Few Democrats can say with a straight face that the US commander in chief is totally capable of steering the nation during one of its most dangerous and pivotal moments in history. But why did it take them so long to figure that out?

Despite having an entire week to prepare for his showdown against Donald Trump, and rumored to have been drugged to the eyeballs on performance-enhancing medication, elderly Joe Biden stumbled immediately out of the debate gates and never got back on his horse. The spectacle was so painful to watch that the main talking point among pundits following the event was: ‘Who will replace Biden?’

The greatest cringe moment came early in the night when the US leader, left to his own devices without wife and handlers nearby, suffered a brain freeze that lasted an interminable 15 seconds, which translates into an eternity on television. When questioned over his response to the Covid pandemic, all Biden could manage to mumble was that “we finally beat Medicare,” to which Trump shot back, “Well he’s right, he did beat Medicare, he beat it to death and he’s destroying Medicare.”

Fortunately, there was no shortage of comic relief to ease the pain of watching this train wreck, which took many by surprise considering Biden’s intelligible performance during the State of the Union Address in March. The most laughable part of the worst presidential debate of all time came when the two ageing politicians argued over who was the best golfer.

“I just won two club championships,” Trump, who spent much of his presidency on the golf course, bragged. “To do that you have to be quite smart and you have to be able to hit the ball a long way… [Biden] challenged me to a golf match; he can’t hit the ball 50 yards.”

To which Biden responded: “I told you before, I’m happy to play golf if you carry your own bag. Think you can do it?”