Three strategists close to three Democratic potential candidates for the presidency told Politico that they received a constant amount of texts during Thursday's debate between candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump in a bid to replace Biden. 

One of the strategists said they had “taken no less than half a dozen key donors texting ‘disaster’ and [the] party needs to do something” but admitted that “not much is possible unless” Biden quits. 

A significant Democratic donor and Biden supporter urged Biden to withdraw, given that it was "the worst performance in history" and that Biden was so awful that "no one will pay attention to Trump's lies."

"Biden needs to drop out. No question about it,” the donor said in a text message.

This comes as at least two presidential candidates for the 2028 round, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Gavin Newsom of California, declared they still support Biden. 

Read next: Trump fuels rumors of Biden being drugged before big CNN debate

According to Politico, citing a source, major Democratic Party donors were texting during the debate from a meeting in Atlanta, with some of them writing "wtf".

“Our only hope is that he bows out, we have a brokered convention, or dies,” the donor advisor said. “Otherwise we are f****** dead.”

Biden’s campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon released a statement that Biden “presented a positive and winning vision for the future of America,” while Trump “offered a dark and backwards window into what America will look like if he steps foot back in the White House.”

Meanwhile, Democratic consultant Stephanie Cutter said, "President Biden is the Democratic nominee and that’s not changing because of one debate performance," noting, "We need to calm down and stay focused because Donald Trump certainly didn’t gain any voters tonight."

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One statewide Democrat running for election said, "I mean, it’s not great all around. Our president has a speech impediment, a cold, and is 81."

Reflecting on how the incumbent President was "bad" on a myriad of issues, a senior advisor to top Democratic officials expressed, “He was bad on message, bad on substance, bad on counter punching, bad on presentation, bad on non-verbals. There was no bright spot in this debate for him. The only bright spot is that this happened in June and not October.”

Meanwhile, a top advisor to former President Barack Obama David Axelrod relayed to CNN the "sense of shock" of the way “his voice sounded. He seemed a little disoriented. ... There are going to be discussions about whether he should continue,” noting, “Only he can decide if he’s going to continue.”

Axelrod predicted that Biden probably wouldn't leave since “this is a guy with a lot of pride...who believes in himself.”

Biden's departing may potentially mean elevating Vice President Kamala Harris - the first Black vice president and first female vice president.

"They need to change nomination now," a Democratic operative said. "Or just put Harris on top of the ticket."

This also follows a statement by Harris who acknowledged that Biden had a "slow start" in Thursday's CNN debate with Trump.

"It was a slow start, that's obvious to everyone. I'm not going to debate that point," she told CNN, noting Biden's shaky performance. 

Harris said Biden's record was "extraordinarily strong," only to admit and then engage in a damage-control mode, saying, "Yes, there was a slow start, but it was a strong finish."

Playing down Biden's bad performance, Harris posted on X: "The contrast is clear: Donald Trump lied over and over and over again during the debate."

The contrast is clear: Donald Trump lied over and over and over again during the debate.

He would not disavow what happened on January 6.

He would not give a clear answer on whether he would stand by the election results. pic.twitter.com/gegRg0AJub

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 28, 2024