After his performance in the first debate of the 2024 presidential election, President Joe Biden is now facing calls from those in his own party to step down as the Democratic nominee.

These calls to step down come after months of Republican lawmakers criticizing the president’s mental ability and stamina, as well as Special Counsel Robert Hur’s decision not to pursue charges against Biden in his classified documents case due to his “poor memory” and old age.

In the Special Counsel’s statement not to pursue charges, Hur wrote, “…at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory. Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him… It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him–by then a former president well into his eighties–of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.”

Since then, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and other top Biden administration officials have been vigorously defending the President and his ability to do the job, saying Hur’s report does not “[live] in reality.”

But on Thursday, Americans were able to get a rare glimpse of an unscripted and unprompted Joe Biden, and their reaction was all but positive.

Now, with one in three Democrats saying Biden should not run for re-election, top Democratic officials have to juggle whether they stick with their nominee or make a last-ditch effort to defeat Donald Trump.

Never before has an incumbent President been removed at a party convention or stepped down due to an inability to do the job. 

In these unprecedented times, it can be tough to get the facts and your questions answered. Here’s all you need to know without the spin:

Can there be a new Democratic Nominee?

There are two possibilities in which there can be a new 2024 Democratic nominee.

The first: President Biden decides to step down from the presidency on his own, releasing all the delegates bound to him and allowing a new vote for new candidates at the convention in late August.

The second: A split convention.

There are an estimated 4,672 delegates up for grabs in 2024. Of these, 3,933 are pledged delegates and 739 are super-delegates, who have no allegiance to any electoral outcome. Super-delegates are not permitted to vote on the first ballot for president at the convention but can vote on the second if no candidate reaches the 1,968 pledged delegates needed to clinch the nomination.

After sweeping every state in the Democratic primary, President Biden has received 3,896 delegates. This means that, by all metrics, he should easily clinch the nomination on August 22. But there’s a catch.

The 2024 DNC Rules clearly state, “All delegates to the National Convention pledged to a presidential candidate shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.”

The phrase “good conscience” indicates that delegates are not legally bound to the electoral outcome of the primary election results they represent.

Therefore, technically, if enough delegates were to defect from their electoral outcome to support another candidate, a split convention could occur, opening the door for unbound super-delegates to vote and for last-minute challengers to emerge in the following rounds of voting.

Who would replace Biden?

Ever since the debate ended, political pundits have been speculating about who could replace Biden if he were to step down.

The names most frequently mentioned include Vice President Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

But how would these candidates fare against Donald Trump?

In a post-debate poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos, Trump and Biden remain in a dead heat at 40% each.

All considered rising stars and the future of the Democratic party, in a hypothetical matchup against former President Trump, Kamala Harris loses by 1, Newsom by 3, Whitmer by 5, Beshear by 4, and Pritzker by 6.

The only Democrat polled who beat Trump was Michelle Obama with a staggering 11-point advantage over the former president. However, the former First Lady has been adamant about her resistance to political life.

In March, her director of communications told NBC News, “As former First Lady Michelle Obama has expressed several times over the years, she will not be running for president. Mrs. Obama supports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign.”

Does Biden want to step down?

Seems like no. Despite his debate performance, President Biden immediately agreed to the next debate hosted by ABC in September.

At a campaign rally the following day in North Carolina, Biden addressed the crowd, saying, “Folks, I might not walk as easily or talk as smoothly as I used to. I might not debate as well as I used to. But what I do know is how to tell the truth.”

On a Wednesday call with top allies and advisors, Biden was clear about his desire and ability to remain in the race.

NBC White House Correspondent Gabe Gutierrez reported on X, “President Biden on call with staff just now: ‘Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can, as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running. No one is pushing me out. I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win.’”

However, there have been reports that Biden is “weighing his options” on whether to pull out.

According to the New York Times, “President Biden has told key allies that he knows the coming days are crucial and understands that he may not be able to salvage his candidacy if he cannot convince voters that he is up to the job after a disastrous debate performance last week.”

The article continued, “‘He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place’ by the end of the weekend, said one of the allies, referring to Mr. Biden’s halting and unfocused performance in the debate.” This ally spoke anonymously.

The most recent post-debate New York Times/Siena Poll of registered voters nationwide has Biden losing to Trump 49% to 43%—a six-point bump for the former president from the same poll conducted just a week earlier.

Questions to ask yourself after reading:

Should Biden be replaced as the Democratic Nominee?

Can any other candidate beat Donald Trump?

Can a person run for president and win in two months?

What qualities in a president are most important to me?

• Do any of these alternatives possess those qualities more than the presumptive nominees?

Would I feel more inclined to vote if one of these alternatives was on the ballot instead of Joe Biden?

Would an alternative Democratic nominee change the party of the president I plan to vote for? 

With less than two months until the Democratic National Convention, Democrats are on the clock in deciding whether or not to replace their nominee.

While some may seem like more formidable candidates than Biden, there is one thing Democrats don’t have that can’t be bought with any amount of money in the world: time.

If there were to be a new Democratic nominee, they would have just over two months to convince a majority of Americans that they should be their president. That would be unprecedented, but these are unprecedented times.