Democrats were banking on President Joe Biden bringing his A-game -- but that didn't go according to plan.
Instead, the incumbent faced off in Atlanta in a sequel versus former President Donald Trump and silenced a Democratic watch party to whispers and gasps.
And some Democrats were taking things a step further.
"One Democratic congressman I was in touch with who was on Capitol Hill at a watch party with a number of other lawmakers and that moment early on in the debate where President Biden was talking about the national debt and seem to lose his train of thought and paused for several seconds and then gave a confusing answer — he said that when that happened the entire room was just completely silent and in shock," revealed CNN's Senior White House Correspondent MJ Lee. "And that this member's own reaction was that he wanted to jump off of a bridge."
The moment that sent this left lawmaker to conjure such a bleak thought was when Biden had stumbled when he couldn't give an answer about tax policy.
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He appeared to drift to health policy and then started to speak about COVID, saying "excuse me, with, dealing with" and then for a couple beats had stared downward and went silent before he looked up and said: “Look, we finally beat Medicare."
It was the time running out and co-moderator CNN's Jake Tapper than managed to save him from further self-infliction, saying: "Thank you President Biden. President Trump?"
And Trump wasted no time mopping up the moment.
"Well he's right. He did beat Medicare," he said. "Beat it to death."
The president managed to sharpen some as the 90-minute debate progressed getting in some pics about Trump's record on issues being lax on the issues of climate change and his handling of the Jan. 6 Capitol siege.
CNN's Lee learned that the same lawmaker who wanted to jump off the bridge described the watch party room consensus as feeling as though Trump came off as "young" while Biden showed his 81 years as looking "old".
She added that the Democrats in the room saw Donald Trump as seeming mostly "on the offensive, and that Joe Biden seemed to be mostly on the defense."
All told, she is hearing that many Democrats are "panicked right now and don't even know what to do."
