The first Presidential debate for the 2024 election was shocking. Sad. Train wreck. Disaster. Whatever you want to call it. We all know that Biden is fading, he has been for some time. After tonight, Karine Jean-Pierre might be the only person who has not gotten the memo… give her time.
Biden’s decline was obvious to many when he first decided to run against Trump in 2020. But at that time, the mission for Democrats was to get Trump out of office no matter what. Well, now we are living with the results.
From the minute Joe Biden first spoke, my wife said to me, “I did not realize he was in this bad of shape”.
That is the point! Most don’t know the severity of Joe Biden’s condition because he is constantly herded away from the camera or any opportunity to go off script, until tonight.
He didn’t really campaign in 2020 because of COVID.
The most recent State of the Union was a test, but Joe came out swinging that night, so much so that Trump wanted him drug tested before the debate.
It is disheartening to even think that we are asking for drug tests before Presidential debates… but here we are.
With every advantage, at a debate he and his team requested, Joe Biden still was unable to hold it together.
This was obvious within the first 10 minutes.
Microphones being muted, no live audience (!?), layup questions about J6 and Roe V Wade that any seasoned Democrat would have been able to make up some points on… Even with Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, who have very long history of favoritism, Joe was still unable to save his campaign.
Trump on the other hand was as composed as we have seen him on a Presidential debate stage, something many of the moderate voters say they wished for him back in 2016 and 2020…
Although debating is not his biggest strength, and he had no crowd to feed off, as he did in 2016, he was for the most part disciplined, stayed on the issues, and won on the issues.
This debate would have been a great opportunity for him to leave alone some of Biden’s predictable provoking lines, while continuing to hammer the issues. But until you are in the arena, and it is your reputation being so viciously attacked over the years, you can’t say whether you’d do anything different.
The best line of the night was the golf comment. I do not think I could have let that one slide either. I’m not sure what Biden’s handicap is but if his claim is anything like the statements he made throughout the debate, it probably was a lie. And everyone knows, you never lie about your golf score!!!
Newsflash: Trump is Trump, I love him for that, and I do not believe anyone changed their minds on him after this first debate. And there is no arguing that the issues; the economy, immigration, crime, national security, foreign policy, and overall cost of living, are in his favor.
Where do we go from here?
I can’t confidently say that there will be another debate.
Immediately after the debate, the CNN panel was talking about replacing Biden. MSNBC, to The Young Turks, to progressive NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof are expressing serious concern, to outright suggesting that Joe Biden step aside.
The funniest part of this is that they are all skipping right over Kamala Harris. Despite being 22 years younger, it is common knowledge, even for those on the left, that she is equally as incompetent.
The best decision the Biden team made was putting Kamala Harris as Vice President. Anyone else and they would have been on the debate stage against Donald Trump last night.
Skipping right over a young healthy African American Woman, who is already Vice President, to be the next nominee is unusual. But what is more unusual is having a debate before the party Conventions this summer.
For those who do not know, it is not just election day that decides the President, the parties must formally nominate their candidate, and technically, neither party has done that yet.
But who? Kristof suggests Governor Gretchen Whitmer MI, Sec. Gina Raimondo and soon to be retired Senator Sherrod Brown OH. Gavin Newsom seems to be always lurking. Michelle Obama has also been a likely choice.
What amazes me, and this is truly sad; democrat voters are more upset about Trump then having their nominee be chosen for them without a vote being casted.
Again, all that matters is ‘Stop Trump!’ I believe the Trump Team refers to this as Trump Derangement Syndrome or better referred to as TDS.
Whoever the democrat nominee is, democrats who can no longer defend Biden will immediately flock to the new choice and unapologetically stand beside them … For democracy??
Say what you will about Trump being the nominee again, but at least he won a full Republican primary.
The democrats who scream about defending democracy are talking about inserting a new candidate, weeks before the convention, with no input from the voters.
This is no different than Hillary Clinton seizing the nomination with the help of democratic superdelegates, leaving Bernie Sanders and his supporters in the rearview in 2016.
What makes this worse is how hard the DNC worked to prevent a Democratic Primary, fending off challengers like Robert F Kennedy Jr and Cornel West from having a chance at winning “their parties” nomination.
If I was a loyal, lifelong Democrat, I would be furious.
Not at the fact that Trump is in a better position politically than he ever has been, but because my party has continued to force losing candidates down my throat and my vote continues to lose value in their process.
As all of this plays out, I keep asking myself, if the ideas of today’s Democratic Party are so good, why can’t they find anyone besides Joe Biden to win on the issues?
Maybe they are not so good. Maybe these radical ideas represent a small vocal minority who have overtaken our institutions to appear as if they are in the majority.
Why have strong, well-spoken politicians like Tulsi Gabbard, Joe Manchin and Robert Kennedy Jr left the Democratic party?
Don’t be fooled. The people in charge do not care about Democracy.
They care about power, influence, and money.
Unfortunately, there are many who are so hyper focused on beating Trump that they don’t even realize their rights are being taken away from them.
So yes, Democracy is on the line. Choose wisely.
'If Fascism Ever Comes to America, It Will Come in the Name of Liberalism' – Ronald Reagan