It is probable that the only thing people will remember from Thursday night’s CNN debate is Joe Biden’s lifeless stare and mumbling whisper. For people on the right, it was almost surreal to watch as the regime propaganda machine propping up the man for so many years suddenly malfunctioned. No amount of spin can conceal what millions of people saw unfold. It was the most humiliating moment of Joe Biden’s political life—the only kind of life this career politician has ever known.

Biden’s performance was even worse than his most hostile critics could have imagined. From the second he shuffled on stage, Old Joe appeared to be lost in another dimension. To the extent Biden was at all intelligible, he was muttering slurred and tired lines, full of lies and innuendo about his opponent. In fact, Biden seemed to have little else left in his brain. He dredged up arcane smears, like the bogus claim that Trump called neo-Nazis “very fine people,” told the story that Trump advised Americans to inject bleach into their bodies—a notorious, seemingly unkillable lie, recited the old rumor that Trump called war dead “suckers and losers,” and cited Trump’s conviction in a left-wing jurisdiction—a conviction that Biden’s own allies orchestrated for blatant political purposes—to denounce Trump as a criminal. It was a pathetic, cynical display.

But Biden’s attacks fell like blunt arrows, and he was left looking like a nasty, desperate, tired old man. Trump was calm, unflappable, by his own standards, vigorous and lively, landing several rejoinders and brimming with righteous anger over the country’s decline into a borderless “rat’s nest.” He spoke like a man who is ready to get to work and evinced hard common sense, one of his best qualities. Why hasn’t Biden fired anyone responsible for the Afghanistan debacle, or the border crisis? Why are we sending so much money to Ukraine? Why are migrants sleeping in luxury hotels, while veterans sleep on the sidewalks? Biden had no answers—only deflections.

Trump ably acquitted himself of the “extremist” label, reminding viewers of his moderate stance on abortion and forcing Biden, an ostentatious hypocritical Catholic, to utter the words “late term abortion.” Likewise, when CNN’s shills inevitably brought up Jan. 6, Trump’s response, that the country was in better shape on the day of the “insurrection,” showed his rivals as obsessive and out of touch with the concerns of the present day. To his credit, Trump did not back down either from defending supporters of his who have been treated unfairly by Biden’s Justice Department.

CNN ignored the Democrats’ weaponization of justice against Trump, of course, focusing instead on extracting a pledge from Trump to not seek retribution. Trump repeatedly reminded viewers that Biden is not only old, but corrupt, and reminded viewers that he would not have been indicted if Biden were capable of winning reelection on his merits. Biden’s blank demeanor, as if watching his life unravel before him, stared back to corroborate the point.

It is remarkable to think of the energy that has gone into keeping Biden afloat over the last four years, and how quickly and dramatically this “big lie” —to borrow some terminology from the left—all dissipated. The idea that he will be replaced this late in the game, though, appears a fanciful notion. The left is going to keep protecting Biden, because the truth is, they’re stuck with him. Hence the panic.

Trump has been treated more unfairly than any politician modern memory can recall, but the tide has shifted. Not even a felony conviction on bogus charges can spare Biden from defeat, now. The blunt truth of Biden’s incompetence and incapacitation is out, and the corrupt regime that anointed this president is cowering.