A Cornell University law professor has called on President Biden’s Cabinet to invoke the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to have him removed from office after his weak debate performance Thursday night, claiming his ‘cognitive decline’ is a ‘national security threat.’ 

‘This debate displayed Biden’s severely declined cognitive ability for all the world to see for an hour and a half,’ Professor William Jacobson wrote Friday for Legalinsurrection.com. 

‘The media cannot claim the live video feed from CNN was a manipulated ‘cheap fake’ — the smear campaign used against those of us who have been pointing out the obvious for over a year, but particularly recently with Biden visibly freezing and zoning out in public appearances.’

He said while Democrats are focused on whether a ‘mentally diminished Biden’ can beat former President Trump in the election, ‘no honest person who watched last night’s debate can think that Biden mentally is up to the job of being President.’ 

He called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked to have Biden removed from office.

‘If I’m China, I’m taking off the shelf the war plans to invade Taiwan,’Jacobson said. ‘If I’m Iran, I’m breaking out towards a nuclear weapon. If I’m Putin, I’m doubling down on Ukraine and possibly other former Soviet satellites. Can you imagine an emergency situation where immediate military decisions that only a president can make need to be made in seconds or minutes, and the military having to go to diminished Joe for a decision?’

He added Biden’s ‘cognitive decline is a national security threat of the highest order.’

House Speaker Mike Johnson said something similar Friday. 

‘There’s a lot of people asking about the 25th Amendment, invoking the 25th Amendment right now, because this is an alarming situation,’ Johnson said. ‘Our adversaries see the weakness in this White House as we all do. I take no pleasure in saying that. I think this is a very dangerous situation.’

Under Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, the vice president could assume the presidency if the president is declared unfit for office by the vice president and a majority of the president’s Cabinet or Congress. 

The 25th Amendment was briefly floated near the end of Trump’s presidency following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, which Jacobson called ‘in bad faith.’

‘Only Democrats can act, and they should before it’s too late,’ he added. 

Biden’s debate performance Thursday evening has worried Democrats, and some have even called for him to drop out of the race. 

Presidential debates changed television.

‘You want to put a lot of new Supreme Court justices – radical left!’ hollered former President Trump at President Biden during the 2020 debate.

‘Will you shut up man?’ implored Mr. Biden.

And television changed politics.

‘It’s easy to say, ‘Oh, you’ve got to look good on television. Therefore, if you don’t, you’re doomed.’ It’s not quite that easy,’ said Walter Podrazik, television curator at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. ‘You have to learn how to speak directly through the medium that most people understand. They know television as well as any politician does because they watch it all the time.’

That was the problem facing President Biden in Thursday night’s debate with former President Trump.

Mr. Trump fared better because he appeared engaged. Vigorous. President Biden looked pasty and out of it.

It doesn’t matter what Mr. Biden represents or what his policies are.

When it comes to the debate, you must excel at television.

Debates imprinted the importance of live performance onto the debate genre.

That mixed reality TV with politics – long before reality TV was a thing.

‘I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience,’ quipped a 73-year-old President Ronald Reagan during a 1984 debate with former Vice President Walter Mondale, then a youthful 56.

‘They brought us whole binders full of women,’ said 2012 Republican nominee and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) at one of that year’s debates with former President Obama.

2016 Democratic nominee and former Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., was in the middle of saying something about the Social Security Trust Fund in a debate with Mr. Trump when he fired off this volley.

‘Such a nasty woman,’ sneered the former President.

Debates also amplify on-screen gaffes.

‘There is no Soviet domination in Eastern Europe,’ said President Gerald Ford in a debate with future President Jimmy Carter in 1976.

The remark shocked the press corps.

And Cold War Eastern Europe.

However, debates sometimes deliver unexpected humor.

‘I’m all ears!’ bragged 1992 independent Presidential candidate Ross Perot at a debate with future President Bill Clinton and former President George H.W. Bush.

Perot drew attention to his own features – which stuck out like two taxicab doors, attached to a crew cut.

Sometimes what’s said isn’t even what most people remember. People easily recall the visual of former President Trump, lurking and then creeping onto the screen behind Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Sometimes viewers recall what a candidate does during the debate.

Former Vice President and 2000 Democratic Presidential nominee Al Gore is remembered for his theatrical sighs of exasperation at various orations from future President George W. Bush.

And then there was Bush 41 in 1992 with Bill Clinton and Perot. All three candidates briefly rested against stools as ABC News Anchor and debate moderator Carole Simpson addressed the audience.

The elder Bush slipped a glance at his wristwatch.

Viewers interpreted that presidential peek as a subliminal cue that Mr. Bush’s time in office was up after one term.

The debate between President Biden and former President Trump marked a sea change in the way American voters experience the forum. Both campaigns worked directly with CNN to develop the debate. It’s the first major alteration to debates since 1988. The campaigns cut the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) out of the action this time.

Otherwise, each of the 33 Presidential or Vice-Presidential debates since 1988 has been under the aegis of the Commission. The CPD created the town hall format where average citizens could pose questions directly to the candidates.

That’s how Illinois power plant worker Ken Bone and his red sweater rose to prominence for a hot second after the 2016 town hall debate.

The CPD also hosted the debates at universities. Such was the case with the first debate on September 25, 1988, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., between then Vice President Bush and then Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis (D).

How they conduct the debates is almost as important as the debates themselves.

‘We want free and fair debates. This commission has shown bias,’ argued former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel on Fox Business in early 2022.

The RNC urged GOP Presidential candidates to refuse to participate in any debate not sanctioned by the GOP.

But the Biden campaign also rejected the Commission on Presidential Debates. It pushed for a June debate and another one in September. The Biden camp also demanded certain rules – including an option for moderators to mute the microphone of a candidate.

In short, both President Biden and former President Trump took their feud outside.

As in outside the Commission on Presidential debates.

Mr. Trump offered a dare to the President.

‘I’m calling on crooked Joe to debate any time, any place,’ said former President Trump.

President Biden called the bluff of his rival. Even chiding Mr. Trump about what day court was out of session in the defamation trial in New York.

‘Make my day, pal. I’ll even do it twice,’ said President Biden in a message posted to X. ‘I hear you’re free on Wednesdays.’

And so the gamesmanship squeezed out the Commission on Presidential Debates.

‘What they wanted to do was what they thought was in the best interests of their candidate,’ said Frank Fahrenkopf, who led the CPD since its inception in 1987. ‘You’ve got two candidates who are unique.’

Fahrenkopf is upset the debates aren’t staged at universities.

‘You’ve lost that being on campus. Kids being involved. A Focus on civics,’ said Fahrenkopf.

Fahrenkopf also lamented the loss of the town hall meeting.

‘The most popular format,’ observed Fahrenkopf. ‘That’s gone.’

What would Ken Bone say?

The first modern Presidential debate unfolded in 1960. The first debate between future President John F. Kennedy and future President Richard Nixon forever fused the presidency and television. It established a paradigm for American politics – and television.

‘This is one of the few times in which neither party, neither candidate, controls the environment. And so, if you’re (a voter) trying to decide or if you’re looking for confirmation, then this is when you’ll see it,’ said Podrazik of the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

There were no more debates until 1976. The League of Women Voters ran the debates until the Commission on Presidential Debates stepped in for the 1988 cycle.

‘What politics did is provided a baseline reality that television can and could embrace,’ said Podrazik.

The debate between President Biden and former President Trump was the first without a studio audience since the initial forum in 1960. It was unclear whether future President John F. Kennedy or future President Richard Nixon won that contest.

Nixon sweated. He sported a five-o-clock shadow. Nixon’s knee smarted after he banged it getting out of the limousine arriving at the debate.

Meantime, Kennedy appeared cool and confident.

It’s said that those listening to the radio believed Nixon won. But people watching TV thought Kennedy prevailed.

But that’s debate folklore – even though publishers have printed that chestnut in every American political science textbook for decades.

I challenge you to locate the study or survey which proves the alleged Nixon/Radio versus Kennedy/TV thesis.

But, that old saw goes to show the importance of grasping the complexities of television – compared to raw debate, say on the radio.

And that’s something else the merging of television and politics provides.

‘It’s all in pursuit of the audience,’ said Podrazik.

And that’s a universal interest between media and politicians.

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is set to introduce a resolution calling on President Biden to declare the month of July as ‘American Patriotism Month.’

The resolution, which recognizes the U.S. as the ‘greatest country on Earth’ and aims to affirm support from the House of Representatives for the special designation for the month of July, is expected to be introduced by Texas GOP Rep. Roger Williams on Friday.

Pointing to several events and dates that are of significance to U.S. history – including July 4, 1776, when the U.S. declared its independence from British rule – the resolution expresses the importance of ‘patriotism’ and how it has united Americans in the past.

The resolution, which was reviewed by Fox News Digital, states that ‘patriotism has bonded citizens of the United States of America since the foundation of our country,’ adding that the ‘people of the United States hold a deep love for this country and have showed this through patriotic acts throughout history.’

‘The divide in our country is clearer than ever, and there is no better time to rally behind American pride,’ Williams told Fox News Digital. ‘Throughout history, we have created holidays for many groups, but fail to adequately celebrate the patriots who made our freedoms possible.’

He added: ‘Any man or woman, regardless of their background, can be a patriot, and American Patriotism Month is an opportunity to remind us of the values that make our nation great. There is no reason for Biden to deny an opportunity to embrace American pride.’

Co-sponsors include: Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola of Alaska, Republican Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida, Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Republican Rep. Barry Moore of Alabama, Republican Rep. Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, Republican Rep. Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, and Republican Rep. Nathaniel Moran of Texas.

Also mentioned in the resolution are the events of June 6, 1944, when ‘over 73,000 Americans stormed the beaches of Normandy to protect democracy and liberty,’ and remarks from past presidents who pushed for unity throughout the United States.

The text specifically highlights remarks from the inaugural addresses of former Presidents John F. Kennedy, who insisted that Americans should ‘ask what you can do for your country,’ and Ronald Reagan, who said that ‘no arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.’

Touting the ‘leadership of United States Presidents and the American people,’ the resolution notes that ‘America was triumphant in the cold war against the Soviet Union and emerged as the beacon of hope for the free world.’

Also recognized in Williams’ resolution, which has received support from the Eagle Forum, is the resounding unity in the U.S. following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York City. At that time, the resolution notes, ‘American patriots rushed to help one another, defend our country, and defend the values that as Americans we so deeply believe in.’

The resolution also praises those aboard United Airlines flight 93 on September 11, who ‘fought against the hijackers and saved thousands of American lives,’ as well as the ‘181,510 Americans [who] joined the ranks of Active Duty service and 72,908 [who] enlisted in the reserves’ in the year after the attacks.

‘It is because of patriotic men, women, and children throughout all of history that America is the greatest country on Earth,’ the resolution states. ‘Patriotism is a selfless act of love for one’s country and fellow citizens.’

Paying tribute to the more than ‘2,000,000 military personnel who are enlisted to defend the freedoms of all Americans in a selfless act of patriotism,’ the resolution also notes the significance of teaching ‘the younger generations about the importance of United States patriotism and loving one’s country.’

Williams’ resolution calls on Biden to ‘issue an annual proclamation designating ‘American Patriotism Month,” just one day after the president went toe-to-toe with his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, in a heated debate.

Democrats were forced to grapple with a whirlwind of chaos on Capitol Hill Friday after many were left frustrated by President Biden’s debate performance on Thursday night.

‘I think the emotions of the night were basically disappointment, anger, and then by the end it was panic,’ one House Democrat, granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital.

‘Now, with that foundation, where do we go? Obviously, there are conversations that I believe need to be had at all levels, with the realization of, this is not just about the presidency, this is about down-ballot.’

Democratic lawmakers were skittish on Friday morning as groups of reporters fervently chased even normally low-profile members for comment on the debate. Several declined to speak with Fox News Digital about the match-up, even when offered anonymity.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., looking noticeably weary, would not answer a reporter’s question on whether Biden was the most effective messenger for the party. 

He said instead, ‘President Biden is scheduled to speak today around noon, as I understand it, in North Carolina. I’m looking forward to hearing from President Biden. And until he articulates a way forward in terms of his vision for America at this moment, I’m going to reserve comment about anything relative to where we are at this moment, other than to say I stand behind the ticket.’

A second anonymous House Democrat, jaded by the process in general but who did not watch the debate, told Fox News Digital, ‘I’ve been hearing everyone freaking out and s—, but debates in this day and age are stupid. Tell me the last debate you saw where you felt good after and learned something?’

‘I bet you the majority of Americans would not choose these two old guys to be the only choice that they have,’ the Democrat said.

One senior House Democratic aide compared the mood on Capitol Hill to what they imagined Republicans went through after a high-profile gaffe by former President Trump during his administration.

‘Coming into work with absolute dread, knowing everyone is gonna come after you, and knowing you have nothing good to say,’ the aide explained.

Biden appeared tired and unfocused at times during his 90-minute face-off with Trump. At one point, Trump fired back, ‘I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.’

It exacerbated long-simmering concerns that Biden’s mental acuity has lessened in his advanced age, despite his Republican rival being just three years younger.

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

‘What I’m hearing from people is a sense of disappointment, in that this was a moment that we could have capitalized on and that it was missed. This then leads to panicky responses, like, how do we fix it? What do we do? That’s the underlying discussion right now,’ the operative told Fox News Digital.

Even Democrats who spoke on the record reluctantly admitted that Biden’s performance was less than desirable, but they quickly insisted the election was about far more than a single bad performance.

‘The president doesn’t have a great debate night. That’s very clear. But, you know, this is more than just about one debate performance, but the future of America and the existential threat that Donald Trump poses to Americans and to our national security,’ Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., told reporters.

The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said, ‘I think he had a terrible night…bad debate.’ Meeks still maintained that Biden ‘is the right man at the right time to do this job.’

Meanwhile, others within the Democratic sphere expressed frustration at fellow left-wingers – particularly media pundits – who were making their concerns about Biden’s debate performance public.

‘For those who are worried, it’s time to do less worrying and get to work,’ Joel Rubin, a Democratic strategist and former Obama administration Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs to the House, told Fox News Digital in a brief interview in response to the anonymously voiced concerns.

‘We’re four-plus months out, and the Democratic Party in moments like this, we tend to be experts at self-criticism, and we’re seeing it on full display today. But to win this election is not going to be based upon just one candidate being anointed by the heavens…it’s going to be about the whole infrastructure of the Democratic and progressive community mobilizing voters.’

Rubin said, ‘I mean, just because the president had a rough night does not mean that he’s not up to the job and that we stay home and stop fighting for him. He’s earned our support. A rough performance on one night doesn’t eviscerate three and a half years of extraordinary accomplishments.’

Independent and Republican voters in Fox News Digital’s focus group appeared to have mixed reactions to President Biden and former President Trump’s sparring over their respective cognitive abilities and golf handicaps, while Democrats generally disapproved.

During the CNN Presidential Debate on Thursday night, CNN moderator Dana Bash presented the ages Biden and Trump would be at the end of a potential second four-year term. 

Biden would be 86, while Trump would be 82. 

‘I took two cognitive tests, I aced them,’ Trump said. ‘He took none, I’d like to see him take one, just one.’ 

‘I just won two club championships, not even senior, two regular club championships. To do that, you have to be quite smart. And you have to be able to hit the ball a long way,’ the former president continued.

Biden defended his age, saying he ‘spent half my career being criticized about being the youngest person in politics. I was the second-youngest person ever elected to the United States Senate, and now I’m the oldest. This guy is three years younger and a lot less competent.’ 

‘Look, I’d be happy to have a driving contest with him,’ Biden said.

‘I’ve seen you swing. I know your swing,’ Trump fired back. ‘Let’s not act like children.’ 

Biden replied: ‘You are a child.’

According to Fox Digital’s focus group dial, Republicans and independents approved of Trump’s comments, while Democrats did not. 

Likewise, Democratic approval soared during Biden’s responses, while independent and Republican voters’ approval took a nosedive. 

Focus group participants reacted in real time to Biden and Trump, turning dials to indicate approval or disapproval. In the video embedded in this story, Republican participant sentiment is graphed in red, Democrats in blue and independents in yellow.

President Biden and former President Trump’s tense Thursday night match-up was the first debate since 1960 to not feature a live audience.

CNN CEO Mark Thompson told Axios earlier this week that he was aiming for ‘an absolutely classic debate,’ similar to the first-ever televised debate between former Presidents Kennedy and Nixon in 1960. 

It was one of several details that spurred comparisons online between the CNN Presidential Debate and the historically significant first debate between Kennedy and Nixon.

Political commentator S.E. Cupp wrote on X, ‘Maybe the most consequential debate since Nixon/Kennedy?’

Nixon, who had just spent the better part of a decade as vice president in the Eisenhower administration, had led then-young Sen. John F. Kennedy in most national polls ahead of the event, according to the National Constitution Center.

However, Kennedy’s team took a more media-savvy approach, accepting an invitation for a media walkthrough before the event and opting for wearing makeup for the cameras, according to reports.

Nixon, feeling the toll of both the intense campaign trail and a recent hospital stay, appeared tired and unhealthy. 

It was widely reported that people who watched the debate on television thought Kennedy won, and people who listened to it on the radio thought Nixon won. Kennedy went on to win the election by a narrow margin.

RealClearPolitics elections analyst Nathaniel Rakich made the comparison to Thursday’s debate on X.

‘The modern version of the Nixon-Kennedy debate: People who only read the transcript will think Biden won, people who watch or listen will think Trump won,’ he wrote.

Others also compared Biden to Nixon after the 81-year-old president appeared tired and sometimes unfocused while sparring with his rival on screen.

Former Trump 2020 campaign aide Tim Murtaugh wrote on X, ‘It’s funny. They say that people who listened to Kennedy and Nixon debate on the radio thought Nixon won because he spoke well and made good arguments. But people who watched on TV thought Kennedy won because he looked better.’

‘Biden lost both groups tonight,’ he added.

Heated exchanges ensued between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden during the CNN Presidential Debate on Thursday night, as the two rivals went head-to-head during their second debate since 2020. 

Illegal immigration, abortion, and inflation were among the top issues on the debate stage, as well as climate change and the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars.

The debate comes as Biden and Trump are the frontrunners for the Democratic and Republican parties respectively. This is the first televised debate between the candidates for this election cycle and a second hosted by ABC is scheduled to be held in September. 

Trump did not participate in the Republican primary debates, while the Democratic National Convention (DNC) threw its full support behind Biden and did not hold any debates among his challengers.

Here are the top clashes from Thursday’s debate:

1. ‘I really don’t know what he said,’ Trump-Biden immigration clash

When CNN moderator Jake Tapper asked President Joe Biden to inform voters why he can curb the record-high numbers of illegal migrants crossing the border during Thursday night’s debate, Biden and Trump sparred over their immigration policies, which ended in Biden calling Trump a ‘liar’ and Trump appearing to not understand a portion of Biden’s responses.

After touting Congress’s bipartisan border package that lawmakers bucked earlier this year, Biden said ‘we find ourselves in a situation where when he was president, he was separating babies from their mothers put them in cages, making sure that the families were separated.’

‘That’s not the right way to go. What I’ve done since I’ve changed the law, what’s happened? I’ve changed it in a way that now you’re in a situation where there are 40% fewer people coming across the border illegally, that’s better than when he left office. And I’m going to continue to move until we get the total ban on the total initiative relative to what we can do with more Border Patrol and more asylum officers,’ Biden said.

But Trump, appearing to not understand Biden, responded: ‘I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence, I don’t think he knows what he said either.’

‘Look, we had the safest border in the history of our country,’ Trump continued. ‘All he had to do was leave it, all he had to do was to leave it. He decided to open up our border, open up our country, to people that are from prisons, people that are from mental institutions, insane asylum, terrorists – we have the largest number of terrorists coming into our country right now.’

2. ‘Alley cat morals,’ Trump-Biden clash over Stormy Daniels allegations

Biden accused former President Trump of ‘having sex with a porn star’ and said he has ‘the morals of an alley cat,’ but the presumptive Republican nominee maintained that he did not, and accused Biden of being behind his legal cases because ‘he can’t win fair and square.’ 

‘How many billions of dollars do you owe civil penalties for molesting a woman in public? For doing a whole range of things—having sex with a porn star…while your wife was pregnant?’ Biden said. ‘You have the morals of an alley cat during the night, sir.’ 

Trump fired back denying the allegations.

‘I didn’t have sex with a porn star, number one,’ he said. ‘Number two, that was a case that was started, and they moved a high-ranking official—DOJ—into the Manhattan DA’s office to start the case.’ 

Trump was referring to Matthew Colangelo, who served as a senior DOJ official in the Biden administration, and left to join Bragg’s prosecution team. 

3. ‘I will have that war settled between Putin and Zelenskyy as President-Elect before I take office,’ Trump-Biden spar over Ukraine-Russia war

Trump threw several jabs at Biden for giving billions of dollars to Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy to continue its defense against the Russian invasion that began in February 2022 and said if elected, he’d have the war ‘settled’ before taking office.

‘He’s given $200 billion, that’s a lot of money,’ Trump said. ‘I don’t think there’s ever been anything like it. Every time that Zelenskyy comes to this country. He walks away with $60 billion. He’s the greatest salesman ever.’

‘The money that we’re spending on this war, we shouldn’t be spending. It should have never happened. I will have that war settled between Putin and Zelenskyy as President-Elect before I take office on January 20. I’ll have that war settled. People being killed so needlessly, so stupidly and I will get it settled, and I’ll get it settle fast before I take office.’

In response, the current president said, ‘The fact is that Putin is a war criminal.’

‘He’s killed thousands and thousands of people and he has made one thing clear, he wants to reestablish what was part of the Soviet empire, not just a piece, he wants all of Ukraine,’ he said.

‘By the way, all that money we give Ukraine from weapons we make here in the United States, give them the weapons, not the money at this point, and I made our NATO allies produce as much funding for Ukraine as we have – that’s why it’s that’s why we’re strong,’ he said. 

4. Trump-Biden spar over cognitive abilities, golf handicaps: ‘You are a child’

During the CNN Presidential Debate, CNN moderator Dana Bash presented the age Biden and Trump would be at the end of a potential second term.

Biden would be 86. Trump would be 82. 

Biden defended his age, saying he ‘spent half my career being criticized about being the youngest person in politics. I was the second-youngest person ever elected to the United States Senate, and now I’m the oldest. This guy is three years younger and a lot less competent.’ 

But Trump reminded that he has taken two cognitive tests. 

‘I aced both of them, as you know, we made it public. He took none. I’d like to see him take one. Just want a real easy one,’ Trump said. 

Trump, an avid golfer, said Thursday night that he recently ‘won two club championships—not even senior—two regular club championships.’ 

‘To do that, you have to be quite smart and you have to be able to hit the ball a long way and I do it,’ Trump said. ‘He doesn’t do it. He can’t hit a ball 50 yards. He challenged me to a golf match—he can’t hit a ball 50 yards.’ 

‘I’ve seen you swing. I know your swing,’ Trump fired back. ‘Let’s not act like children.’ 

But Biden replied: ‘You are a child.’ 

5. Biden-Trump exchange jabs over criminal records

While Biden reminded Trump that the ‘only person’ that has a felony record on the debate stage is Trump, the former president said ‘when he talks about a convicted felon, his son is a convicted felon.’

‘At a very high level, his son is convicted,’ Trump said, adding that he’d seek ‘retribution,’ referring to a potential November election victory. 

‘As soon as he gets out of office, Joe could be a convicted felon with all of the things that he’s done,’ he continued. ‘He’s done horrible things, all of the death caused at the border, telling the Ukrainian people that we’re gonna want a billion dollars if you change the prosecutor, otherwise, you’re not getting a billion dollars. If i ever said that, that’s quid pro quo.’

‘This man is a criminal. This man, you’re lucky, you’re lucky. I did nothing wrong. We have a system that was rigged and disgusting,’ Trump said.

Meanwhile, Biden pushed back at the idea that he has done any wrongdoing ‘is outrageous.’

‘It’s simply a lie,’ Biden responded. ‘Number two, the idea that you have a right to seek retribution against any American just because you’re president is wrong. No president has ever spoken like that before. No president in our history has spoken like that before.’ 

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

President Joe Biden was praised by his wife on Thursday following his first presidential debate appearance despite a widely-criticized performance.

First Lady Jill Biden greeted her husband on stage at the debate after-party with a live audience, seeming to celebrate the mere fact that the president responded to moderators’ questions. 

‘Joe, you did such a great job! You answered every question, you knew all the facts!’ Jill Biden cheered to a smiling Joe Biden on-stage.

‘And let me ask the crowd. ‘What did Trump do?’ the first lady continued, turning to the audience and gesturing before shouting ‘Lie!’

The moment has gone viral since the debate, with many articles reporting on Jill Biden’s manner of speaking being reminiscent of praising a child.

Biden’s performance at the debate has been almost universally panned by commentators due to his inarticulate speaking and unstable demeanor.

Repeated stammering, long periods of silence and facial expressions that conveyed intense confusion have convinced some of Biden’s loudest cheerleaders that the president must step down from the re-election campaign.

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, a longtime Biden ally, wrote the debate ‘made me weep’ and realize Biden should step aside.

‘I cannot remember a more heartbreaking moment in American presidential campaign politics in my lifetime — precisely because of what it revealed: Joe Biden, a good man and a good president, has no business running for re-election,’ he wrote.

CNN commentator Van Jones, who cried for joy when Biden won the 2020 presidential election, offered an emotional plea for the president to step aside.

‘I love that guy as a good man. He loves his country. He’s doing the best that he can. But he had a test to meet tonight, to restore confidence of the country and of the base, and he failed to do that,’ Jones said. ‘And I think there’s a lot of people who are going to want to see him consider taking a different course now.’

Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.