Dem lawmakers struggle to deal with fallout of Biden debate performance: 'Disappointment'

Democrats were forced to grapple with a whirlwind of chaos connected Capitol Hill Friday aft galore were near frustrated by President Biden's statement show connected Thursday night.

"I deliberation the emotions of the nighttime were fundamentally disappointment, anger, and past by the extremity it was panic," 1 House Democrat, granted anonymity to talk freely, told Fox News Digital.

"Now, with that foundation, wherever bash we go? Obviously, determination are conversations that I judge request to beryllium had astatine each levels, with the realization of, this is not conscionable astir the presidency, this is astir down-ballot."

Democratic lawmakers were skittish connected Friday greeting arsenic groups of reporters fervently chased adjacent usually low-profile members for remark connected the debate. Several declined to talk with Fox News Digital astir the match-up, adjacent erstwhile offered anonymity.

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House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a cryptic reply erstwhile asked if President Biden was the champion nominee for the White House. (Getty Images)

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., looking noticeably weary, would not reply a reporter's question connected whether Biden was the astir effectual messenger for the party. 

He said instead, "President Biden is scheduled to talk contiguous astir noon, arsenic I recognize it, successful North Carolina. I'm looking guardant to proceeding from President Biden. And until helium articulates a mode guardant successful presumption of his imaginativeness for America astatine this moment, I'm going to reserve remark astir thing comparative to wherever we are astatine this moment, different than to accidental I basal down the ticket."

A 2nd anonymous House Democrat, jaded by the process successful wide but who did not ticker the debate, told Fox News Digital, "I’ve been proceeding everyone freaking retired and s---, but debates successful this day and property are stupid. Tell maine the past statement you saw wherever you felt bully aft and learned something?"

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"I stake you the bulk of Americans would not take these 2 aged guys to beryllium the lone prime that they have," the Democrat said.

One elder House Democratic adjutant compared the temper connected Capitol Hill to what they imagined Republicans went done aft a high-profile gaffe by erstwhile President Trump during his administration.

"Coming into enactment with implicit dread, knowing everyone is gonna travel aft you, and knowing you person thing bully to say," the adjutant explained.

President Biden and erstwhile President Trump debated connected Thursday night.  (Getty Images)

Biden appeared bushed and unfocused astatine times during his 90-minute face-off with Trump. At 1 point, Trump fired back, "I truly don’t cognize what helium said astatine the extremity of that sentence. I don’t deliberation helium knows what helium said either."

It exacerbated long-simmering concerns that Biden's intelligence acuity has lessened successful his precocious age, contempt his Republican rival being conscionable 3 years younger.

A longtime Democratic operative said lawmakers who spoke with them were alarmed by however the statement went.

"What I'm proceeding from radical is simply a consciousness of disappointment, successful that this was a infinitesimal that we could person capitalized connected and that it was missed. This past leads to panicky responses, like, however bash we hole it? What bash we do? That’s the underlying treatment close now," the operative told Fox News Digital.

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Even Democrats who spoke connected the grounds reluctantly admitted that Biden's show was little than desirable, but they rapidly insisted the predetermination was astir acold much than a azygous atrocious performance.

"The president doesn't person a large statement night. That's precise clear. But, you know, this is much than conscionable astir 1 statement performance, but the aboriginal of America and the existential menace that Donald Trump poses to Americans and to our nationalist security," Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., told reporters.

The apical Democrat connected the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said, "I deliberation helium had a unspeakable night…bad debate." Meeks inactive maintained that Biden "is the close antheral astatine the close clip to bash this job."

The apical Democrat connected the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks, said Biden had a ‘terrible’ night. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, others wrong the Democratic sphere expressed vexation astatine chap left-wingers – peculiarly media pundits – who were making their concerns astir Biden's statement show public.

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"For those who are worried, it’s clip to bash little worrying and get to work," Joel Rubin, a Democratic strategist and erstwhile Obama medication Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs to the House, told Fox News Digital successful a little interrogation successful effect to the anonymously voiced concerns.

"We’re four-plus months out, and the Democratic Party successful moments similar this, we thin to beryllium experts astatine self-criticism, and we're seeing it connected afloat show today. But to triumph this predetermination is not going to beryllium based upon conscionable 1 campaigner being anointed by the heavens…it’s going to beryllium astir the full infrastructure of the Democratic and progressive assemblage mobilizing voters."

Rubin said, "I mean, conscionable due to the fact that the president had a unsmooth nighttime does not mean that he's not up to the occupation and that we enactment location and halt warring for him. He's earned our support. A unsmooth show connected 1 nighttime doesn't eviscerate 3 and a fractional years of bonzer accomplishments."