Major Biden ally secretly revealed he's open to ditching the president on the ticket if he tanked at first debate

A long-time Biden ally secretly indicated to other Democrats that he would be open to supporting a different candidate if the debate went poorly. 

After Biden's abysmal performance in the first presidential debate on Thursday night, the longtime friend's worst fears were likely realized. 

For two decades, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer served with Joe Biden in the upper chamber of Congress, yet this did not stop Schumer from reportedly telling other allies that he would be open to ditching Biden if the debate did not go well. 

The new information reveals that behind closed doors, Schumer was painfully aware that the night could be a disaster for the Democrats. 

According to Axios, who learned of Schumer's sentiments through two people familiar with the matter, the Senate majority leader was fond of an early debate for a few reasons. 

The first was that it would give Biden more time to rehabilitate his image after a weak showing. 

The other reason was that it would provide the Democratic Party more time to chart a way forward and consider other options. 

Now that Schumer's fear has come true - Biden's performance has been called a disaster by pundits and politicians of all affiliations - it's unclear what steps the senator from New York will take. 

Publicly, of course, Schumer is still very much in Biden's corner. 

On X.com, the senator wrote: 'Tonight's debate made the choice clear. Four more years of progress, or four more years of attacks on our fundamental rights and our democracy.'

He continued: 'We've got to get out the vote for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and a Democratic Senate and House.' 

A Schumer spokesperson doubled down on the senator's support for Biden in a statement to Axios: 'Leader Schumer has always supported and continues to support President Biden as the nominee and believes he will be re-elected.'

Democratic pundits, though, are not satisfied with Biden's performance, feeling that the debate confirmed many voters' fears that the president was too old and infirm for the nation's highest office.

Several op-eds have been published in liberal publications that call on Biden to end his campaign for The White House.

On Friday, the editorial board of the New York Times urged the president to exit the race. 

The publication put it bluntly, writing: 'Mr. Biden can't continue this race.'

But elected Democrats have closed ranks and aren't publicly withdrawing their support from Biden. 

If the Democratic Party decides to heed the calls of different political analysts, the move to swap out presidential candidates will need to be set in motion by Biden himself, or a high-ranking member of the party. 

Given his stature within the Democratic organization, Senate Majority Leader Schumer, who first assumed office in 1999, will likely be looked to for some direction. 

Schumer's position as the party's leader in the Senate makes him painfully aware of the possible negative implication of a weak presidential candidate at the top of the ticket. 

A canny strategist, the Senate majority leader has worked in close coordination with Biden in the past to champion and pass different pieces of legislation. 

Ultimately, though, Schumer's loyalties aren't bound up with Biden, but with the party and its senators.

In November, the Democrats will need a stellar performance from the top of the ticket in order to secure victories for their Senate candidates in battleground states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada. 

It's unclear whether or not elected Democrats think that Biden will help them on the ballot.

For his part, Biden announced at a rally in North Carolina on Friday that he was not planning on dropping out of the race. 

The president used the event to try to manage some of the fallout from his disastrous debate performance.

'I know I'm not a young man. To state the obvious,' the president said, standing alongside First Lady Jill Biden, who wore a Christian Siriano dress covered with word 'vote.'

'But I know what I know - I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done,' the president argued.

He then swore to the people in the audience that he was still ideally suited for the nomination.

'I give you my word as a Biden. I would not be running again if I didn't believe with all my heart and soul that I could do this job.'