After President Joe Biden’s debate disaster on Thursday, I learned two things for sure. First, the Republican Party is not the only party led by an old egoist who puts himself above the country. Second, the Republican Party is not the only party led by a leader with a toxic lemming mentality who wants to lead American democracy to the edge.
I know: Calm down, blanket-swaddler. And how dare you be “both ways” in this predicament. Republicans and Democrats do not pose an equal threat to democracy right now, for obvious reasons. Donald Trump’s reelection would be a disaster, for obvious reasons. Biden’s reelection would be something else, but it starts with “unlikely,” the only descriptor that matters right now.
Still, it was painful to watch the reaction of many prominent Democrats and others in the anti-Trump coalition (who we all know well) to Biden’s 90-minute senior moment in Atlanta. Immediately after the debate, many media squealers, myself included, called on Biden to drop out of the race. But word quickly spread that Biden’s surrogates were being recruited to put a brave face on the president’s face indefinitely.
“There are bad debate nights. Trust me, I know,” said former President Barack Obama. I wrote to X On Friday. Actually, yes. But no one attributed Obama's poor performance in the 2012 debate with Mitt Romney to his age or mental decline, and Obama, then 51, won relatively easily over Romney.
“Calm down,” said Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman. In XHe called out the “Democratic vultures” who are panicking about Biden’s reelection chances. Fetterman noted that he had a dismal debate performance in the 2022 Senate race and that he, like Obama, ultimately won. What he didn’t mention was that Fetterman was recovering from a stroke. In other words, it’s not a perfect comparison. (“He has age-related issues.”) New York times' And it only flows one way,' Maureen Dowd wrote about Biden on Sunday.)
“Everybody, wake up,” Vice President Kamala Harris told about 100 donors at Rob and Michelle Reiner’s home in Brentwood, California, on Saturday.
This was at a fundraiser my friend attended, who kindly left a note on his phone. Guests drank Aperol Spritzes and spicy margaritas. They munched on sliders, s'mores, churros, and dark November scenarios. Various hosts and headliners tried to keep the mood upbeat. Billy Crystal was there, Idina Menzel was there, and she sang “Don't Rain on My Parade.” funny girl.
The vice president himself, completely scripted, protected his supporters under an umbrella of platitudes. Harris said the president did a good job, “setting aside the style points,” as if Biden’s performance was a matter of the suit he wore. “None of that changed because of one day in June,” she said.
In 2022 I published a book. Thank you for your serviceThis is the story of how the Republican Party, under Trump, has become a cult of slavish devotion, working for the power and protection of one man. I hesitate to use this metaphor because it involves an imperfect and tragically unique event, but let me say it this way: Consider how the Republican Party responded to the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. At first, there was a wave of shock and horror from almost every class. But hours later, a significant portion of the Republican Palace Guard was already back in line, led by the 147 Republican senators and representatives who voted against certifying President-elect Biden’s victory. The Republican Party continued to spout big-time lies about voter fraud as if the catastrophe had never happened.
Again, January 6 and Biden’s debate performance are two very different situations. But both involve politicians quickly falling into line and ignoring the obvious reality before them. Both demonstrate a powerful impulse to put tribal loyalty above basic truths. In this case, the Democrats are vulnerable to hypocrisy because they portray themselves as the only honest alternative to MAGA. They are not vulnerable to their own big lie.
The aftermath of the debate was all the more frustrating because so many who fear a Trump return to the White House have been urging Biden not to run again for months, or begging those who support the 81-year-old president. In recent days, the call to “do something” has become less of a drumbeat and more of a jackhammer.
It is true that most of these cries come from pundits, podcasters, and so-called bed-wetting people. Biden’s palace guards love to ignore doubters and detractors. “I’ll leave the debate evaluation to the experts,” said former President Bill Clinton. I wrote to X On Friday. As if a majority of Americans hadn’t been saying for years that Biden wasn’t qualified to run for reelection at his age. As if many people who spent time around Biden hadn’t noticed signs of the president’s decline for months. Fun fact: Many of these people are elected officials, White House aides, and Biden surrogates who have recently tried to defend the president in front of microphones and cameras.
Today, some cracks were revealed in this unified Democratic front. Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first Democrat to call for Biden’s resignation. “I think it’s a fair question to ask, is this an episode or is this a condition?” Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC. She said she had heard “mixed” views on the subject. Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont criticized the Biden team’s “dismissiveness” in addressing questions about the president’s health. “That’s the debate we need to be having,” Welch said.
But for the most part, the top Democrats who can influence Biden’s thinking—Obama, Senator Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries—have held firm, at least publicly. “Calm down, folks” remains the dominant message among Biden’s entrenched contingent of loyalists.
Of all the false comforts that Bidenworld has spewed out in recent days, perhaps the most outrageous came from the respected South Carolina Democrat James Clyburn, whose endorsement helped Biden win the state in 2020 and revive Biden’s campaign after a disastrous start. Yes, Clyburn acknowledged, Biden had a “bad performance” in last week’s debate. But he tried to reassure that it was just “strike one,” adding, “If this was a game, he could swing two more.”
Of course, by the time Biden’s next major event — his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month and the next debate scheduled for September — it will be too late to do anything about it.
And even if Biden does well in his concession speech, no one will feel better on election night.