Breaking News: 2024 Presidential Race Update

Shockingly Shocking

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, folks, that debate was just twenty four days ago,
and just like that, now Joe Biden is out of
the race. Welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Robes.
It was not that long ago. How much has happened
in three weeks and a couple of days. Joe Biden

(00:23):
will not be seeking a second term.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
And it was shockingly shocking.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
I think maybe that's the best way to describe it,
because I think a lot of people, if you were
following any of the news, we're anticipating this as we
saw more and more Democrats publicly privately leaked by sources
asking the president to step aside for the good of
the party, and so we were all kind of waiting,
and yet still when the news came on Sunday one

(00:51):
forty five or so Eastern time, it seemed to have
caught everyone off guard.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
Well they had to. I mean, can you imagine everything
leaks these days. Imagine what they were doing trying to
keep this quiet. But he had some of his aids,
not just surrogates, some of his aids out there on
television just this weekend, almost pounding the table of He's
not going anywhere, which you're hearing nope, he's full steam ahead.

(01:18):
So some of that and then some of the writing
was on the wall and a lot of people were
saying he had to make a decision this weekend, just
the timing of some things that are coming up that
we'll get into. But still, you're right, that's a good
way you put it. At the top, it was shockingly
like why are we shocked by this? But still it
just a jolt that he's not in this race anymore.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
We got the news and quickly turned on the TV
and we were actually another I think good way to
look at it, why it was so shocking or just
that it was that is it seems that the networks
weren't prepared.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
You know, normally, this is a cat.

Speaker 3 (01:49):
This is a huge, probably the biggest political story that
many of these political reporters have ever followed or covered.
So when a big story is dropping like this, you know,
the big guns, all the big three network you know,
the anchors, they rushed to the studios and they get
in place and they take over the coverage because this
is huge.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
This is what journalists live for, these types of stories.

Speaker 3 (02:12):
And when we turned on to each one of the networks,
none of the network stars were in place.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
No one was ready.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
And that's not and again this is not a criticism
we're making it, but an observation being where we were from.
This is the biggest story of the year, and there
is some potential. You can say there's some top five
candidates out there, but this is absolutely one will be
one of the biggest. And it hit and we did.
We went through every single network looking and no one

(02:41):
had I don't even want to say a B team
type of situation, but you know who the network stars are,
and it looks like folks weren't in place, and then
for hours and hours they weren't ready, still weren't in place.
But for Americans keeping on with the news, don't know
if that matters, but that was our observation at the time.
But this it didn't seem like we were on standby,
if you will, for this news to come.

Speaker 3 (03:03):
And you know, you always wonder how this news will come.
And so for the president to choose x formally known
as Twitter, that also, I think shook.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
A lot of people too.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
And he had he posted the letter that he wrote
to the American people saying that he will address it
publicly in a speech later this week, so we can
anticipate that, but it was an unusual way to even
release the news that he was dropping out of the
presidential race.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
I can't imagine what that was like. And when we
got the news, I felt, I don't know, it was
almost a air came out, as if I felt a
little deflated, but almost a sigh of relief for him.
To a certain degree, every move he made over the
past three weeks was scrutinized as he's an old man

(03:51):
and his mind isn't sharp, So I hate this is
a guy who has fifty years in public office and
public service. You don't want them to go out this way.
But maybe it could have been worse down the road,
who knows, But just you hate it for the guy,
for his family. Who knows what was You can only
imagine behind the scenes.

Speaker 3 (04:08):
It was sad because he obviously then went on a
pr campaign, being interviewed by all the major networks, and
it just didn't do anything to move the needle. And
in fact, anyone's on social media, you can see the
memes that had been made by even some of those interviews,
and so it's just got to be excruciating. Again, as
you point out, with his fifty years of service, his

(04:31):
dedication to this country. You know, you want to go
out on top of this one stings a lot, and
you know he wanted to fight the fight, but it
just he knew a certain point, he just didn't have
the support.

Speaker 1 (04:43):
I didn't have the support. I mean, his statements didn't
say anything. I mean his statement goes I think a
couple of paragraphs in depth about his accomplishments before he
says it's right for me to step aside. But they
were arguing for the past couple of weeks, certainly that
this guy is sharp and he was ready and he's
a fighter. And President Obama put out a statement saying,

(05:04):
this is what this guy does. He fights, and I
can't imagine what this process was like for him, because
that's where we know Joe always He's been getting hit
his whole life, hasn't he And he keeps getting up
and this is I don't know, this is just one
he couldn't overcome.

Speaker 3 (05:18):
My guy, Yeah, and I think you could look at
it as the brave thing to do, the right thing
to do, was to step aside. And then he thirty
minutes after the original statement that was put out, he
then decided to formally and officially endorse his vice president
to Kamala Harris. And so that was another big, big

(05:40):
headline that everyone jumped on. And so we heard then
from the Glintons and from you know, so you're starting
to see prominent Democrats now come out and endorse Kamala Harris.
But that does not mean that she is going to
be the Democratic nominee. There are a lot of ifs
and what ifs and what may happen. There isn't really
precedent for this.

Speaker 1 (06:00):
It's and here we go, right, you have some Republicans
already now calling for they want President Biden to resign,
right if you can't continue to be a candidate. So
that's that you throw that into the mix of Now
Democrats are they going to coalesce? Are they going to
come together now around one candidate and not make this

(06:21):
a competition because it could become a competition. And the
Clinton's endorsed. But President Obama and his statement seem to
well he didn't endorse for sure, but he seemed to
suggest that the Democratic Party is now about to put
together a fair process moving forward. So that made a
few eyebrows go up. Is this president calling for a

(06:41):
fair convention, and is this one over here saying hey,
let's just all get behind.

Speaker 3 (06:46):
Because right because, and we can find out which direction
the Democrats are headed in within a pretty quick period
of time, because they have what's called a virtual role call,
and right now it's scheduled for early August.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
Where what don't you say right now?

Speaker 2 (07:02):
Yeah, because everything could change. We know that.

Speaker 3 (07:04):
And in fact, actually it's interesting we already know and
these types of headlines will keep rolling in that the
Tennessee delegation has already chosen to vote for Kamala Harris,
but there is an actual virtual roll call that takes
place where the delegates from each state then put in
their votes, and so that could be, you know, an
indication of where we're headed. They could also wait until
the convention in Chicago, which is August nineteenth, it begins then,

(07:29):
and actually go through a process like they did back
in the olden days, where that is how they elected
their nominee.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
We don't want that now, I say, we don't want
that as a It's great theater, right, but it's been
such a chaotic time. I would love to be honest
with you, I would love to just see, because we've
never had anything like that in our lifetimes, and that's
how they used to do it. But that is the
process you described. So any of you out there who

(07:58):
went and voted for Joe by and in the primary
he earned all of those delegates, well all those delegates
now are up for grabs to anybody, and he can't
tell anybody what to do. So everybody has a choice
of what they can do and where they're going to vote,
so they can all come together around Kamala, Harris or Robes.

(08:22):
Is anybody else going to get in the race because
they can't.

Speaker 3 (08:33):
No one has officially, but there are already names being
floated out there for potential other nominees.

Speaker 1 (08:42):
Okay, to say the top two, I think we're thinking
about the.

Speaker 3 (08:46):
Same Governor Gavin Newsom, of course, who by the way,
said before this process started that he had sub zero interest, I.

Speaker 2 (08:53):
Believe was the phrase he used in running for president.

Speaker 1 (08:56):
So that means he's thinking about it, right, It means.

Speaker 2 (08:57):
That the door's open.

Speaker 3 (08:59):
And then the other one that caught my eye was
Governor Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan.

Speaker 1 (09:04):
Those are two.

Speaker 3 (09:04):
Those are the two, and you know there are some
prominent governors throughout the States. But yes, if you google this,
there are already there's probably a growing list of seven
folks that could potentially be in competition with Vice President
Kamala Harris.

Speaker 2 (09:19):
But you know, I mean she was.

Speaker 3 (09:21):
You could make the argument a part of the ticket
that won that nomination Farren Square and so that you know,
there's a big argument that that should be considered or
at least be a part of it. And this is
a woman who has had a lot of first the
first female vice president, but she would be the first
black woman and the first Asian American to lead a

(09:41):
ticket of any major political party.

Speaker 2 (09:44):
And that's huge, That's history, and.

Speaker 1 (09:47):
That is where a lot of people are arguing she
can at least motivate the base in a way that
maybe Joe Biden could not. Thus, others will say, you
will there's some downsides to her as well, as they
show in their polling. The argument now, it seems like
Democrats wouldn't have the stomach for a fight, a big
convention fight, or or anybody trying to take on Kamala Harris,

(10:08):
or for the party to have the appearance of we
have this woman of color as VP. She's next in line,
and we're going to try to skip over her US
the Democrat. That's not a good look. But it doesn't
look good either if you just anoint her. And if
it doesn't look like you have an open process, how
are they going to find that balance?

Speaker 3 (10:27):
Yeah, and I wonder how much you know, And obviously
Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton are two different people. But
the last time a woman went up against President Trump
in a presidential race, the only time that's happened, you know.

Speaker 2 (10:38):
Trump won the delegates.

Speaker 3 (10:40):
Of course we should point out Hillary Clinton did win
the popular vote, but you know, I don't know if
they're looking at that too. There's always a concern about
can a woman beat Trump? And the polling now.

Speaker 2 (10:51):
Doesn't look you know that as it stands now. I
think they've been running the numbers.

Speaker 3 (10:56):
And that was probably part of Joe Biden's He thought
he was the best person to beat Trump.

Speaker 1 (11:03):
I mean he beat him once. Yeah, so you could
always think that he had to be thinking to the
very end that up into the last moment, that yes,
he was going to be in this. But some reporting
for Washington Posts that he did make the decision on
Saturday night we're talking here on Sunday, the actual day
he made the announcement, but he had made up his

(11:24):
mind on Saturday night and didn't call the Vice president
and tell her until Sunday on this day.

Speaker 2 (11:29):
That was pesky leaks.

Speaker 3 (11:31):
You tell one person, they tell one person, and then
it just goes from there. But yeah, and I think
there was also some mention that he still says his
mental acuity is sharp and he's prepared and able to
lead and continue for the next four years, but that
out of COVID he got knocked him down, and he
said he just physically, I think people around U said

(11:52):
physically felt so tired and didn't know if he could
physically take on the challenge of the campaign that was
ahead of him.

Speaker 1 (11:58):
But he's had a night exhausting, just and almost disastrous. Obviously,
I guess we could argue that now three and a
half weeks now after that debate and he tried to
do the damage control. I actually thought the ones we
got a little distance, and today, you know, he gets
back on track within every public he did a couple

(12:19):
of interviews, nothing work. He did at press conference, it
didn't work. He had several missteps and calling people the
wrong name and just did every little thing.

Speaker 3 (12:27):
Oh again, some major guests calling people the wrong name.

Speaker 2 (12:31):
Yeah, that was tough.

Speaker 3 (12:32):
But also think about this other this other debate is
scheduled for September tenth, so he was going to be
facing a second debate. Can you imagine the pressure that
that would have been for him?

Speaker 2 (12:42):
I don't know. I can't even imagine.

Speaker 3 (12:43):
So that will be of interest and hopefully we'll see
if that debate stands on that day, given all of
the tumult and the changes, but you got to think
somebody's got to be preparing for all of them.

Speaker 1 (12:56):
But how we haven't seen this on July twenty first,
in one August twenty second is when the Democratic nominee
is supposed to make a speech in Chicago in one
month and a day, and we don't know who the
nominee is.

Speaker 3 (13:11):
Right, but you got to think that people will who
believe they had a shot were already prepared, like they
knew that this was possible.

Speaker 1 (13:18):
But who's going to jump in this race?

Speaker 3 (13:20):
Can't?

Speaker 1 (13:21):
That's tough because the Democrats and the names that are
out there are people who are the things are going
well for right right in a prominent names who maybe
just sit this one out, and then I can't imagine
the Enter Party fighting anybody who would sign up for
being the person that causes more tumult in the Democratic Party.

(13:42):
I can't imagine.

Speaker 3 (13:43):
I think I think it's yeah, and by that reasoning alone,
I think it makes sense that Kamala Harris is almost
certainly going to be the nominee and we have to.

Speaker 1 (13:54):
And it will turn the page soon enough. But the
idea of that history, yeah, matter what, that is remarkable
to think.

Speaker 2 (14:02):
It truly is.

Speaker 3 (14:03):
And there is another list already forming online as well,
who her, if it were Kamala, her vice presidential candidate
would be. And that all has to be decided in
lightening speed time. I mean, think about the vetting process
that usually takes place is going to I don't know,
they're going to be on hyper speed now.

Speaker 2 (14:21):
I can't even imagine.

Speaker 3 (14:22):
But some of those some of those names too were
also I saw Whitmer's name on there, Kentucky Governor Andy Basher,
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Oh yeah, I saw that name floated.
A new North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. So yeah, there's
a that's a growing list as well. So so much

(14:43):
political theater out there now that I mean, this is
nothing like anything most of us have ever seen in
our lifetimes and certainly in our career.

Speaker 1 (14:51):
Are you exhausted yet of the theater? Right?

Speaker 3 (14:54):
Not? Actually, this is to me, this actually feels more
interesting than just the way it's been done. Like I
I feel like there's now a different kind of energy.
It's been sad to watch, but also potentially re energizing.
You see, you know, just the gosh, the near miss
with former President Trump and what that's done for the
Republican Party and the enthusiasm around him, and then now

(15:16):
you've got this dramatic change in the Democratic Party. I mean,
this is like nothing I have ever missed before. And
there's more to come.

Speaker 1 (15:26):
I'm exhausted, and I have the dates here, and I
mean I am Politics is difficult enough when you just
got two Canada's just duking it out. But we've had trials,
mental acuity exams, we're trying to get, we got, we've
got gun fire, we got.

Speaker 2 (15:49):
It's a lot.

Speaker 1 (15:50):
It's been a lot. So May thirtieth, you know what
happened on May thirtieth, not far from where we sit.
Trump was convicted of a thirty four.

Speaker 3 (16:00):
Yes, and I remember exactly where we were when we
watched it happen.

Speaker 1 (16:03):
Thirty four felonies. This was on May thirtieth.

Speaker 2 (16:06):
That's insane. And look where we are now two months later.

Speaker 1 (16:11):
Yes, so we talk about the June twenty seventh of debate.
July first, the Supreme Court grants they rule on the
presidential immunity, So a win for Trump there. You move
ahead to July the thirteenth, an assassination attempt. We just
had the RNC. Now they got to dismiss the classified

(16:33):
documents trial down in Florida, and now Biden is out
of the race. I'm just I know, get back to
normal fighting.

Speaker 2 (16:43):
November can't come soon enough.

Speaker 1 (16:47):
Oh goodness gracious. But yeah, it's going to turn now
to that debate about whether they can coalesce around her.
For us, what do we do? You can't vote again,
there are no more primaries. Voting is not going to happen.
But it really is just a matter of what happens
with the Democrats. Are they going to just rally around
her vote she needs. Where they have about four thousand delegates,

(17:07):
she needs about nineteen hundred or so of them. Don't
get too caught up in the math, but they could
in the role call if they do it give her
enough votes, and so we know going into the convention
she's going to be the candidate. If we have to
go into August nineteenth and she doesn't have enough delegates, that.

Speaker 3 (17:26):
Makes no sense for the Democratic Party. Maybe might want
to speed up that virtual role call. Yeah, this is
going to be a very busy political season like none
we've ever seen. Just since we've been recording this podcast,

(17:46):
the headlines just keep coming and coming. This is going
to be, as you put it, in exhausting next couple
of weeks and months.

Speaker 1 (17:54):
Okay, the headline that just surprised me. And who knows
if this is true, but seeing in reporting that they
have sources that someone is potentially interested in getting into
the race to compete for the Democratic nomination. Okay, fine,
you hear that, and then you hear who it is
and what's it going to take for him to get
the nomination, and you it's got your head a little bit.

Speaker 2 (18:18):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (18:18):
And also his age, because that was such a huge
part of this campaign. How old are two options were?
And certainly Joe Biden's age in his mental acuity. Senator
Joe Manchin of West Virginia. He's seventy six years old
and according to sources, according to CNN, is considering a
run for president. He's an independent. By the way, he's

(18:40):
not even a registered Democrat, so he would have to
reregister his political affiliation to being a Democrat to even
be allowed to be considered for the nomination.

Speaker 1 (18:53):
And a lot of people considered him a king maker
but also a nuisance to a certain degree and the
Senate because he but he still does caucus with the Democrats,
and he oftentimes was one who could wield a lot
of power and a lot of folks had to bow
to his will and where his vote was going to go.
So to hear that he could potentially get in the

(19:15):
race and to be willing to, I mean, how are
people going to receive a guy who's.

Speaker 3 (19:19):
Probably not well. But let's let's watch and see what
happens with that. Also, this headline not a big surprise,
and there is going to be a lot more to
come with this. Trump allies already putting out attack ads
against Kamala Harris in four of those battleground states, saying
that she covered up Joe Biden's They say obvious mental

(19:41):
decline because she put out statements saying that he was
good to go, and she was proudly standing by him.
So they are already taking they're not wasting any time
taking shots at Kamala.

Speaker 1 (19:54):
They were ready, you know that they were ready. Those
ads were ready to go as soon as this day came.
And that is going to be a line of attack, folks,
that you are probably going to hear pretty consistently. I'm
curious how loud it's going to get. But the idea
that the administration, the Biden administration, his people, his handler's

(20:16):
him were a part of a cover up, a conspiracy
to keep the condition of the president from the American people,
that is going to be a big storyline, or a
big line of attack, I should say. And they're going
to say, you you trust her, let me tell you
what she was a part of.

Speaker 3 (20:36):
Yes, we already saw that on Fox News earlier today.
And so yes, the ads were ready to launch, and
there will be many, many more of them, and that
will be yes, the theme we will hear over and
over again because, as you pointed out, so many of
Trump's wins and this was you know, had been a
very good stretch for him, had been pointing the finger
at Joe Biden's mental decline.

Speaker 2 (20:59):
That was his big ata. So now you've got someone else,
where do you go now from here?

Speaker 3 (21:04):
Will you attack her for knowing something that they were
alleging the entire time?

Speaker 1 (21:09):
And this is the first time in a while that
people are talking about Democrats in a potentially positive way
in this election cycle, certainly since the sense of the debate.
But every bit of news was negative. Every bit of
news was about his decline, every bit of news about
people want him, wanting him to get out. And Trump

(21:29):
had win after when after win. Yes, he was shot,
that was absolutely awful and barely escaped with his life
by depending on who he asked, a millimeter or an inch.
But he won court cases, he accepted the nomination, he
had the big coronation, he was He just had win

(21:50):
after win after when. And now Democrats are talking about
something other than Joe Biden's decline. We were talking about
now on that side having a nominee that's going to
make history.

Speaker 3 (22:04):
So the attack ads will grow and they will be vicious.
And we already heard Trump as well on social media.
He did not waste any time jumping in and reacting
to Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the race.

Speaker 1 (22:17):
I'm sure he was ready as well.

Speaker 3 (22:19):
And again more to come on that one. That is
not going to be any surprise. And one of the
other headlines we heard Jill Biden, she just reportedly said
that she stands with whatever her husband decides, and she
had told him that from the beginning that she was
there to support him and was not trying to have

(22:41):
any weight on his decision. She just said she was
standing by his side and would help him throughout whatever
decision he made. So we're just we'll hear more from her.
I'm sure once she makes some more public appearances. She's
scheduled to go to Paris later in the week. She'll
be representing the White House at the Olympics, so I'm
sure she will be faced with some questions and will

(23:01):
have some.

Speaker 2 (23:03):
More to say.

Speaker 1 (23:05):
You know she has, I mean, you can only imagine,
but he said she has always been his closest adviser,
and so I know she was a part of and
you know, it's one thing, it's close advisers and all
these political folks he has around him. I am sure
he said things to her that he hadn't said to
anybody else on the planet. I am sure she knows
things about this decision and what went into it that

(23:29):
nobody else will ever understand, and she has been by
all accounts. I mean, it doesn't matter. I mean the
job of the first lady. Sometimes I say it's thankless.
Sometimes I think it's ceremonial. But she is, I guess
adds to a long list of first ladies that I
would applaud, and the line of first ladies. A lot
of people fantasy is that Michelle Obama would jump into

(23:52):
the race. There is no indication anywhere, anywhere, in any
corner that I have seen or heard publicly or priat
that is on the table. And you know what, she
seems way too smart for that.

Speaker 3 (24:05):
Well she shout it down and I believed her like
and every time she has. You know, sometimes we always
laugh when politicians say I don't have any you know,
I don't think I'm going to run. They always leave
a door open. She shut it, closed it, locked it
dead bolted it.

Speaker 2 (24:19):
Yes, it's not happening.

Speaker 1 (24:21):
So Kamala Harris, which is who is now getting support.
Some delegates are coming out from members of DNC, coming
out and put a letter together saying officially they do
support her. You will see more and more of that
if you forget politics for a second, if you just
love your country and are proud of your country, forget
politics and what you think about people's stances on this,

(24:41):
and that you can't deny that. It's just cool to
see your country progress to a point where we had
a black man as president not too terribly long ago,
that was the first, and potentially could have the first
woman president. You'll have the first woman to get the
Democratic nomination, all this potential history. That part is just cool.

(25:04):
That's not a political statement. That is only a matter
of watching and going wow, I guess we're getting somewhere here.

Speaker 3 (25:12):
Yeah, finally, it's been a long time. Yes, not only
would she be the first woman, obviously, she would be
the first black woman, the first Asian American.

Speaker 1 (25:21):
And I think that's going to excite a lot of people.
The idea of it who already or behind maybe the
ticket of the Biden Harris ticket. Still, the idea of
being a part of that movement, that history a younger
group is going to be appealing to a lot of people.
So it's just that's no matter what, you're proud of
your country when you see history made agreed.

Speaker 3 (25:41):
Although I do you know, you do wonder and not
to be the synec here or to be Debbie Downer,
but I'm going to throw this out there because Joe
Biden made a very difficult, hard decision. And I know
he said publicly and reiterated that he thought he was
the best person to defeat Donald Trump. So he steps
aside to day among so much pressure out there from

(26:04):
his colleagues, and he endorses Kamala Harris. Now, what happens
if Kamala Harris doesn't win? And what does Joe Biden?
What do Democrats feel about their decision to pressure him
to step down and to endorse Kamala Harris. So you've

(26:26):
got all these potential first, but you've also you know,
you wonder what will happen to the party and to
all of those decisions if it turns out Trump wins.

Speaker 1 (26:37):
I mean, it's there's no guarantee. I mean, it's this
sounds outside of politics and just life that does the
result still mean does whether or not his decision was
a good, good one? Hinge on whether or not the
result is the one he thinks it should be. I
don't know. I think there's a chance that Joe Biden
still thinks he's the best guy to take on Trump.

(27:00):
I don't think it's changed at all, probably in his mind,
do you know.

Speaker 3 (27:03):
I think he felt like when he got so much
pressure from so many folks, I think he felt like
it was the right thing to do for the party.
But I don't know that he thinks it was the
right thing to do for the country.

Speaker 1 (27:17):
So we shall see. So, Yes, it's very possible that
she wins, he trounces, She gives the Democrats a better chance.
There's a good chance she gets trounced worse than Biden. Ever, Yeah,
can imagine. I don't know. But does that mean it's
a bad call, a bad choice? At this point? Some
would argue, is Trump even going to be beatable by

(27:39):
either one of those candidates? And you got to consider
she still has a decision a vice president to make.
That's going to be another big moment in this campaign.

Speaker 3 (27:49):
We'll be watching, We'll be sharing our thoughts with you.
I just guess we should all buckle up.

Speaker 1 (27:55):
Yes, it's gonna be a ride this year, folks. We
will be along with you here at iHeart for this
crazy political ride. We're going to be hearing from Biden,
he said, We're gonna hear at some point this week,
so of course we'll find a way we'll end up
talking about that as well. But we appreciate you always
for spending some time with us. You can catch us
as always on our official Instagram at Amy and TJ

(28:18):
Podcast