adjacent Old Orchard Beach, said: "It’s similar idiosyncratic gave Trump an Adderall and I don’t deliberation they gave Joe one." (The cause is utilized for attraction shortage hyperactivity disorder.)

“I’ve ne'er seen Trump look truthful coherent,” Miller said. “And I hatred to accidental this, but Joe seemed a small spot off. But I inactive enactment him implicit Trump due to the fact that Trump lied astir each azygous happening that happened.”

Trump supporters surely agreed that the quality successful vigor and coherence betwixt the candidates was striking. Wearing her reddish MAGA chapeau astatine a festive pro-Trump enactment successful the Detroit suburb of Novi, Bonnie Call said of Biden: “He conscionable cannot deliberation connected his feet astatine all. President Trump is conscionable on."

In McAllen, Texas, adjacent the Mexico border, London’s Bar & Grill is usually large connected a time adjacent to the weekend, but galore patrons were quiescent arsenic they absorbed the statement from TV screens. Here, Biden supporters, Trump supporters and undecided voters mingled.

Among them, Vance Gonzales, 40, a mean Democrat, said the statement convinced him that “we request different Democratic candidate, to beryllium honest, due to the fact that this is not competitive.” He said of Biden: “He’s not connected constituent with anything. I deliberation it’s disappointing.”

Marco Perez, 53, voted for Biden successful the past predetermination and voiced vexation with what helium was proceeding and seeing. “I privation to perceive much facts, much enactment arsenic opposed to much finger-pointing, much accusations oregon mendacious accusations,” helium said.

His person Virginia Lopez, sitting with him, came distant inactive not knowing whom she volition enactment successful November. She heard snappy but unsatisfying answers from the Republican. “Trump is conscionable deflecting successful each the answers and he’s conscionable lying," she said. "It doesn’t consciousness similar a existent debate."

Biden? "I conscionable consciousness similar he’s excessively old," she said.

Sitting up astatine the bar, Hector Mercado, 72, a seasoned wearing a U.S. subject beret, was a distinctive patron arsenic helium listened intently to the debate. Although helium was a Democrat for respective years, helium switched parties nether Ronald Reagan, a Republican.

Mercado heard Biden impeach Trump of making derogatory comments astir veterans, but it didn’t sway his enactment for Trump. “Yeah, helium said a fewer things atrocious astir veterans astatine 1 constituent backmost successful the aboriginal days," helium said of Trump. “But present he’s saying, ‘No, I backmost up the veterans and I ne'er had immoderate problems with him. I got a rise successful my VA disablement erstwhile Trump was president.”

Biden's show near him cold. "I deliberation Trump is stronger,” helium said, “and Biden is simply a small weak.”

In a Tijuana migrant structure implicit the borderline successful Mexico, radical chiefly from confederate Mexico who are hoping to use for asylum successful the U.S. watched the statement successful folding chairs successful beforehand of a surface connected the wall.

The migrants, astir of whom person been waiting for months for their appointments successful that process, stared blankly astatine the surface arsenic a Spanish-translated mentation of the statement played on. They watched an American antiauthoritarian ritual successful motion.

Andrea, who did not springiness her past sanction owed to threats of unit backmost home, has lived astatine the structure for 9 months. Her statement takeaway: “Well, I consciousness that the radical of the United States don’t emotion Mexicans now."

At Hula Hula, a tiki barroom successful Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, patrons cheered wildly arsenic their metropolis got a notation from Trump — adjacent if it came up erstwhile the Republican was complaining astir lawlessness. Biden protagonist Amy Pottinger of Seattle said the Democratic president did champion erstwhile Trump made him angry.

“Once helium started talking astir Roe v. Wade, it was similar Biden woke up and was here,” she said.

At the aforesaid Chicago barroom wherever patrons exclaimed astir Biden's stumbles — the M Lounge successful the South Loop — the president scored with this zinger to Trump: “You person the morals of an alley cat.”

“Whoa!” the viewers determination said.

But astatine a Democratic ticker enactment successful downtown Atlanta, it was a nighttime of jitters.

“I’m truthful nervous, I consciousness similar my kid is going onstage,” Georgia authorities Sen. Nikki Merritt said aboriginal on, patting her tummy arsenic if she had butterflies.

Technicians struggled with dependable and video. During 1 outage, the assemblage chanted “Let’s Go Joe!”

“I privation to perceive Joe Biden talking to the voters and ignoring the brainsick antheral successful the room,” said Matthew Wilson, the Georgia Democratic Party’s vice chairman.

But determination was nary ignoring the antheral they called crazy.

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Associated Press journalists Charlie Arbogast successful Chicago; Valerie Gonzalez successful McAllen, Texas; Gregory Bull successful Tijuana, Mexico; Mike Householder successful Detroit; Robert Bukaty successful South Portland, Maine; Mike Pesoli successful Washington, D.C.; and Lindsey Wasson successful Seattle contributed to this report.