Jack Tame: The Biden problem isn't going away

It’s two weeks since Joe Biden and that disastrous debate, and still the drum steadily beats.  

I’m obsessed with this story. Obsessed! I think this is an absolutely monumental moment in global politics. Every morning I wake up, grab my phone, and immediately check my news apps. Is he still in the race? 

In a way, I suppose, you have to hand it to him and his team. Not once has Biden publicly expressed anything other than absolute total commitment to remaining the Democrats’ nominee. He knows that the moment he publicly expresses a scintilla of doubt, it’s all over.  

But the more I’ve reflected on that debate, the more I find the response of the White House and Biden’s supporters, kind of insulting.  

They’re gaslighting by trying to convince hundreds of millions of people to un-see what they saw. Don’t forget, Joe Biden asked for the debate. It was held entirely on his terms. He publicly promoted it as a moment in which he would prove to everyone he still had his edge. And in that moment, he was incoherent.  

So far, few of Biden’s colleagues have come out and explicitly called on him to stand down. Again, it’s gaslighting. They saw what we saw. And you just know that all of the conversations being held behind closed doors are exactly the same as this one. They just don’t want to risk their own skins. 

George Clooney’s op-ed was particularly devastating, this week. Not because Clooney is a Hollywood movie star, but because as someone co-ordinating fundraising campaigns worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, he thinks Biden needs to stand down. Like everything in U.S. politics, it pays to follow the money. Would you stake your fortune on Biden right now? 

The post-NATO press conference yesterday was the first one of its kind that Biden has held in eight months. Forget his performance. Forget his competence and comfort with foreign policy and the fact he made several gaffes with names and introductions. Eight months! The fact alone tells you more about Biden’s state and capacity than anything else you need to know.  

NATO is done. The Democrats convention is next month. If they’re gonna force him out, they’ve got a few weeks to act.  

Two weeks deep though, it’s clear this story and this issue are not going away. With every bad poll, every donor with cold feet, the pressure is sustained. And fundamentally, the news will not move on because the problem hasn’t gone away.  

And here’s the thing: It won’t go away. To campaign for President you have to be out in public, day after day after day. It requires vast energy. There will be more gaffes. There will be more blunders. There will be more moments of incoherence. And with every instance, voters will be left wondering… if this is Biden now… how’s he gonna be in another four years? 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to this Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks at Me.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
So it's two weeks, two weeks since Joe Biden and
that disastrous debate, and still boom the drum boom, steadily
boom beats. I gotta tell you, I am obsessed with
the story. I'm utterly obsessed. I just think this is
an absolutely monumental moment, a monumental moment in global politics.

(00:38):
Every morning I wake up, I grab my phone and
I immediately check my news apps, check the New York Times,
check the Herald. Is Joe still in the race in
a way? I suppose you? You kin't have to hand
it to him and his team in a way? I mean,
not once has Biden publicly expressed anything other than absolute

(01:01):
total commitment to remaining the Democrats nominee. He knows that
the moment he publicly expresses a sentilla of doubt, it's
all over. But the more that I have reflected on
that debate, the more I find the response of the
White House and Biden's supporters kind of insulting. They're gaslighting us.

(01:26):
The gaslighting us by trying to convince hundreds of millions
of people to unsee what they saw. Don't forget Joe
Biden asked for the debate. It was held entirely on
his terms. He publicly promoted it as a moment in
which he could prove to everyone he still had his edge,
and in that moment he was incoherent. So far, relatively

(01:52):
few of Biden's colleagues have come out and explicitly called
on him to stand down. A lot of them have
kind of hedged their bets or have acted luke warm
at best. But again, they saw what we saw, and
you just know that all of the conversations being held
behind closed doors are exactly the same as this one.

(02:15):
They just don't want to risk their own skins. George
Clooney's op ed I thought was particularly devastating to Biden's
cause this week, not because George Clooney is a famous
Hollywood movie star, but because, as someone who is coordinating
fundraising campaigns worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars,

(02:36):
he thinks Biden needs to stand down. And like everything
in US politics, it pays to follow the money. Would
you stake your fortune on Joe Biden right now? The
post NATO press conference yesterday was a big test for
Joe Biden, and it was the first press conference of

(02:56):
its kind that Biden has held in eight months. Forget
his performance, Forget his competence, Forget his relative comfort talking
foreign policy, Forget the fact he made several gaffes with
names and introductions eight months, his first solo press conference

(03:17):
in eight months. That fact alone tells you more about
Biden's state and capacity than anything else you need to know.
So NATO's done. The Democrats convention is next month. If
they're going to force him out, this is the window,
this is the time to do it. They've got a
few weeks to act. Got to say two weeks deep.

(03:39):
It is clear this story, this issue are not going away.
With every bad poll, every donor with cold feet, the
pressure is sustained that little bit longer, and fundamentally, the
news is not going to move on because the problem
has not gone away. And here's the thing, it won't
go away. To campaign for president, you have to be

(04:01):
out in public, day after day after day. It requires
vast energy. It would be exhausting for anyone. But you
can be sure there will be more gaffes, there will
be more blunders, there will be more moments of utter incoherence,
and with every instance voters will be left wondering, if

(04:22):
this is Biden now, how's he going to be in
another four years.

Speaker 1 (04:27):
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