Obama Campaign Manager Sounds 'DEFCON 1' On Biden Debate Performance

Barack Obama s 2008 campaign manager, David Plouffe, described President Joe Biden s performance at the first 2024 presidential debate against Donald Trump on Thursday as kind of a DEFCON 1 moment for Democrats .

Biden is only three years older than Trump but appeared to be 30 years apart in age from the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, Plouffe told MSNBC s Rachel Maddow.

Bidens fumbled performance has prompted some Democrats to call for him to be replaced on the 2024 ticket. Ultimately, though, Plouffe said the only thing that matters, and you wont really know for three or four days, is how the voters that will decide this election will react.

Plouffe also suggested Trump may have bombed as well with swing voters and that was a tragedy for Biden who may not have capitalized on that because voters fear about his age was compounded.

Biden is behind narrowly right now and he has to change the equation but the biggest barrier thats keeping his ceiling too low is concerns about age, said Plouffe.

And I think thats a tragedy because I think Trump had so many openings that you could have just scissored him up on tonight, he added.

Watch Plouffes full commentary here:

Correction: A previous version of this article said Joe Biden is three years younger than Trump; Biden is three years older.