In the first five minutes of the debate, Joe Biden shuffled out, and began a slow motion meltdown on stage.

Biden sounds every day of his 81 years. His voice was low and raspy, and it sounds like he’s either recovering from a cold, or he’s been rehearsing so much that he lost his voice in the process.

We are now seeing the full effect of what happens when Joe Biden has no teleprompter and possibly no meds. He can’t think on his feet. We were expecting to see State of the Union Biden. If you’ve forgotten, this is what he sounded like just a few months ago.

And this is what happened tonight. Joe Biden started off with his elderly sounding voice, and tried to talk quickly. But that didn’t work for him. The side by side comparison between the two men is just stark.

Biden literally sounds horrible. pic.twitter.com/UQmR1CFxIY

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 28, 2024

And then Donald Trump delivered a right hook that could be a knockout punch in this election.

Trump with the line of the night: "I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don't think he knows what he said either." #CNNDebate #Debates2024 pic.twitter.com/HXvQVh5Ib4

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) June 28, 2024

Game, set, match. Donald Trump may have just sealed the deal.

"I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence and I don't think he did, either" is probably the moment.

— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) June 28, 2024

Although that’s not stopping the snark.

That was just a stutter, as the media instructed everyone. Not nice to mock that. https://t.co/HVi0TwtsmU

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 28, 2024

This looks like a full-scale disaster for the Biden campaign. Remember, Joe Biden has been off the public stage for nearly a week to prepare for this debate, and THIS was the best they could do.

The real question is now, who is Trump going to choose as a running mate? If he chooses wisely, and picks someone who can flatten Kamala Harris in a debate, then this election will be done.

This debate may just be the last nail in the coffin for Joe Biden’s career. It’s sad that no one cares enough to stop Jill Biden from propping up old Grandpa Joe. At this point, I would be stunned if the second debate actually happens. You only get one chance to make a first impression, and while voters are quite clearly aware of who each man is, this was Biden’s chance to show that he is healthy and alert and vigorous enough to survive another four years in office. He blew it, and I’m not sure there’s anything that the Democrats can do to recover, short of replacing Biden on the ticket.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click