EXCLUSIVE: Radar Reveals the Secret Messages Furious CNN Moderators Shared During Joe Biden's Election-Losing Debate Performance Against Donald Trump
Biden's debate debacle stunned even the moderators.
May 29 2025, Published 11:37 a.m. ET
Joe Biden's now legendary poor debate performance against Donald Trump in 2024 was so bad even the event moderators were left shocked, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The former president's often stammering and confusing answers would soon lead to him being forced to drop out of the race.
Debate Disaster
The former president looked confused while stumbling through the event with Trump.
Biden, who is currently battling an "aggressive" form of prostate cancer, suffered a series of successive stumbles when trying to lay out his plans for his proposed next four years that fateful June night.
The 82-year-old's derailed train of thought raised concerns among Democratic donors and supporters, who were at first looking forward to hearing him take on – and take down – Trump.
However, after babbling through much of the night, questions about the then president's mental and physical health exploded, eventually leading him to step away to be replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket.
Now, in his explosive new book about Biden's health, CNN anchor – and debate moderator that night – Jake Tapper has revealed the puzzled reaction he shared with co-moderator Dana Bash.
Game Over
The poor performance would lead to the end of his re-election bid.
Tapper described in his book Original Sin the amazement the co-workers shared in real time during breaks in the debate.
He shared: "The moderators had iPads to communicate with the control room. Jake wrote: 'Holy smokes.'
"Dana wrote something down on a piece of paper and passed it to Jake: 'He just lost the election.'
"When it was over, the Bidens approached the table to say hello to the moderators. To Jake and Dana, it didn’t seem as if Biden had any idea how bad his performance was, though he did say, 'Sorry about my voice; I have a cold.'"
Damage Control
Trump went on to an overwhelming victory in November.
Switching to immediate damage control after the horrific debate, Biden admitted it wasn't his best showing.
"I had a bad night, it wasn’t a great performance," Biden told a crowd at a fundraising event just days later. "We could linger and talk about a bad performance, or we could talk about the leadership of the last four years or the end of democracy with Donald Trump."
But insiders at the time said the writing of the Biden administration was on the wall, and his eventual withdrawal was inevitable.
"It was a pretty shocking performance by Biden, obviously," one source said. "Any thoughtful person has to ask themself: Should this man be leader of the free world for another 7 months, let alone 55?"
Lost Election
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Vice President Harris was tasked with cleaning up the Democratic disaster.
In the new book, top advisor advisor David Plouffe blamed Biden for Harris' "f----- nightmare" campaign.
"He totally f----- us," he declared, adding: "We got so s----- by Biden, as a party."
An unnamed aide also told Tapper and Thompson, "We attempted to shield (Biden) from his own staff, so many people didn't realize the extent of the decline beginning in 2023."
While the source said they "love Biden," they noted it was "a disservice to the country and to the party for his family and advisers to allow him to run again."
Another insider, who claimed to be a democratic strategist, criticized Biden's reelection bid, calling it an "abomination." They told the author the ex-POTUS "stole an election" from the Democratic party and the American people.
