Folks, we’ve been here before. When Ronald Reagan bombed in his first debate against Walter Mondale in 1984, it prompted members of the press, some of the GOP stalwart supporters, members of the donor class and even some of Reagan’s Hollywood friends to question whether Reagan (seeking a second term) could handle the rigors of the presidency at the advanced age of 73.
In the next debate two weeks later when Reagan was asked about his age, he responded with a quip that even prompted Mondale to smile. “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”
President Joe Biden, eight years older than Reagan was at the time of that 1984 debate, and just two weeks after his “stupid mistake” (his words, not mine) of a performance in his first debate with Donald Trump, faced reporters down Thursday night in a rare press conference. Afterward, a few in the punditry world declared him a genius, some declared him competent while more than half declared him non compos mentis and said he should be sipping his dinner through a straw while a nurse makes sure he shuffles back to bed.
Almost everyone acted as if we’d never seen Biden commit a gaffe before. Many of us conveniently forgot his blunders are nowhere near as bad as what Donald Trump says before he has his daily “hamberder.”
The news conference came at the end of a NATO conference. It was delayed by an hour and came after Biden spent most of the day entertaining and dealing with the leaders of other NATO nations as they discussed serious matters of international concern, including but not limited to the war in Ukraine, Russian and Chinese hegemony and climate problems. It looked like the President, if he had cognitive problems, was set up to fail. He wanted to talk about NATO, and began with a statement about it, but, of course, the first question was about Biden’s age and his fitness for office. While Biden did not have a quip that matched Ronald Reagan’s he did cogently defend his presidency and his candidacy against convicted felon Donald Trump.
“I think I’m the most qualified. I beat him once and I will beat him again.”
Biden said there is still a long way to go in the campaign – which he noted usually doesn’t start in earnest until after Labor Day. “We’ve got more work to do and more to finish. Name me a world leader who wouldn’t want to trade places with us,” Biden said. Then a short time later he referred to his Vice President as “Vice President Trump” and the race was on.
Biden’s opening gaffe was all the fuel Trump needed, all the fuel Biden detractors needed, and all the fuel the internet needed to continue burning Biden at the stake. That comment stood out as the worst gaffe of the evening from a president who has admittedly made many during his career. But so has Trump, and at least Biden never told us to inject bleach or rambled on about sharks, electrocutions, and airplanes during the Revolutionary War.
“You’re never going to make everyone happy,” Biden said during a reply to a reporter’s question about neurological tests. If you concentrated on Biden’s gaffe, you missed a textbook display of his knowledge of the nuance of foreign relations, the immigration problem and the economy.
Biden’s passion for the “indispensable nation” in the world was on full display. He allayed fears about his Vice President – saying that Kamala Harris is ready to be president if something were to happen to him. “I wouldn’t have picked her if I didn’t think she was qualified to do the job,” he said. He notably dodged a question about whether or not Harris could beat Trump.
When he was questioned about changing his habits and perhaps going to bed earlier, he grinned and said that wasn’t what he said at all. He spoke about “pacing himself” and making better use of his time. He noted that after his “stupid mistake” in the debate, he’s doubled down on “doing the job”. He took a shot at Trump at the same time, “My schedule is full bore,” he said, while noting that “Trump is Riding around in a golf cart filling out his score card.”
For nearly an hour, with more than 24 million people watching, according to Nielsen data, Biden fielded questions.
He stuck to his roots, evoking the memory of his father as he often does while doubling down on being a union supporter and a spokesman for the middle class. “When the middle class does well, we all do well. The rich has to start paying their taxes,” he said.
Biden took Republicans to task for failing to pass a comprehensive bipartisan immigration bill because Trump wanted to be able to beat Biden over the head and run on the issue. He made three key points – first that inflation is down and prices have fallen; secondly, that border encounters are down over 50 percent – lower today than when Trump left office because of executive action he took; finally, he continues to work to get a ceasefire solution in Gaza.
Toward the end of his time on stage, Biden offered a reflection on his age that may have flown under the radar to many observers and was probably as cutting as Reagan’s response to the age question, but far more poetic and subtle. “The thing that age does is give you a little bit of wisdom if you listen.”
Who was listening to that?
As Biden left, he fielded one last question from a reporter who called him out for mistakenly referring to his Vice President as “Vice President Trump” at the beginning of the press conference. It had already gone viral and Trump was cackling wildly about it. Biden turned and smiled and then said with a smirk, “Listen to him,” perhaps implying that Trump is far worse than Biden.
At the end of the day, whatever he said, the cries for Biden to leave the race will not end or even slow down. Biden maintained that he is the most qualified to win and the best qualified to govern. Even his detractors in the Democratic Party agree with the latter, but continue to worry about the former.
“The Democratic Convention is going to be like a circus of cannibals,” one donor told me after the press conference. “I think he did well, but the train has already pulled away from the station and Biden probably won’t be on it.”
Mixed metaphors aside, Anthony Scaramucci said Thursday, prior to the debate that he will support whoever the Democrats nominate. “I know for a fact Donald Trump is a threat to democracy,” he said echoing the words Biden said later. “But what about those who’ve come out publicly against Biden? Would I like another candidate? Yes, but I think those who’ve spoken out against Biden are going to have a hard time handling their hypocrisy if they suddenly jump back in with Biden.”
Don’t expect George Clooney at the White House anytime soon, I guess is what The Mooch is saying. “I wonder if any of us have stopped to consider all of this infighting is only benefitting Donald Trump,” a Congressional staffer asked Friday. Hmmmm…you think?
At one point during the news conference, Biden was asked, “How can you guarantee no more bad nights in the future?” That is what his detractors demand, and that’s not a guarantee that anyone alive can give. In fact, it was one of the silliest questions asked of the president during the news conference.
But, it appears that with $220 million in the bank, and nearly all of the delegates needed to win, Biden remains the only viable choice the Democrats have. He is the leader of his party. He is the incumbent president. He said, “Am I getting the job done? That’s the only question you have to ask.” He then answered it himself and pointed to a list of achievements he’s racked up in his first term in office. The response? Reportedly top Democratic donors have frozen $90 million in contributions as long as Biden remains on the ticket.
So far, Biden continues to throw cold water on any attempts to unseat him – even showing a bit of hubris and arrogance when he said his pledged delegates were free to vote their conscience at the Chicago convention in July.
He said, “I’m not in this for my legacy. I’m in it to finish the job I’ve started.”
Friday night at Renaissance High School in Detroit, Michigan, Biden appeared before thousands of his faithful supporters who screamed “Don’t you quit." Biden responded with, “I am running and we're gonna win. . .I am the nominee of the Democratic Party and the only Democrat who has beaten Donald Trump ever. I know him. Donald Trump is a loser.”
He walked off the stage to the tune of Tom Petty singing “I won’t back down.”
That still doesn’t mean Biden won’t eventually leave the race - though he’s making it increasingly harder to do so. In fact, it means he may indeed leave the race only if he is convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that someone else is able to beat Trump and finish the job he started.
But who would that be?
Biden’s detractors may be growing, but other than saying “Dump Biden,” they are still in the minority and there is no clear choice for who would replace him or how that would even work. It is assumed it would be Kamala Harris, but there are no guarantees - and plenty of conflicting opinions.
And that my friends leads to the unavoidable conclusion that the Democratic convention will be a historic and chaotic event that could just as easily guarantee a Trump victory as a Trump defeat. Remember how the 1980 Democratic convention turned out? Jimmy Carter said he’d whip Ted Kennedy’s ass. it got ugly. It got nasty. Carter won - but the Democrats were so divided that Carter lost to Ronald Reagan which began the slow slide into authoritarianism we are witnessing today.
“All I can say is I don’t want any of my Democratic colleagues telling me how crazy Trump is if he gets back into office because of this,” another staffer told me who works for a member of Congress who has called for Biden to step down. “My best hope is that this criticism spurs the rest of us into getting involved and quit sitting on the sidelines. Maybe it will help Biden.”
Despite whatever Biden said, how he said it, or as well as he performed Thursday night, the criticism against Biden probably won’t abate unless those Democrats who’ve publicly called for Biden’s withdrawal from the race turn around, do a 180 and embrace him going forward. That’s as likely to happen as Donald Trump being Joe Biden’s Vice President — at least today.
