Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on Joe Biden's cratering re-election chances

US Democrats may be too late to choose a new Presidential candidate.

President Biden has not given a clear sign of considering quitting the race, but those around him are beginning to lose confidence in his chances for a re-election.

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking campaign funds have dropped drastically, and Biden's polls are slipping terribly.

He says Biden's recent public appearances have cast further doubt amongst voters, as he shows clear lapses in memory.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So inside Richard Ardel morning to you, good morn. He
make so this weekend he's going to pull the pinal up.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
If he's going to do it, time is running short.
Doors are closing in on President Biden right now, with
pressures really intensifying in the last several hours, and with
some speculation that yes, it could be this weekend. To
be clear, Biden himself is not giving any direct sign
that he is considering quitting the race. However, recent developments
are brutal, and those around him say Biden is more

(00:26):
receptive to hearing arguments about why he should drop his
reelection bid. Democratic leaders are making these arguments, and they
are not being shy in revealing that they have been
in conversation with the President about those concerns. To giving
Biden some wiggle room by not issuing public calls, but
here is what we know. Party bosses have delayed a
virtual role call on Biden's nomination, which was supposed to

(00:49):
be happening soon. They're holding it back to first week
of August. Meantime, Congressman Adam Schiff has become the highest
profile Democrat lawmaker to openly call for Biden to end
his run. Jeffrey Katzenberg, a co chair of the Biden
campaign and former boss of Disney, says the Flower campaign
cash has stopped basically, so that's critical. Former President Obama

(01:10):
has let it be known that he is telling associates
that Biden needs to seriously consider his viability and protect
his legacy and the party. Former Speaker Nancy Pelasius warned
that Biden's polls are slipping ominously, and when Biden challenged
this and their talks apparently lace, he told him that
he should put his own top polster onto the core

(01:30):
between the two. The current Democratic leaders in the House
and Senator told Biden their party is headed for electoral
disaster and two thirds of Democrats in a new poll
say Biden should withdraw. So that's not just two thirds
of all voters, that's two thirds of the Democrats as well.
Biden announced last night that he has another bout of COVID.
He looks terrible in that video of him getting off

(01:51):
a plane last night and has canceled his latest campaign events,
and in an interview with Black Entertainment Television just before that,
he forgot the name of his own Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin,
When he said this.

Speaker 3 (02:02):
It's all about tuning people with dignity, and it's about
making sure that we're coming. For example, look at the
heat on Gannet. Because I named the secretary of defense
for Blackmare. I named Katanji Brown.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Well, Katanji Brown is not a man and is not
defense secretary. She is a Supreme Court justice in Biden
named to the court.

Speaker 1 (02:26):
Yes, and then we go back to Milwaukee, which this
week has been quite the same.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
In various ways. Yeah, Former President Trump will speak of
tonight's closing session of the Republican Convention. Last night we
heard from his newly chosen vice presidential pick JD. Vance
in what was would say a lackluster speech delivered in
a pretty flat tone. The content, though unique. Vance has
only been in the US Senate since last year, but

(02:51):
because he was known for writing his memoir called Hillbilly Elegy,
that's given him a lot of general attention, turned into
a Netflix film, which tells of him getting over his
pretty miserable childhood in Appalachia. His then heroin addicted mother
tried to kill them both while out driving one day
when he was a young kid, and he jumped out

(03:12):
of the car, fled, and ran into a stranger's house
and they called the cops. He went to live with
his grandmother, whom he called me more, who set fire
to his grandfather one time after pouring gasoline over the granddad.
Then another family member put out that fire on par poor,
he said, last night of his grandmother.

Speaker 4 (03:34):
My mama died shortly before I left for Iraq in
two thousand and five. And when we went through things,
we found nineteen loaded handguns.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
There were.

Speaker 4 (03:47):
Now. The thing is they were stashed all over her house,
under her bed, in her closet, in the silverware drawer,
and we wondered what was going on. And it occurred
to us that towards the end of her life, ma'ama
couldn't get around so well. And so this frail old
woman made sure that no matter where she was, she

(04:07):
was within arm's length of whatever she needed to protect
her family. That's who we fight for. That's American spirit,
family values.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
What a lovely story. He has suggested elsewhere that marriages,
even violent marriages, should maybe not end in divorce, but
you know, continue to provide ongoing associations for the kid.
He suggested elsewhere that abortion should be illegal, even in
cases of rape or incest. Two wrongs don't make a right,

(04:37):
says Vance.

Speaker 1 (04:38):
I certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
Abortion illegal nationally. He says also he would have challenged
the Biden election results and repudiated the Biden Electoral College
votes and says what is needed is a leader who
quote is not in the pocket of big business. However,
Van's got his first job in Silicon Valley when Trump
backing billionaire Peter Tiel asked a mate to give job,
and he got another job as a venture capitalist staff

(05:03):
to that with one time AOL founder Steve Case, again
at the behest of Peter Thiel, with Case saying events
at the time quite he wasn't really working very much,
so nice have billionaire friends, and as he spoke, even
though he is married to an Indian immigrant. Many in
the Republican convention crowd were waiving printed signs saying of

(05:25):
immigrants quote mass deportations.

Speaker 1 (05:28):
Now, I think we'll be talking about it again on Monday, mate,
Now I have a good weekend. Richard Arnold sightside Peter
Teeal of course has a very strong New Zealand connection.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
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Speaker 1 (05:39):
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