Welcome back to your weekly update on US politics, where North America bureau chief Jade Macmillan catches you up on the biggest developments in America as we hurtle towards election day in November.
The bar had been set rather low for Joe Biden heading into his high stakes clash with Donald Trump.
Amid mounting concerns about his age, the president needed to reassure voters that he was mentally and physically up to the task of another four years in the White House.
But a mere 12 minutes in, he faltered.
An answer to a question about the national debt trailed off into something that turned incoherent, ending with the phrase, "We finally beat Medicare."
Trump's reaction was subtly brutal, with the former president pointedly looking over to Biden as he started to fumble — a move highlighted by the split-screen format.
Biden picked up as the debate went on, appearing more energised as he attacked Trump's integrity.
He referred to his predecessor as a "convicted felon" and claimed he had the "morals of an alley cat."
But he failed to land punches on policy areas like reproductive rights, where he should have made an impact.
And if Biden's performance is ultimately remembered for the 20 seconds or so where he struggled the most, Trump's response to another confusing answer will surely become one of his own defining moments.
"I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence," Trump said of Biden.
"I don't think he knows what he said either."
Could Joe Biden be replaced?
Democrats are now in panic mode, as some question whether Biden should step aside as their candidate just weeks before he's supposed to be officially confirmed.
That wouldn't be easy given the president comprehensively won his primary contests, and party rules dictate that Democratic delegates are obligated to support him at the national convention in August — unless he withdraws from the race.
It's not yet clear whether the internal despair will translate into concrete moves to try to force Biden into that position.
Pressure could come from a variety of areas.
High-profile Democrats could step forward and put their names to calls for change.
Biden's inner circle — his most trusted advisors, and his family — could conclude that they need to have some difficult conversations behind the scenes.
And major donors, some of whom are anonymously scathing of the president's performance, could threaten to pull their support.
Biden himself remains defiant, fronting up to a post-debate rally in North Carolina to insist he wouldn't be running again if he didn't believe he could do the job.
"I know I'm not a young man, to state the obvious," he said.
"I don't walk as easy as I used to, I don't speak as smoothly as I used to, I don't debate as well as I used to.
"But I know what I do know. I know how to tell the truth, I know right from wrong.
"And I know, like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you get back up."
It was a much more lively performance from the president, who bounced off an enthusiastic crowd which laughed at his jokes and chanted "four more years."
Biden also repeated some of the lines he'd used in the debate to attack Trump's integrity, and introduced a new one, describing the former president as a "one man crime wave".
But how many Americans would have tuned into a campaign rally on a Friday afternoon, local time?
The debate was Biden's big chance to ease concerns in the electorate about his mental and physical fitness and instead he only enhanced them.
Even those who didn't watch the entire 90 minute showdown will likely come across the video clips of his worst moments flying across social media.
And unlike some other unflattering videos, they can't be dismissed by the White House as deceptively edited "cheap fakes".
Trump claims victory
The intense focus on Biden's debate performance means Trump's hasn't attracted as much scrutiny as it ordinarily would have.
The former president reiterated many of his usual exaggerations and falsehoods, with CNN's post-debate fact checking team counting more than 30 false claims.
(Biden's tally for false or misleading statements came in at "at least" nine.)
Trump tried to avoid answering a question on whether he'd accept the results in November, eventually responding "absolutely" — but with the caveat of "if it's a fair and legal and good election."
And he continued to defend his actions — and those of some of his supporters — during the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
But Trump showed discipline and had a more commanding presence on the stage than his opponent.
At 78, he's only three years younger than Biden, but polls have previously suggested voters hold more concern about the president's age than they do Trump's.
The former president is taking a victory lap, using his own follow-up rally in Virginia to mock Biden and the time he spent preparing at the presidential retreat, Camp David.
"He studied so hard that he didn't know what the hell he was doing," Trump said.
"He got the debate rules that he wanted, he got the date that he wanted, he got the network that he wanted, with the (moderators) that he wanted, no amount of rest or rigging could help him defend his atrocious record."
The path from here
The election is more than four months away and if Biden hangs on, there's still time to try to turn things around.
But this debate always had the potential to be one of the biggest moments of the year and it's at the very least a setback, if not a more damaging blow, to the president's campaign.
It's one thing to fire up in tightly controlled environments like rallies, and another to rise to the occasion when the pressure is at its most intense.
And while there's no shortage of possible alternatives coming forward in Biden's defence, such as his Vice-President Kamala Harris and California governor Gavin Newsom, expect speculation over their potential eligibility to keep ramping up.
Americans face a stark choice in November between the first ever former president convicted of a crime, and a commander in chief who's drawn serious concern from within his own party.
One voter I spoke to ahead of the debate getting underway offered a dim view of the state of the race.
"I think they're both not what our country needs," he said.
"Unfortunately, this is just where we're at."
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