Lol, when I started getting push notifications on my phone about the results of the Republican debate, I had to ask myself at first, "What debate?" And I'm kind of a news junkie!
They were just going through the motions, I guess. Maybe some of them are hoping Trump will somehow not be able to run because of his legal difficulties. I don't suppose that's a genuine possibility, but then ... who knows.
As to the end of your article, I'm definitely no Biden fan. He's far, far, far, far too conservative for me. But it's time to start rallying around beating Trump. Very little could be more important than that.