President Joe Biden tries new approach: President Joe Biden has used his cognitive decline and subsequent refusal to step down as an excuse to try to portray himself as a troubled outsider who is scorned by Democratic elites.
“I’m very frustrated by the elites,” the 52-year incumbent said on MSNBC. He clarified that he was not referring to his hosts but to “the elites within the party who know better,” he added , and emphasized the last few words in a mocking tone.
“I don’t care what millionaires think,” he added. (Of course, he held a Zoom fundraising call with this exact group of people later that day.)
“All the data shows that the Democrats who voted for me still want me to be the nominee,” Biden said. Polls have not confirmed this.
A CBS/YouGov post-debate poll found that 72% of registered voters believed Biden was not mentally and cognitively healthy enough to serve as president. Another poll conducted last week New York Times/Siena found that “74% of voters believe Mr. Biden is too old for the job, a share that has increased since the debate.”
Biden is now reportedly “counting on the support of African American Democrats and his union allies as his last line of defense” politics. “This is a playbook Biden has used in the past, painting his critics as mostly elitist white liberals who are out of step with the party’s more diverse and working-class grassroots.”
Meanwhile, some members of the Congressional Black Caucus claimed on CNN that calling for the 81-year-old president, who will be re-elected until the age of 85, to step down “is more about ageism and ableism than what President Biden is about.” That’s been done…the president is healthy and ready to continue in office. Are there no adults within the Democratic Party willing to help Biden face reality?
Platform changes: The committee that determines the Republican platform voted 84-18 in favor of a major update that significantly softens the party’s stance on abortion and brings it more in line with the views of former President Donald Trump.
The old version of the platform, last updated in 2016, supported a federal ban on abortion after 20 weeks and included content such as “the unborn child has an inviolable and fundamental right to life.” Abortion was mentioned 35 times. The new platform makes no mention of any kind of federal abortion ban, instead saying the party opposes late-term abortion and supports birth control and in vitro fertilization. it says the word abortion once.
The platform also supports stricter immigration policies, economic protectionism, and moderation on a range of social issues, even expressing acceptance of same-sex marriage. It paid scant attention to the national debt problem. On Medicare and Social Security — which the old platform made clear Republicans rejected as a “third rail” in American politics — the new platform simply takes Trump’s stance, confirming that he will not cut ties with either program. “Cut a penny off”.
While the document has yet to be fully ratified and adopted, it looks set to become official, reflecting the extent to which the party has become synonymous with the man himself. In a sense, truly articulating beliefs would be better than what the party did in 2020, when it simply abstained from launching a platform. But these specific beliefs are far removed from actual conservative values and priorities.
New York scene: We have the weirdest mayor.
It’s a wild turn for New York to learn about trash cans in 2024. https://t.co/SBaxvoylAH
— Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) July 8, 2024
Quick click
- The award for the most sensational news headline of the week goes to slate.
- Could Joe Biden Have Parkinson’s Disease? free pressEmily Yoffe explains why the American people deserve more transparency about the president’s health.
- “I am deeply committed to staying in this race, fighting this campaign to the end, and defeating Donald Trump,” Joe Biden wrote in a letter to lawmakers released by his campaign. The donor talked, went on MSNBC and spent much of Monday trying to address his cognitive health issues. Whether this unwavering approach will work remains to be seen.
- The woman with the “Fuck Them Two 2024” sign represents how many of us feel about the presidential election, and she won her free speech lawsuit.
- Russia destroys Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital.
