Chris Wallace criticizes Biden's presidential debate performance, says he was 'incapable' despite week-long preparation

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: CNN anchor Chris Wallace, who was a former presidential debate moderator, delivered a harsh assessment of President Joe Biden's debate performance on Thursday, June 27.

Wallace criticized the president on CNN in a clip highlighted by Mediaite, emphasizing that the 81-year-old politician “was incapable tonight, on the biggest of stages, that he sought.”

Chris Wallace says Joe Biden 'can't come back from' his weak debate performance

Joe Biden's team had pushed for an early debate with Donald Trump, recognizing the importance of the event.

The president spent a week at Camp David preparing with strategic sessions and mock debates, indicating the high stakes and the critical nature of this debate.

“And with all of that preparation, he was incapable of doing better than he was, and you can’t come back from that,” said Wallace.

Despite the extensive preparation, Biden gave a weak performance, raising concerns among Democrats and prompting questions about his viability as the Democratic candidate.

Speaking about the debate, Democratic strategist David Axelrod said, “I think there was a sense of shock, actually, at how he came out at the beginning of this debate."

"How his voice sounded. He seemed a bit disoriented. He did get stronger as the debate went on," he continued.

“I think you’re going to hear discussions that I don’t know will lead to anything, but there are going to be discussions about whether he should continue," Axelrod added.

A White House official claimed that Biden had a cold during the first live debate, according to The Hill.

Despite the swirling questions about Biden running for the president, his campaign spokesperson Seth Schuster said, “Of course he’s not dropping out."

Chris Wallace claimed Donald Trump lost 2020 election due to past debate performance

Before the face-off on Thursday, June 27, Chris Wallace claimed that Donald Trump's debate performance cost him the 2020 presidency.

The CNN anchor stated that the former president's behavior during the presidential debate, especially his frequent interruptions played a significant role in his losing the election.

"I actually think it was one of the most consequential presidential debates in history," said Wallace.

"I actually think Donald Trump lost the presidency in that debate by his performance. He dropped about four or five points. He never regained it," the former presidential debate moderator added.

He also noted that the "key question" for the June 27 debate, was, "Has he learned his lesson?"