President Joe Biden finally sat down for a grueling interview about the rapidly escalating tensions in the Middle East, the security failures that have resulted in multiple assassination attempts against his rival former President Donald Trump, and whether he is cognitively fit to serve out the rest of his term.
Just kidding: In reality, he made an appearance Wednesday on The View, alongside his personal cheering squad—the show's hosts.
Whoopi Goldberg was particularly effusive in her praise for the president, describing her support for him as "ride or die." Joy Behar joked with him about age being just a number—they are both 81—and lovingly nuzzled his shoulder.
The ladies did ask him about his decision to exit the presidential race, which drew this reply:
Biden to The View: "I never fully believed the assertions that somehow there was this overwhelming reluctance of my running again…my polling was about…always within range of beating this guy I didn't sense that….I was confident. I would beat Trump." pic.twitter.com/zutdHVOM3M
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) September 25, 2024
"I never fully believed the assertions that somehow there was this overwhelming reluctance, my running again, I didn't sense that," said Biden. "And although the polling, the Biden polling was different, my polling was always within range of beating this guy."
That was the most coherent part of his answer. It is also not accurate. Over the course of 2024, Biden polled steadily worse against Trump. In the immediate aftermath of his disastrous June debate performance, Biden dropped to six points behind Trump in national polling.
But even before the dreaded debate, the polls showed Trump pulling away from Biden. As far back as November 2023, some polls showed Trump edging out Biden in the key swing states; importantly, these polls also showed Biden underperforming Trump relative to other Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris. His favorability ratings had also collapsed since the 2022 midterms.
A year ago, Biden could credibly claim that the polls showed him "within range," given significant uncertainties. By the time Biden's campaign was hurtling toward its ignoble end, this was no longer true. Biden was going to lose.
Later during the conservation on The View, Goldberg remarked that while she supported the outcome, she did not approve of the messy, public manner in which Democratic elites ejected Biden. But the messy exit was made necessary due to Biden's own actions: his stubborn refusal to admit that he had no path to reelection.
It's fine for the ladies of The View to treat the president with kindness and respect. But as with the ABC presidential debate between Trump and Harris, it's telling that prominent Democrats can get away much more easily with statements that are simply untrue.
Drew Your Own Conclusions
I am frequently critical of The New York Times, though I am also grateful that its editors let me write for the Opinion section on occasion. Many progressive Democrats are also critical of The Times, although they tend to take the (insane) position that the paper is too pro-Trump. Really.
Consider this post from left-leaning journalist Dan Froomkin, who accuses The Times of "boosting" Trump's candidacy(!) by refusing to report that Harris is "destroying" him(!!) in the electoral race.
Brutal, must-read column by @drewmagary about how the New York Times is boosting Trump's candidacy by refusing to report the truth: That Harris is destroying him. https://t.co/9DHdaEsBka
— Dan Froomkin (PressWatchers.org) (@froomkin) September 24, 2024
Froomkin cites as evidence this column by Drew Magery, an opinion writer for The San Francisco Chronicle and avowed anti-Trumper. Magery slams The Times for describing the race between Trump and Harris as "deadlocked," when actually Harris is way ahead. Magery says Harris is way ahead because "Trump is losing in Pennsylvania, a state he needs to win, by four points."
To be sure, there are polls that show Harris up by as many as five points in Pennsylvania. Many other polls have her leading by just one or two points. Nate Silver's average puts Harris 1.6 points above Trump in the state.
But here's the real problem: During the run-up to the 2020 election, the polls showed Biden beating Trump by four, five, or six points in the state, according to CNN.
When the votes were tallied, Biden did win the state—by just 1.17 percent. If the polling error in Democrats' favor is as egregious in this cycle as it was in 2020, Trump will win the state and probably the presidency. It's certainly possible the polls are more accurate this time around, but that's why the presidential race is currently best described as a toss-up; neither candidates is solidly destroying the other. (Maybe Magery, who infamously predicted that Trump was going to get his "ass kicked" in the 2016 election, should stick to sports.)
This Week on Free Media
I'm joined by Amber Duke to discuss NBC's contempt for armed self-defense, Trump's weird pitch to Jewish voters, and 60 Minutes' interview with FTC Commissioner Lina Khan.
Worth Watching
This week marks the 20th anniversary of ABC's Lost, which is probably my favorite television show of all-time; it has certainly been the most important TV phenomenon over the course of my life. Even people who have never watched it seem broadly familiar with the setup: An airplane traveling from Sydney to Los Angeles crash-lands on a deserted island, and the surviving passengers—who come from all walks of life—must learn to live together while navigating the island's perils, some of which are supernatural. (There's a giant smoke monster that eats people.)
The pilot episode debuted on September 22, 2004. (I was in the 11th grade.) I didn't catch it live, but I can vividly remember sitting with my family in the TV room a few weeks later, my dad flipping channels, and coming across "Walkabout," the beloved fourth episode of the show. This episode centered on the mysterious John Locke, a hunter and wilderness expert. One of the great things about Lost was that each episode would focus on a specific character and utilize flashbacks to show their lives before the island. Locke seems wise and confident during the on-island action, but flashbacks reveal him to be a bitter, bullied old man who was confined to a wheelchair up until the moment the plane crashed. My family was hooked from that moment on, and Lost become a beloved weekly pastime for the next six years.
While in college, I began writing for one of the show's fan sites, DarkUFO. I was already interested in political journalism by then, but my continuing forays into entertainment-related commentary—as with this newsletter—were definitely encouraged by that experienced.
It's often said that the ending of Lost was a disappointment. For anyone coming to the series for the first time, or picking it up again after a long break, I would say that the finale is not nearly as bad as its reputation. (It does not belong in the same conversation as a truly bad series finale such as Battlestar Galactica, or an abysmally horrendous finale such as Game of Thrones.) The final season is not as strong as the first five, but the ending is emotional and satisfying, even if it fails to resolve every single plot point. With Lost, the journey is much more important than the destination.
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