MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski says she's still all in for Joe Biden but needs 'an explanation'

On Monday, MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski made it clear that she was still all in for Joe Biden despite admitting that his performance at last week's presidential debate was "an unmitigated disaster by any measure." She urged people to give the octogenarian a second chance, saying that he has gotten back up after falling down before.  

Brzezinski's comments came following myriad calls from politicians, commentators, and major news organizations around the world for Biden to step aside and let someone else lead the Democratic Party. In defiance of the mounting criticism, the president has made it clear that he has no intention of leaving. 

The MSNBC host began by going through a laundry list of all the ways Biden had failed to even come close to expectations during the debate, before offering her explanation of what had gone wrong. She blamed his busy travel schedule, his son Hunter's gun conviction, and the fact that the event had been late in the evening. 

"Now, after Thursday's abysmal debate performance, President Biden finds himself at rock bottom again–it was bad–and again, a chorus of Biden doubters. My family and I, as you know, have known this man for decades and his family as well ... and I still believe in Joe Biden. I've learned that counting him out is always a mistake, and doing that now could be catastrophic for our country. Do there need to be changes? Yes, managing him. Changes maybe even to those around him." 

She went on to call on Biden to provide "an explanation" to the American people and "reassurance that the other night was a one-time event and not part of a larger problem." Others have pointed to Biden's performance that night as further evidence of his cognitive decline, warning that it will only get worse from here on out.