President Joe Biden's humiliating debate performance with former President Donald Trump was likely a death knell for his 2024 campaign, according to many.

And it's not just Biden's critics who believe he dropped the ball in a significant manner, as many top Democrats are already moving toward thinking about Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate.

While the White House has insisted that Biden's in it to win it, many in-the-know believe it's only a matter of time before he steps aside and lets Harris take the lead, CNN reported.

Should that happen, Harris will have to pick a running mate for the 2024 election, and it's anyone's guess who that could be.

What's going on?

CNN spoke with over two dozen Democratic politicians and operatives who are not convinced that Biden will be able to pull through his reelection campaign, and they're already starting to test the waters with other names.

Harris and her team are being careful about putting too much daylight between her camp and the Biden camp, but many believe she's shaping up for possibly leading the Democratic ticket.

CNN noted:

Other officials and advisers said plans are underway to convince Biden to immediately throw his support behind Harris, release his Democratic delegates and ask them to follow his choice. Former presidents and party leaders would then follow suit, they believe, in hopes of avoiding a contentious fight to lead the Democratic ticket.

Yet others do not believe she'll be able to beat Trump in the general election, and it's causing all sorts of confusion and chaos within the party.

If it goes the way some of the people CNN spoke to believes it might -- or should -- Harris probably wouldn't be given her choice of running mate.

Likely, it would end up being a Democratic governor, "such as North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear are the most discussed; the list also includes Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Tim Walz of Minnesota."

Football metaphor

One Democratic senator used a football metaphor to describe the current situation.

“We start talking in the huddle: ‘Do we put in the backup QB?’ The backup knows our team, the backup knows the plays, the backup has played in the NFL,” the senator said. “The crowd in the stands full of passionate fans starts chanting: ‘Put in the kid from Alabama!’ ‘Put in the QB from Wisconsin!’ All just because the backup threw an interception earlier. But we know the backup and have confidence in them.”

The situation is still wildly out of control and the Democratic Party is in complete disarray at the moment, no doubt.

Only time will tell if Harris takes the lead and, if so, who the DNC will select to run alongside her.