Two Years After Atlanta Debate, Democrats Grapple With Biden's Lasting Fallout
Two years after Joe Biden's debate performance in Atlanta sent his reelection campaign into crisis, the Democratic Party continues to contend with its aftermath, with a succession of memoirs, party audits, and primary results keeping the episode at the center of Democratic politics, Fox News Opinion contributor Doug Schoen argued.
Key takeaways
- Two years after Joe Biden's Atlanta debate performance threw his reelection campaign into crisis, the Democratic Party is still grappling with the fallout, according to Fox News Opinion contributor Doug Schoen.
- Jill Biden's memoir, the DNC's 2024 campaign review, and Kamala Harris's continued public profile as she weighs a 2028 run are keeping the episode central to Democratic politics.
- Democratic primaries have shifted sharply left, with socialist-backed candidates winning three New York City races and progressives advancing in Michigan, Maine, and Texas.
- Schoen argues the progressive surge stems partly from voter frustration over the establishment's handling of Biden's health and its decision to advance Harris without a primary.
- Schoen says Democrats face the 2026 midterms burdened by internal ideological division, unresolved accountability questions, and a Republican opposition still campaigning against the Biden record.
Two years after Joe Biden's debate performance in Atlanta sent his reelection campaign into crisis, the Democratic Party continues to contend with its aftermath, with a succession of memoirs, party audits, and primary results keeping the episode at the center of Democratic politics, Fox News Opinion contributor Doug Schoen argued.
Biden's Debate Exit and the Party's Accountability Problem
Schoen pointed to Jill Biden's memoir, the Democratic National Committee's review of the 2024 campaign, and Kamala Harris's continued public profile as she weighs a 2028 presidential run as factors that prevent Democrats from moving past the episode. The former First Lady wrote in her memoir that she had wondered whether her husband was having a stroke during the debate, yet publicly defended him in the hours and days that followed, Schoen noted.
New York Times writer Carlos Lozada recently headlined a piece "The Biden Verdict Is In. It Isn't Pretty," describing a book that characterized the Biden administration as "an ominous interregnum" ending "somewhere between tragedy and farce."
Progressive Surge Reshapes Democratic Primaries
The fallout has accompanied a pronounced leftward shift in Democratic primary contests. In New York City last Tuesday, insurgent socialist candidates backed by socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani won three races against more moderate opponents. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed is polling as a frontrunner. Graham Platner won a primary in Maine, and James Talarico did the same in Texas.
Schoen argued the progressive surge traces in part to voter frustration with the Democratic establishment over its handling of Biden's health and the party's decision to advance Harris without a primary after Biden's withdrawal.
Republican Positioning Ahead of 2026 Midterms
Republicans, despite Fox News polling that put President Trump's approval rating at 39%, retain an economic contrast argument, Schoen wrote. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking to CNBC, said current inflation does not approach the 21.5% cumulative inflation recorded under the Biden administration and that the Trump administration is still managing those effects.
Hunter Biden has drawn additional attention through posts on X that USA Today described as "X-rated," offering what Schoen called constant reminders of a former First Family many Democrats would prefer to see step back. With midterms historically functioning as referendums on the sitting president, Schoen said Democrats head toward 2026 facing compounding obstacles: internal ideological division, unresolved accountability questions, and a Republican opposition that continues to campaign against the Biden record.