Congressional Democrats acknowledged that President Joe Biden did poorly in his first presidential debate with former President Donald Trump on Thursday but stopped short of saying he should be replaced as the nominee — at least for now. 

Democratic lawmakers were quick to come to Biden’s defense in the aftermath of the debate, contrasting his performance with the “lies” of the former president even as they admitted his stumbles were a setback. Meanwhile, top party leaders generally resisted the call from some Democratic operatives for Biden to step down so another candidate can take his place at the top of the ticket.