Bob Woodward , a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and associate editor of the Washington Post , is calling on reporters to very aggressively seek an explanation for President Joe Biden s disastrous performance during Thursdays debate against Donald Trump .

Woodward, who said so Friday on MSNBC s The Beat, told Ari Melber he was shocked.

Bidens performance was so bad, so awful, the way I look at it as a reporter, there must be some explanation, Woodward told Melber . What really happened? He was preparing for this a long time, he knew it was consequential, and then it was this bad.

The answer here is in reporting in seeking, very aggressively, an explanation, the Post editor added.

Woodward, known for uncovering the 1970s Watergate scandal involving then-President Richard Nixon , argued this explanation shouldnt come out in some book in the future, but that the public needs it now and likened Bidens performance to a political hydrogen bomb.

I sat there and watched it, and I could not believe it, Woodward told Melber, likening Bidens poor showing to a political hydrogen bomb.

Woodward has joined a growing chorus of political pundits casting doubt on Bidens ability to win the upcoming election. Those voices now also include the New York Times editorial board, whose op-ed calling for Biden to step down was published during Woodwards interview Friday.

Well, its inevitable, said Woodward when Melber broke the news on-air.

Noting Biden must have been holed up for days to prepare for the debate, Woodward said he didnt want to speculate on possible explanations for the presidents performance but said that question is what journalists should focus on answering.