Commentary: Divided and demoralized party stumbles ahead of November
(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
President Biden’s big press conference at the NATO summit this week was a victory for his opponent, former President Trump.
Why? Because Biden’s performance did nothing to resolve the Democrats’ dilemma over his status as the 2024 presidential nominee. The press conference gave Biden’s internal critics ammunition to denounce his candidacy, including his misidentification of Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump.” But Biden’s answers to questions about foreign policy were strong enough to reassure his allies in the party, at least for now. As a result, Biden is set to take on the next battle as the presumptive Democratic nominee.
That’s exactly what Trump wants. Since Biden’s dismal performance in the June 27 debate, the former president has enjoyed the best of both worlds: Biden has struggled to quell a rebellion within his party while his popularity has slumped, lagging behind Trump in national polling averages and in battleground states.
As the president wages a high-stakes campaign to prove he can do the job, prolonging the agony — with liberal media, Hollywood celebrities and Democratic lawmakers calling for Biden to drop his candidacy or step down — will only strengthen Trump’s position. Democratic divisions will remain in the public eye. Media attention will be focused on the incumbent. And Biden could make another gaffe, misstep or thoughtless moment at any time.
For the Democrats, a breakthrough is hard to see. If they continue to support Biden, he will likely lose to Donald Trump, probably in a landslide Electoral College victory. If they run against Biden, what will happen? Do they expect Biden to stay silent when Vice President Harris becomes the nominee? Do they assume that the Democratic Party, already divided by Israel and wary of Biden’s age and Harris’ unpopularity, will accept change peacefully without protest? Do they organize a “blitz primary” within a month to find a dream candidate who can beat Trump?
How will the men and women who voted for Biden in the primaries and the two-spirited Biden supporters react when the axis of arrogance — Barack Obama, George Clooney, Nancy Pelosi — throws him overboard? Will Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Ilhan Omar be satisfied with an unproven Democratic candidate who is not committed to the “unity platform” Biden endorsed four years ago? Will the swing voters rally behind Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, Josh Shapiro, and JB Pritzker?
There are no guarantees. Instead, Democrats are faced with a choice: field an unpopular incumbent in November who the public believes is too old to serve, or field an unknown, unproven candidate who is sure to have his own scandals, challenges and debts.
The party bears responsibility for this mess. Party officials, donors and spokesmen waited until Biden’s decline could no longer be ignored to act. Biden’s inner circle, from top aides to family members, hid his condition from the public, creating the illusion of superiority or even parity with Trump. And Biden thought he could buck the tides of time. At a press conference Thursday, Biden said it was a function of getting wiser with age. For some, but not for himself.
The fundamental problem with Biden is that we are aging in one direction. He is not Benjamin Button, and by the time you read this, Brad Pitt may have called on him to withdraw from the race. The days pass like arithmetic, and Biden’s condition seems to have deteriorated exponentially from March to June to now July. Of course, he has his good days and good moments. That’s the problem. We don’t need to expect Biden to have good days and good moments. And America’s enemies will act as soon as they believe he is absent or weak.
in Star Trek They talk about the Kobayashi Maru, a no-win scenario. The ship is under attack, defeat is certain, and there are no good options. How will the captain react? Look what Biden has done. He has denied reality. He has refused to change course. He will not abandon the bridge. And this ship is sinking.
