The first presidential debate of the 2024 US election rapidly descended into a nightmare for Democrats as 81-year-old incumbent Joe Biden tried unconvincingly to persuade a deeply sceptical nation that he’s capable of a second term.

Five months from an election involving two candidates many voters say they don’t want, the debate also put the spotlight on the issue of Donald Trump’s criminal convictions, as Biden accused his Republican opponent of having “the morals of an alley cat” while highlighting Trump’s affair with porn star Stormy Daniels and his sexual abuse of writer E. Jean Carroll.

But about 12 minutes in Biden, who looked sluggish from the moment he took the stage, appeared to lose his train of thought, partway through an answer about the economy.

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The occasionally incoherent performance sent shockwaves through the Democratic Party, some of whose members began discussing whether the party ought to find another candidate before the Democratic National Conventions in August, when a nominee is formally announced.

“It was a really disappointing debate performance from Joe Biden. I don’t think there’s any other way to slice it,” said former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield.

You can read more of North America correspondent Farrah Tomazin’s report on the debate, and the fallout, here.