Biden’s halting debate performance stirs Democratic panic about his candidacy

A raspy and sometimes halting President Joe Biden tried repeatedly to confront Donald Trump in their first debate ahead of the November election, but his uneven performance crystallised the concerns of many Americans that, at 81, he is too old to serve as president. It sparked a fresh round of calls for the Democrat to consider stepping aside as the party’s nominee amid fears of a return of Mr Trump to the White House. Mr Biden repeatedly tore into Mr Trump in an apparent effort to provoke him, bringing up everything from the former president’s recent felony conviction to his alleged insult of First World War veterans to his weight.