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Agreed, and I don’t blame him for taking time to make the decision. It’s an unimaginably difficult position that nobody has ever been in before with world changing consequences. Anybody being impatient with him lacks empathy.
I don’t think it’s empathy as much as pragmatism. I’m sure they’re taking this time to review boatloads of data. They need to determine:
1) are his polls/fundraising looking really bad
2) will chances of victory increase if he drops out
3) how should a replacement be selected
4) who are the viable replacements
5) do the Republican promises to try to block this have any legal standing
He’s also a person coming to term with his diminishing capacities and needs to make a world-changing decision about it. I think I’d take a week or two as well to think about what I want to do. Even if he decides to drop out, it’s important how he does it and what he says. I think the public pressure is important in totality, but a lot of it gets pretty heartless.
Yeah, it’s hard to have such a successful legislative record in one term and still have to contend with the reality that it might be better for you to not get to finish the job.
This. If Trump/GoP are elected in a down ballot, they can seriously hamper the progress made or even reverse it. It has to be a democrat winning vs Trump.
I normally bend over backwards for these types of considerations- but the stakes are so incredibly high that my patience and empathy are taking a backseat these days. It's horrific that we're in such a precarious position. I'm a huge Biden supporter but IDK what to think right now. Argh it just sucks so much.
His biggest problem is it's the most imaginable thing ever. All of us are aging, most of us have had an aging boss, all of us have had aging relatives.
His problem is people understand all too well and are indeed positioned to have opinions about what he's doing.
I hope so, I'm beginning to doubt it but I really hope so. We are doomed if he doesn't drop out. I can also imagine the dcn screwing up the new candidate section by trying to impose someone, without a free and fair convention to pick the new leader it's going to be all infighting until we lose the election
He's welcome at any time to head up to the podium and tell the country exactly what he plans to do, including not drop out. He can dispel all of this with a simple televised statement if he really wanted to.
I said last week he must dispel the debate performance with a high energy press conference. I’ve screwed up at work but my boss didn’t immediately fire me.
Is this a pattern or?
We need pissed off joe Biden.
We had pissed off Joe Biden at the debate, remember the weird, uncomfortable, slightly forced looking "my son Beau wasn't a loser" frownie face? It wasn't especially effective
My son wasn’t a sucker or a loser. You’re a sucker and you’re a loser. You have the morals of an alley cat. Sounds like a debate from the early 1900s. Immature children hurling insults.
Of course it could hurt…especially if he continues to fail at forming complete sentences. But that’s the point. If the debate was really just “a bad night” go out there and prove it to the American people and the White House press corps. If he has another bad night, maybe it’s time to consider that his “cold” is too much of an obstacle to continue to pursue the presidency.
^^^^ this…. Biden supporter here but this is the point and problem. If he can’t he shouldn’t run end of story. He can’t do this for the next few months. It was either a fluke, and a major one at that, or it’s a pervasive problem and he needs to rectify it cause too much is at stake.
I'd like to see a full 30-minute unscripted press conference showcasing his ability to take on and answer questions on the fly, proving once and for all that he is fit and ready to take on and trounce the megalomaniac trying to become King of America.
Otherwise, let's start warming up the Democrats' bench. There are a ton of capable, popular leaders who can and should step up to the plate before the convention.
I say the same thing. Biden is too old and he can’t handle off the cuff questions from the press corps. He is done. And because he didn’t set up a successor by now (maybe he thought he could do it before this?) I feel we have a much bigger chance of Trump winning than we did in 2020.
Not that he should ever emulate trump. But remember after access Hollywood when he put out a video that he’s going nowhere? That’s the kinda shit he needs to do.
Turns out the one thing Trump is good at is marketing and garnering attention. The fact I don’t hear most of what Biden posts online and I don’t have to worry about what kind of weird shit he types is part of why I love him, but during a campaign it would be good to actually have someone that understands how to go viral in a social media era.
Exactly. If he’s staying in this race, why isn’t he taking every opportunity to prove these doubts surrounding him wrong? Do damage control, dude. Change the narrative.
Bidens legacy may be defined by his decision to stay or drop out of the race. Especially if he stays in and loses he will be always be viewed negatively. But if he drops out and the Dem candidate wins, his career would end in a moment of selfless wisdom
Echos of the example from George Washington. Hell he can even invoke Washington in his exit speech about handing the reigns to another person to continue American democracy. Use it as an example of something Trump wouldn’t do.
Yeah, I think thats correct but the third option is what's dragging this out: Drops out and the replacement loses because they didn't have enough time to build support.
The media is the main reason this is being dragged out. Apparently they don't like Biden. The guy isn't going to drop out though and I just hope whoever ends up being wrong here (even if it's me) people can admit they were wrong afterwards. But I won't hold my breath.
Because Bernie speaks truth to power. He knows the countries problems largely stem from wealth inequality and isn't afraid to say it. It ain't poor, or even middle class people running the DNC. They pander just enough to get our vote, but let's not pretend the establishment is going to back a candidate that would act in the working class's interest if it would touch the wealth of the elite class.
No he wouldn't. That is the GOP way of operating. I would bet big that his response would be something along the lines of "I made the best decision at that time and it still remains the best decision for the....."
And even if he does stay in and manage to win, it will be 4 years of non-stop obstruction, house inquiries and 25th amendment challenges. TBH based on what we all saw, they would be justified. I just wished the party would FN wake up and get on the right side of this. The DNC needs to stop calling us "bed-wetters" and telling us to distrust our own observations, ffs
I just know that I watched that debate with a massive knot in my stomach, I really lost all faith watching him grapple with making a sentence while Trump just hit him with a firehose of bullshit and lies with no pushback. I really want Biden, and America, to succeed but I’m really not sure Biden has what it takes to actually fight, and fight hard, to win a campaign against Trump.
Same--that was a rough night.
But honestly--Trump is just as senile. Why is everyone forgetting that he literally fell asleep at his own trial a few weeks ago?
All it is that he has more energy. His mental state is just as problematic, and I'm not saying that because I loathe him--this is all just optics. He's absolutely just as bad.
The problem is exactly that. Trump knows it's a show. He is only devoted to the show, the spectacle. He is all spectacle on no substance. smoke and mirrors, but he understands this and puts every last bit of energy into the show. Why do you think he's orange? It's all a big WWE wrestling match to him and unfortunately, to large chunks of the nation.
I loathe the man, but at the debate, he was on top of it after Biden meandered and slurred. Trump said “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either." I hate how well he landed that line.
He strikes me as a performer and agitator who uses angry tirades and grandiose claims to fire up his fans. I don't underestimate the man because of the power he has achieved.
There's an idea that we become more pronounced versions of ourselves as we age. It seems to be the case here. Biden's mental acuity is wavering, but he's still the same decent person and got a shit-ton done in his term, especially for progressive causes. Trump is an even more dangerous, self-serving lunatic.
Agreed. It’s a toxic combo. Fast talking liar who’s an expert at inventing fantasy worlds where he alone can save everyone…
Vs a very old man who has had a life long stuttering problem… who has no ability to fight back against these fake narratives and, forcefully, set the record straight.
All I’m seeing is a con man and his helpless mark.
Same, I was more than a little confused reading so many comments all over Reddit afterwards basically saying "Trump lied non stop, we can't let him take office again, I'll vote for Biden all day!". Yes I completely agree, But that doesn't mean Biden SHOULD be president either. Both things can be true!
If democrats really want to keep trump out of office, prove it. I'm not sure I could in good conscience vote for someone that seems unable to do pretty basic things as it relates to the job at hand. Just to keep another guy that is also unable to do the job at the level it should be done at not to mention refuses to be the least bit presidential,out of office... Basically we're screwed, unless Biden and his handlers do the right thing. But then the Democrats have to do their part as well in regards to the replacement...
Yep my heart sank once Biden started talking and it was all downhill from there. I was losing my mind when it devolved into debating about who would win at golf
Nobody believed he was “high energy”, but I think they succeeded in raising our expectations and hiding how fargone he is. I’m quite livid about it, actually.
They are still pretending that the debate was just an off night, or that if it were there would be some opportunity to catch up from the massive gap in polling
Yeah people in here are acting like they didn’t spend insane effort calling anyone and everyone who questioned Bidens cognitive decline a bot and a liar - now, that’s become a major narrative in this sub. Hopefully some people realize how disingenuous and astroturfed this subreddit it.
Apparently they did though considering they just now panicked and the dude has the nomination on lock.
But also people aren't considering the reason we didn't have a normal primary is partly because Biden is the incumbent and mostly because none of the people who are being suggested as a replacement wanted to primary him cause they actually support Biden. Newsom in particular has been the biggest Biden supporter.
I don’t think they had “fooled” many people, so much as people were just crossing their fingers that nothing catastrophic happened to show how much they have been covering up his mental issues.
Well, that ship sailed last Thursday.
That says more about the people that frequent this sub than the PR team’s prowess. Sorry, this dude has been a pool noodle from the jump and you’d have to have been willfully and aggressively ignoring that to not see it. It’s cool that people are allowing the scales to fall from their eyes but god damn it’s really frustrating. We didn’t have to wait until four months out to fix this, we’re getting driven off a cliff by the smuggest mother fuckers on the planet
This is why the debate is so necessary and I’m glad it happened. Everyone confined to their media silos were forced out of it and realized, Biden is actually old and yes Trump is willing to tell any lie he needs to in order to win.
His aides are now leaking pretty much every interaction to the press. The family throwing them under the bus was the stupidest mistake they’ve made yet.
The campaign blamed Biden's collapse on a cold. Then they blamed it on Trump being a liar and hard to debate. Then they blamed his debate prep team. And now he's trying to blame an international trip he took 2 weeks prior.
What the fuck are we doing?
If he loses, they'll point to this time when everyone was doubting him as the reason for the loss, even though he was already behind in the polls before the debate.
They're still blaming Bernie supporters for Hillary's loss in 2016. For the Democratic establishment, it's never their fault.
>A CBS poll conducted after the first presidential debate found an astonishing 72 percent of voters don’t think Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve as president. Following the debate, the razor-thin margins between Biden and Trump widened slightly, with Trump leading Biden by 41 to 38 percent, according to polling from USA Today/Suffolk University and 41.8 to 40.4 percent according to 538. A CNN poll published Monday found an eye-popping 75 percent of voters think Democrats have a better chance of retaining the White House if Biden isn’t the nominee. That’s a lot of bedwetters.
>“the bedwetting brigade.”
So, I agree that the coverage, commentary, and conversation have been pretty breathless and panic-stricken, but this kind of language doesn't help.
You don't get to crater that badly in a debate and ignore the concerns that arise. Joe Biden is still able to perform the duties of his office and execute the campaign - and he should find a way to demonstrate that immediately.
And if he can’t then he needs to leave. Given these articles, and the calls among Governors and the DNC, and the democrats supposedly waiting to go public with their calls for Biden to drop out I’m guessing this is all to signal to Biden (and his team) that he’s done. When they say it’s his decision they’re not saying it’s his decision to drop out. It’s his decision to either drop out with some dignity on his own terms or be forced out.
He lost party confidence and donors are fleeing. Once that happens you’re done. The polling, the debate, the cognitive decline, the approval rating, Gaza, no party confidence, donors leaving... A candidate doesn’t recover from this.
This fighting back is mostly his staff who don’t want to lose their jobs. Not realizing they’ll lose their jobs in 6 months regardless. They’re selfishly putting 6 more months of employment ahead of the future of our country.
His response is specifically not only failing to put fears to rest, but making them worse. Some of the democratic meetings that have taking place were organized because party leaders still hadn't heard anything from the administration.
So the cycle is kind of getting worse due to their continued failures. I think generally they are at the point where he is considering dropping, but they obviously can't say that until it happens. This movement really has legs at this point, I think he will be forced to soon. Not like 25th amendment, but enough pressure and bad polling that there is no other option.
This response smells of Biden or the people surrounding him trying to save his legacy, their jobs or both. If they believe everything they have been saying about Trump then what they should be doing is trying to save their nation.
It 100% stinks of 'I dont want to lose my access to power' from his inner circle if you ask me. I sincerely hope the current polling and pressure is enough to overcome that, otherwise we're heading into a nightmare scenario for November.
It’s their jobs, they don’t really care about his legacy. Most staffers are younger and worried about their bills and mortgages. They’d quickly be fired and replaced by the new guys staff. The DC job shuffle is pretty intense I’ve heard.
Completely agree with all of that. If this was genuinely a one-off fluke disaster he could’ve easily proven it by now. His hiding is just fueling the fire and he has to know he can’t continue. If he cares about this country at all he will step aside
His response could not be worse if he was doing it on purpose. So far he has:
1. Sent a condescending mass email calling Democrats “bedwetters” and insulted liberal media personalities that are on the side of Democrats.
2. Told concerned donors that he almost fell asleep on stage.
3. Announced a “media blitz” consisting of a single interview, eight days after the debate, with a softball reporter, that will be edited prior to release.
We cannot make the mistake of conflating Biden the president with Biden the candidate. Candidate Biden is physically and mentally unfit, and incapable of running the aggressive campaign needed to win. Even if he was capable, I doubt there’s any voters left that haven’t already irrevocably made up their mind on their opinion of Biden. Biden’s campaign is dead before it ever took off. Get him out and schedule the open convention.
Candidate Biden is showing behind the scenes of President Biden. Dude has to recover for a couple days after prepping for a debate. What the hell happens when he gets woken up at 3am because of a national emergency? How long does it take him to come to and get briefed on the issue? I don't care how he looks on his "media blitz", he showed he cannot perform the duties of president and that it's not going to get better.
But yes, I am voting Biden if it's the choice in November, fuck Trump.
I was reading this Wapo article about suggestions for Biden’s ‘comeback’ but every suggestion they were throwing out was something he’s shown he doesn’t have the capacity for. Like a late night media blitz, an unedited sit down interview etc. The people in his circle who made sure he got this far knowing his decline would prevent him from doing the basics of a campaign are completely off the rails
it is SO IMPORTANT that they stop subscribing to the sunk cost fallacy and stop RIGHT NOW while there's a chance.
We barely navigated a trump restrained by re-election, t47 will be obscene. It has me shopping for cheap houses in rural japan, and I'm not joking.
I'm one of the jerks who was calling everyone bedwetters before the debate. Now that the nightmare scenario has happened and the "too old" narrative has been validated in the eyes of the American public and the media, I realize that *I* was the one in denial. I apologize to my Democratic allies, and am eager to support whichever candidate the party selects.
If wetting the bed is cool, call me Miles Davis. /eyeroll
I can't believe they're still talking down to us. This week has been a meteor strike to the heart of our chances to avoid fascism, and they're acting like its nothing.
Literally all he had to do at this debate was look alive and awake with some strength in his voice.. essentially pass the optics test. That was it. His opponent is so weak that Biden just needed to sound presidential and be cognizant of his surroundings and holy fuck he did the complete opposite
Trump left himself wide open for countless punches and counterattacks but Biden just couldn't do anything. Any time he tried to get a jab in his voice was so quiet and weak so nothing ever landed how it should.
But the Dems have been so successful though in just trying to be dicks to people that are concerned, progressive, or otherwise not energized to vote for them in the past.
Nothing sells someone on participating in democracy than "just shut up and vote for us you bedwetting asshole. If we lose it's your fault you fucking Bernie bro." /s
You're totally right, it's really not likely to be assuaging any fears here
There is just no evidence right now he can manage that. He had that debate, gave a VERY short teleprompter speech that sounded like a campaign email and went into hiding.
We’ve seen no evidence he’s not beating Medicare to an empty room as we speak.
This is like the other article I read today where someone in the Biden admin said people would come crawling back to them asking for inauguration and dinner party invites in a few months.
They’re delusional
>Joe Biden is still able to perform the duties of his office and execute the campaign
Is he though? Any other candidate would have been out doing damage control on major networks over the weekend.
He didn't join a campaign call on Monday to major donors and supporters. Which sparked more panic among them.
Joe has gone AWOL and the soonest you will hear from him is a prerecorded interview that airs on Sunday.
Obama had youthful energy that was contagious when he was running. Republicans called his supporters a cult, tried comparing rallies to Nazi Germany and here we are today.....
They were jealous, and like always their accusation was a confession. Trumps cult like following is 100% because those people looked at Obama as a cult leader and they decided they want their own. Not realizing that Obama (and any POTUS) works for us. An election is a fucking job interview. Obama just killed it at the interview and the job.
i mean, bernie was making multiple public appearances and speaking in a loud clear voice at them when he was campaigning and he was still seen as too old. so how can the people who were holding that magnifying glass pretend biden's ok?
I was at the Bernie rally when he came back after his fucking heart attack and I turned to my girlfriend and said “there’s no way Biden is as sharp as Bernie”
bernie is, or at least was when I last saw him speak, an impressive pubilc speaker, just in terms of his speaking voice, clarity of ideas in his stump speech, etc. I would have liked to see him on a national debate stage more.
One thing's for damn sure: if Biden pulls out of the campaign but stays in office, the nominee is going to spend every day of September and October trying to explain why Biden's still in office if he's not able to run.
These DC centrist democrat latter climbing aide types are so infuriating to me. They always act like they’re so much more enlightened and level headed and well mannered than everybody else but continuously act without class and like spoiled frat boys on a nicotine break. Everything they try to claim about progressives is just projection
Centrist love to act like they are not extreme and that both sides are way out there but often the center in a way are just as extreme in trying to be above the fray and acting like both sides are the same.
Imagine tanking in such a spectacular way that it’s understandable and believable that you might consider dropping out. Then, in reaction to looking like a victim of elder abuse, people suggest you might drop out. So what do you do? Double down, cite a headcold, call the concerned people bedwetters and pretend like nothing happened. This will go well for them.
And lets be honest…anyone who watched that debate knows Biden is more likely going to be wetting the bed soon than most of the people they insults. Was like the barely-walking dead
“Bedwetting Brigade” has to be the most condescending response possible to the very real (virtually unanimous) concerns voters have for a candidate whose visible aging has rapidly increased over the past year.
I love Joe, I think he’s done a fine job, but him dying in office is a near certainty and Kamala is one of the least liked politicians the democrats have to offer. If by some chance Biden wins, the DMC will try to shove her down our throats in four years and we will be back in the same position of fighting against whatever Christian nationalist candidate takes over the party after Trump.
>The report seems to be the first indication that Biden understands the stakes here. Publicly, the campaign has insisted that concerns over his debate performance are nothing more than misplaced anxiety from “the bedwetting brigade.”
They fume? They mad at us? It’s our fault?
Hurry the fuck up and put someone in there who can walk, speak loudly, and tell us we’re gonna whip that cry babies’ ass into oblivion in the election.
You’re wetting the bed this time, dumb ass.
I’m in the UK, so viewing from a different lens.
But, it’s over isn’t it?
There’s no coming back from this.
Snap excuse: he had a cold.
New excuse: he was jet lagged and nearly fell asleep. Oh, and his debate prep started at 11, ended at 4 and had a nap time in the middle.
Next what?
In the meantime, Trump wins a landmark SCOTUS ruling practically declaring him King, his NY sentencing is postponed until September but we all know that means forever and the world is watching.
Biden could take advantage, but blah blah “respects the ruling” like the fucking idiot he is now and STILL the world needs saving.
Biden needs to be gone, ASAP. Parachute in another candidate and get Trump beaten again.
People can talk about how obvious this binary choice is all they want. The simple fact is, running a good guy with dementia against a racist POS is a recipe for disaster.
White midwesterner moderates will decide this election, and they don't care about abortion or racism. All they care about is getting a moderate who speaks well. They just want civility and decorum. They will now stay home if Biden is the candidate. Simple as.
Maybe he should fume at the corruption of the supreme court. Maybe he should fume at the damn people making public statements about second American revolutions. Maybe he should do something to get this country under control. Maybe even more than just fume at bullshit rumors.
What the actual fuck are we doing here Biden Admin/DNC? I'll vote for a stump over any Republican but like what the actual fuck is this timeline.
Modern day Democratic Party needs to be launched into the Sun. My copium fantasy is that when Trump wins in 2024 there will be a tidal wave populist left wing movement in 2028 as a result
If Trump wins 2024 American as it has existed will have effectively died. Project 2025 is no joke, and now that the president has free reign to do \*checks notes\* literally anything so long as it's "official", I fully expect political dissidents to start disappearing in the exact fashion that Putin is known for.
it won't start with that, it will start with "defamation" lawsuits and other SLAPP actions, because that's how they work: They complain about anything done to them as accountability, until they can frame it as wrong, then they do it "back" as prevenge, while being shitty and passive aggressive about it, like "this is what we told you would happen if you started suing people for lying."
And by 2028 you mean 2128. Cause if Trump wins, there won't be elections in 2028 let alone anything with the breathing space to be a "populist left wing movement" for decades afterwards. Even that will just be picking up ashes cause the planet is fucked.
Yep. We will have “elections” that result in perpetual president trump receiving 99% of the vote and claiming irregularities for the 1% that didn’t vote for him
the way the GOP projects on election fraud you can tell they're 100 percent ready to do it before it (in their mind) gets done to them. "We have to rig it so they can't rig it, the only way to save democracy is to kill it" will be a perfectly coherent thought in the national right in 4-6 years, it's already working its way in from the fringe.
Better fantasy: we get an amazing replacement in who is charismatic, vocal, young, smart and likeable (there’s a few possibilities) and we rally around them and they beat the shit out of Trump.
Maybe I’m in denial but I’m starting to have some real hope for this scenario. Last Thursday almost felt like when Trump was elected the first time. It was devastating. But there’s still time to at least attempt a Hail Mary and it needs to happen
I completely agree.
My uninformed take: I think a good portion of voters are desperate for a choice beyond these two at this point. It very well could inject a crazy amount of energy into whoever’s campaign.
Yuuuuup. Imagine replacing Biden on that stage with someone I described? Trump would basically became Biden2.0. If someone is up there actually pushing back at Trump and making sense, you could actually see how awful he is. Biden’s atrocious presentation totally overshadowed Trump’s bad showing too.
I saw an interview yesterday with Andy Beshear, and good god was it refreshing. He was honest about the situation while still remaining political. It made me crave a leader like him. I think many, many other people feel the same way.
I’d say 80-90% of people are tired of how old these guys are and just can’t do anything about it because they want to beat the other side. You grab someone that is younger and you’ll get a huge amount of independents.
People are starving for leadership and hope. Biden isn’t giving it to them, otherwise you wouldn’t have to constantly be fighting back against “reports” like this. You can’t blame people for being concerned and searching for anything to give them a sense that all is not lost. He is not delivering. Period.
I’m concerned about his age. I’m more concerned with the lack of leadership and messaging in that debate, and with the response afterwards. The age is the cause of that for sure.
Cool. How about we do something, *anything*. All of these horrific Supreme Court decisions: silence. Heritage Foundation leader openly saying they want a revolution: silence. It’s time to fucking *do something*.
I say this as a person who would vote for a corpse to prevent fascism from taking over. I phonebanked last time around and am canvassing/volunteering on campaign events thus time:
Are you fucking kidding me? They just ruled that Trump can be a king and your response is "I'll won't abuse my power"?!?!?!? Fucking great - what are you doing to prevent all of us from being at their mercy. What's the plan? How are you dealing with the iceberg were about to hit???
And while we're spinning our wheels on this, the lying felon who has openly talked about being a dictator is using the SC's decision to knock the legs out from his multiple trials/convictions. And the christofacists are cueing up their next moves to implement project2025. Fascism is coming to America.
We love you, Joe. But it's time.
You know how you know this is all bullshit? Where were all these *"insiders and staffers"* during the primaries? You know, the last one was just in June.
This is total propaganda, meant to stoke chaos in a mostly unified democratic party and the shit didn't start going sideways until the Gaza conflict kicked off and Ukraine got their money. It's got active measures wtitten all over it.
People are fucking stupid and have learned nothing in the 9 years we've been subjected to Trump and his foreign handlers.
In 1838, 23 years before he became President, Lincoln presented his essay titled "Perpetuation of our Political Institutions" to the Young Men's Lyceum in Springfield Illinois.
[Please take 20 minutes out of your day to listen to his words.](https://youtu.be/GB6rPqD1Mnw?si=yiNwNiNVXwcRHygj)
[You can read the essay here](https://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/lyceum.htm)
Pass this on to ANYONE who claims they are an American. Have them listen to this. Have them hear from Lincoln that what is happening is unAmerican.
Trump is dangerous and unscrupulous, yes, but the mind stubbornly balks at identifying him with Lincoln's evocation of an "an Alexander, a Caesar, or a Napoleon".
I suppose that while Americans of 1838 could envisage the end of their system of government, they at least imagined it happening with some *dignity*.
I’m so pissed off at JB and his team. They hid him from us and gaslit us all year. He’s done less interviews than any president since Reagan because he is incapable of talking without a prompter. He’s too old for the job and the democrats are throwing the election to the convicted rapist.
I don’t think the NYT would’ve posted the article if it wasn’t a legit report. I’d be worried if Biden wasn’t considering dropping out after seeing the public’s reaction to the debate.
Two things needs to happen to put this to bed.
1) Biden needs to say unequivocally whether he's in or out.
2a) If he's in, he needs to do interviews, rallies, whatever and carpet bomb the news cycle with him being coherent and high energy. Once people see for themselves that he's okay, this goes away.
2b) If he's out, step aside now, release his delegates, and pledge to support whoever the nominee is.
It's not rocket science - just be decisive and pick a lane. What is killing him right now is uncertainty.
Those idiots in the White House and all of those other “advisors” are fucking delusional!! Can they possibly be this blind *and* this stupid? Will Americans finally take to the streets to save our democracy because of the ignorance and stupidity of a feeble and feckless old man and his enablers?
Everyone is so focused on the election, no one is asking how’s he going to fare for the next four years should he pull this one out. This isn’t something that is going to get better. It’s only going to get worse. You might not like it, but ask anyone who has or is currently caring for an elder parent. The President’s mental clarity is only going to get worse.
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We don't really know what is going on behind the scenes, but they will deny it until it happens. They can't be like "uhhh maybe he will drop out".
This is what I've been telling myself. If they're gonna make the switch, we'll only know when it really happens.
Agreed, and I don’t blame him for taking time to make the decision. It’s an unimaginably difficult position that nobody has ever been in before with world changing consequences. Anybody being impatient with him lacks empathy.
I don’t think it’s empathy as much as pragmatism. I’m sure they’re taking this time to review boatloads of data. They need to determine: 1) are his polls/fundraising looking really bad 2) will chances of victory increase if he drops out 3) how should a replacement be selected 4) who are the viable replacements 5) do the Republican promises to try to block this have any legal standing
He’s also a person coming to term with his diminishing capacities and needs to make a world-changing decision about it. I think I’d take a week or two as well to think about what I want to do. Even if he decides to drop out, it’s important how he does it and what he says. I think the public pressure is important in totality, but a lot of it gets pretty heartless.
Yeah, it’s hard to have such a successful legislative record in one term and still have to contend with the reality that it might be better for you to not get to finish the job.
The bigger issue is trump. He knows what's happening He believes in our system too much to protect it
This. If Trump/GoP are elected in a down ballot, they can seriously hamper the progress made or even reverse it. It has to be a democrat winning vs Trump.
I normally bend over backwards for these types of considerations- but the stakes are so incredibly high that my patience and empathy are taking a backseat these days. It's horrific that we're in such a precarious position. I'm a huge Biden supporter but IDK what to think right now. Argh it just sucks so much.
Hopefully he makes a better decision than RBG.
Exactly what I've been thinking too. This country cannot survive another selfish politician putting themselves above the country when it matters most.
RBG keeps popping into my head, too. You’d think the DNC would’ve learned its lesson about Weekend at Bernies-ing high office, yet here we are.
Weekend at Diane Feinsteins
His biggest problem is it's the most imaginable thing ever. All of us are aging, most of us have had an aging boss, all of us have had aging relatives. His problem is people understand all too well and are indeed positioned to have opinions about what he's doing.
Sure. We have all known nice, elderly people who became confused. It only gets worse. Nobody thinks those people should be president.
People have been warning against this exact situation since the last election and there's zero time to lose. He needs to drop out immediately.
LBJ and Washington are both great examples of presidents giving up power, other presidents have been in this situation before
I hope so, I'm beginning to doubt it but I really hope so. We are doomed if he doesn't drop out. I can also imagine the dcn screwing up the new candidate section by trying to impose someone, without a free and fair convention to pick the new leader it's going to be all infighting until we lose the election
Exactly none of this will stop until he accepts the nomination
The fact that he won’t do a televised Q&A while his staff keep speaking for him says everything.
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To be fair, there’s no proof that Trump can read for that long, either.
He's welcome at any time to head up to the podium and tell the country exactly what he plans to do, including not drop out. He can dispel all of this with a simple televised statement if he really wanted to.
This statement needs to be followed up by answering reporters. The Whitehouse has a press room. He needs to use it.
I said last week he must dispel the debate performance with a high energy press conference. I’ve screwed up at work but my boss didn’t immediately fire me. Is this a pattern or? We need pissed off joe Biden.
We had pissed off Joe Biden at the debate, remember the weird, uncomfortable, slightly forced looking "my son Beau wasn't a loser" frownie face? It wasn't especially effective
My son wasn’t a sucker or a loser. You’re a sucker and you’re a loser. You have the morals of an alley cat. Sounds like a debate from the early 1900s. Immature children hurling insults.
It's alright they both resolved to solve their differences over a game of golf.
So relatable!
It feels like the bulk of voting bass is from this era, so it's not like that doesn't appeal to them even if we find it lame.
Maybe he thinks if he addresses it, it'll come off insecure. Could hurt worse...?
If he can bring up the sotu energy to a press room interview he should do that asap
He can't, that's the issue.
Of course it could hurt…especially if he continues to fail at forming complete sentences. But that’s the point. If the debate was really just “a bad night” go out there and prove it to the American people and the White House press corps. If he has another bad night, maybe it’s time to consider that his “cold” is too much of an obstacle to continue to pursue the presidency.
^^^^ this…. Biden supporter here but this is the point and problem. If he can’t he shouldn’t run end of story. He can’t do this for the next few months. It was either a fluke, and a major one at that, or it’s a pervasive problem and he needs to rectify it cause too much is at stake.
I'd like to see a full 30-minute unscripted press conference showcasing his ability to take on and answer questions on the fly, proving once and for all that he is fit and ready to take on and trounce the megalomaniac trying to become King of America. Otherwise, let's start warming up the Democrats' bench. There are a ton of capable, popular leaders who can and should step up to the plate before the convention.
I say the same thing. Biden is too old and he can’t handle off the cuff questions from the press corps. He is done. And because he didn’t set up a successor by now (maybe he thought he could do it before this?) I feel we have a much bigger chance of Trump winning than we did in 2020.
Not that he should ever emulate trump. But remember after access Hollywood when he put out a video that he’s going nowhere? That’s the kinda shit he needs to do.
Turns out the one thing Trump is good at is marketing and garnering attention. The fact I don’t hear most of what Biden posts online and I don’t have to worry about what kind of weird shit he types is part of why I love him, but during a campaign it would be good to actually have someone that understands how to go viral in a social media era.
Exactly. If he’s staying in this race, why isn’t he taking every opportunity to prove these doubts surrounding him wrong? Do damage control, dude. Change the narrative.
He thinks he did that the day after the debate in NC.
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No idea, I'm just betting that is what he's thinking.
Bidens legacy may be defined by his decision to stay or drop out of the race. Especially if he stays in and loses he will be always be viewed negatively. But if he drops out and the Dem candidate wins, his career would end in a moment of selfless wisdom
Echos of the example from George Washington. Hell he can even invoke Washington in his exit speech about handing the reigns to another person to continue American democracy. Use it as an example of something Trump wouldn’t do.
An even more uncanny parallel when you consider that the Supreme Court is basically giving the president the powers of a king.
They say… George Washington's yielding his power and stepping away. Is that true? I wasn't aware that was something a person could do.
I’m perplexed!
“Teach them how to say goodbye”
Yeah, I think thats correct but the third option is what's dragging this out: Drops out and the replacement loses because they didn't have enough time to build support.
The media is the main reason this is being dragged out. Apparently they don't like Biden. The guy isn't going to drop out though and I just hope whoever ends up being wrong here (even if it's me) people can admit they were wrong afterwards. But I won't hold my breath.
They sure as hell loved Biden when Bernie was the other option.
Because Bernie speaks truth to power. He knows the countries problems largely stem from wealth inequality and isn't afraid to say it. It ain't poor, or even middle class people running the DNC. They pander just enough to get our vote, but let's not pretend the establishment is going to back a candidate that would act in the working class's interest if it would touch the wealth of the elite class.
And if he drops out and they lose anyway wouldn't that be a bad look too?
I don’t think so. It would be the story of the country pushing him out and he can always say he would have won.
No he wouldn't. That is the GOP way of operating. I would bet big that his response would be something along the lines of "I made the best decision at that time and it still remains the best decision for the....."
While the rest of us burn.
And even if he does stay in and manage to win, it will be 4 years of non-stop obstruction, house inquiries and 25th amendment challenges. TBH based on what we all saw, they would be justified. I just wished the party would FN wake up and get on the right side of this. The DNC needs to stop calling us "bed-wetters" and telling us to distrust our own observations, ffs
Depends. Biden is a King now so he can ignore any and all challenges from the GOP pertaining to the 25th Amendment if he wins the re-election.
I just know that I watched that debate with a massive knot in my stomach, I really lost all faith watching him grapple with making a sentence while Trump just hit him with a firehose of bullshit and lies with no pushback. I really want Biden, and America, to succeed but I’m really not sure Biden has what it takes to actually fight, and fight hard, to win a campaign against Trump.
The dread I felt watching the debate last week was the same dread I felt on election night 2016.
I cried. It was painful to watch.
Same--that was a rough night. But honestly--Trump is just as senile. Why is everyone forgetting that he literally fell asleep at his own trial a few weeks ago? All it is that he has more energy. His mental state is just as problematic, and I'm not saying that because I loathe him--this is all just optics. He's absolutely just as bad.
The problem is exactly that. Trump knows it's a show. He is only devoted to the show, the spectacle. He is all spectacle on no substance. smoke and mirrors, but he understands this and puts every last bit of energy into the show. Why do you think he's orange? It's all a big WWE wrestling match to him and unfortunately, to large chunks of the nation.
I loathe the man, but at the debate, he was on top of it after Biden meandered and slurred. Trump said “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either." I hate how well he landed that line. He strikes me as a performer and agitator who uses angry tirades and grandiose claims to fire up his fans. I don't underestimate the man because of the power he has achieved. There's an idea that we become more pronounced versions of ourselves as we age. It seems to be the case here. Biden's mental acuity is wavering, but he's still the same decent person and got a shit-ton done in his term, especially for progressive causes. Trump is an even more dangerous, self-serving lunatic.
Unfortunately it’s not just as bad. Not even close.
Agreed. It’s a toxic combo. Fast talking liar who’s an expert at inventing fantasy worlds where he alone can save everyone… Vs a very old man who has had a life long stuttering problem… who has no ability to fight back against these fake narratives and, forcefully, set the record straight. All I’m seeing is a con man and his helpless mark.
Same, I was more than a little confused reading so many comments all over Reddit afterwards basically saying "Trump lied non stop, we can't let him take office again, I'll vote for Biden all day!". Yes I completely agree, But that doesn't mean Biden SHOULD be president either. Both things can be true! If democrats really want to keep trump out of office, prove it. I'm not sure I could in good conscience vote for someone that seems unable to do pretty basic things as it relates to the job at hand. Just to keep another guy that is also unable to do the job at the level it should be done at not to mention refuses to be the least bit presidential,out of office... Basically we're screwed, unless Biden and his handlers do the right thing. But then the Democrats have to do their part as well in regards to the replacement...
That's how I felt during his first sentence. I shut it off in disgust.
Yep my heart sank once Biden started talking and it was all downhill from there. I was losing my mind when it devolved into debating about who would win at golf
This is the worst presidential election I’ve seen in my lifetime
This is the worst presidential election I’ve seen in my lifetime ***so far.***
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If you've looked at this sub for the last 4 years, his PR team definitely convinced alot of liberals not to question things and attack those who do.
And that works until it doesn't, as we saw. If he hadn't run for another term we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Idk about that. They successfully fooled everyone on this sub that Biden is high energy up until a week ago.
Not a single soul ever believed that Biden is high energy, lmao. He isn't Trump, though.
Nobody believed he was “high energy”, but I think they succeeded in raising our expectations and hiding how fargone he is. I’m quite livid about it, actually.
When a lot of us complained about Biden here, we got shouted down or chased out. Many people saw this problem a long time ago.
I got downvoted to oblivion.
It’s still happening lol
Yeah I don’t know why people are pretending that didn’t happen.
They are still pretending that the debate was just an off night, or that if it were there would be some opportunity to catch up from the massive gap in polling
Yeah people in here are acting like they didn’t spend insane effort calling anyone and everyone who questioned Bidens cognitive decline a bot and a liar - now, that’s become a major narrative in this sub. Hopefully some people realize how disingenuous and astroturfed this subreddit it.
Apparently they did though considering they just now panicked and the dude has the nomination on lock. But also people aren't considering the reason we didn't have a normal primary is partly because Biden is the incumbent and mostly because none of the people who are being suggested as a replacement wanted to primary him cause they actually support Biden. Newsom in particular has been the biggest Biden supporter.
I don’t think they had “fooled” many people, so much as people were just crossing their fingers that nothing catastrophic happened to show how much they have been covering up his mental issues. Well, that ship sailed last Thursday.
That says more about the people that frequent this sub than the PR team’s prowess. Sorry, this dude has been a pool noodle from the jump and you’d have to have been willfully and aggressively ignoring that to not see it. It’s cool that people are allowing the scales to fall from their eyes but god damn it’s really frustrating. We didn’t have to wait until four months out to fix this, we’re getting driven off a cliff by the smuggest mother fuckers on the planet
This is why the debate is so necessary and I’m glad it happened. Everyone confined to their media silos were forced out of it and realized, Biden is actually old and yes Trump is willing to tell any lie he needs to in order to win.
His aides are now leaking pretty much every interaction to the press. The family throwing them under the bus was the stupidest mistake they’ve made yet.
The campaign blamed Biden's collapse on a cold. Then they blamed it on Trump being a liar and hard to debate. Then they blamed his debate prep team. And now he's trying to blame an international trip he took 2 weeks prior. What the fuck are we doing?
It’s always someone else’s fault. If he loses, it’ll be the voters fault.
If he loses, they'll point to this time when everyone was doubting him as the reason for the loss, even though he was already behind in the polls before the debate. They're still blaming Bernie supporters for Hillary's loss in 2016. For the Democratic establishment, it's never their fault.
I'm told we need to ignore the evidence of our eyes and ears, stop panicking and just shut up and vote. That's a sure fire way to draw young voters.
Years of gaslighting, but I'm sure that'll be forgotten by those doing it.
Checking all the boxes. Weekend at Bernies Biden is in full throttle.
>A CBS poll conducted after the first presidential debate found an astonishing 72 percent of voters don’t think Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve as president. Following the debate, the razor-thin margins between Biden and Trump widened slightly, with Trump leading Biden by 41 to 38 percent, according to polling from USA Today/Suffolk University and 41.8 to 40.4 percent according to 538. A CNN poll published Monday found an eye-popping 75 percent of voters think Democrats have a better chance of retaining the White House if Biden isn’t the nominee. That’s a lot of bedwetters.
I thought boaty mcboatface taught us not to trust Internet polls.
> I thought boaty mcboatface taught us not to trust Internet polls. Didn't "Hitler did nothing wrong" almost win that one too?
That was a Mountain Dew flavor poll.
Boaty McBoatface is a national treasure and I will heed nothing to the contrary
this is how you make apathy grow
>“the bedwetting brigade.” So, I agree that the coverage, commentary, and conversation have been pretty breathless and panic-stricken, but this kind of language doesn't help. You don't get to crater that badly in a debate and ignore the concerns that arise. Joe Biden is still able to perform the duties of his office and execute the campaign - and he should find a way to demonstrate that immediately.
And if he can’t then he needs to leave. Given these articles, and the calls among Governors and the DNC, and the democrats supposedly waiting to go public with their calls for Biden to drop out I’m guessing this is all to signal to Biden (and his team) that he’s done. When they say it’s his decision they’re not saying it’s his decision to drop out. It’s his decision to either drop out with some dignity on his own terms or be forced out. He lost party confidence and donors are fleeing. Once that happens you’re done. The polling, the debate, the cognitive decline, the approval rating, Gaza, no party confidence, donors leaving... A candidate doesn’t recover from this. This fighting back is mostly his staff who don’t want to lose their jobs. Not realizing they’ll lose their jobs in 6 months regardless. They’re selfishly putting 6 more months of employment ahead of the future of our country.
His response is specifically not only failing to put fears to rest, but making them worse. Some of the democratic meetings that have taking place were organized because party leaders still hadn't heard anything from the administration. So the cycle is kind of getting worse due to their continued failures. I think generally they are at the point where he is considering dropping, but they obviously can't say that until it happens. This movement really has legs at this point, I think he will be forced to soon. Not like 25th amendment, but enough pressure and bad polling that there is no other option.
This response smells of Biden or the people surrounding him trying to save his legacy, their jobs or both. If they believe everything they have been saying about Trump then what they should be doing is trying to save their nation.
It 100% stinks of 'I dont want to lose my access to power' from his inner circle if you ask me. I sincerely hope the current polling and pressure is enough to overcome that, otherwise we're heading into a nightmare scenario for November.
It’s their jobs, they don’t really care about his legacy. Most staffers are younger and worried about their bills and mortgages. They’d quickly be fired and replaced by the new guys staff. The DC job shuffle is pretty intense I’ve heard.
Shit, recognize the moment, pass the torch, that can be part of the legacy.
Completely agree with all of that. If this was genuinely a one-off fluke disaster he could’ve easily proven it by now. His hiding is just fueling the fire and he has to know he can’t continue. If he cares about this country at all he will step aside
His response could not be worse if he was doing it on purpose. So far he has: 1. Sent a condescending mass email calling Democrats “bedwetters” and insulted liberal media personalities that are on the side of Democrats. 2. Told concerned donors that he almost fell asleep on stage. 3. Announced a “media blitz” consisting of a single interview, eight days after the debate, with a softball reporter, that will be edited prior to release. We cannot make the mistake of conflating Biden the president with Biden the candidate. Candidate Biden is physically and mentally unfit, and incapable of running the aggressive campaign needed to win. Even if he was capable, I doubt there’s any voters left that haven’t already irrevocably made up their mind on their opinion of Biden. Biden’s campaign is dead before it ever took off. Get him out and schedule the open convention.
Candidate Biden is showing behind the scenes of President Biden. Dude has to recover for a couple days after prepping for a debate. What the hell happens when he gets woken up at 3am because of a national emergency? How long does it take him to come to and get briefed on the issue? I don't care how he looks on his "media blitz", he showed he cannot perform the duties of president and that it's not going to get better. But yes, I am voting Biden if it's the choice in November, fuck Trump.
I was reading this Wapo article about suggestions for Biden’s ‘comeback’ but every suggestion they were throwing out was something he’s shown he doesn’t have the capacity for. Like a late night media blitz, an unedited sit down interview etc. The people in his circle who made sure he got this far knowing his decline would prevent him from doing the basics of a campaign are completely off the rails
it is SO IMPORTANT that they stop subscribing to the sunk cost fallacy and stop RIGHT NOW while there's a chance. We barely navigated a trump restrained by re-election, t47 will be obscene. It has me shopping for cheap houses in rural japan, and I'm not joking.
I'm one of the jerks who was calling everyone bedwetters before the debate. Now that the nightmare scenario has happened and the "too old" narrative has been validated in the eyes of the American public and the media, I realize that *I* was the one in denial. I apologize to my Democratic allies, and am eager to support whichever candidate the party selects.
If wetting the bed is cool, call me Miles Davis. /eyeroll I can't believe they're still talking down to us. This week has been a meteor strike to the heart of our chances to avoid fascism, and they're acting like its nothing.
Literally all he had to do at this debate was look alive and awake with some strength in his voice.. essentially pass the optics test. That was it. His opponent is so weak that Biden just needed to sound presidential and be cognizant of his surroundings and holy fuck he did the complete opposite Trump left himself wide open for countless punches and counterattacks but Biden just couldn't do anything. Any time he tried to get a jab in his voice was so quiet and weak so nothing ever landed how it should.
No. They are acting like it's our fault. Idiots.
But the Dems have been so successful though in just trying to be dicks to people that are concerned, progressive, or otherwise not energized to vote for them in the past. Nothing sells someone on participating in democracy than "just shut up and vote for us you bedwetting asshole. If we lose it's your fault you fucking Bernie bro." /s You're totally right, it's really not likely to be assuaging any fears here
There is just no evidence right now he can manage that. He had that debate, gave a VERY short teleprompter speech that sounded like a campaign email and went into hiding. We’ve seen no evidence he’s not beating Medicare to an empty room as we speak.
This is like the other article I read today where someone in the Biden admin said people would come crawling back to them asking for inauguration and dinner party invites in a few months. They’re delusional
>Joe Biden is still able to perform the duties of his office and execute the campaign Is he though? Any other candidate would have been out doing damage control on major networks over the weekend. He didn't join a campaign call on Monday to major donors and supporters. Which sparked more panic among them. Joe has gone AWOL and the soonest you will hear from him is a prerecorded interview that airs on Sunday.
Pod Save America episode today said at this point in 2012, Obama was on a bus campaign in Ohio making several appearances per day. Lol
And the first debate was still months away in 2012. Obama was doing that even without needing to do the damage control that Biden needs to do.
Obama had youthful energy that was contagious when he was running. Republicans called his supporters a cult, tried comparing rallies to Nazi Germany and here we are today.....
They were jealous, and like always their accusation was a confession. Trumps cult like following is 100% because those people looked at Obama as a cult leader and they decided they want their own. Not realizing that Obama (and any POTUS) works for us. An election is a fucking job interview. Obama just killed it at the interview and the job.
i mean, bernie was making multiple public appearances and speaking in a loud clear voice at them when he was campaigning and he was still seen as too old. so how can the people who were holding that magnifying glass pretend biden's ok?
I was at the Bernie rally when he came back after his fucking heart attack and I turned to my girlfriend and said “there’s no way Biden is as sharp as Bernie”
bernie is, or at least was when I last saw him speak, an impressive pubilc speaker, just in terms of his speaking voice, clarity of ideas in his stump speech, etc. I would have liked to see him on a national debate stage more.
And his latest excuse for his debate performance is that he had jet lag from traveling overseas. He had like a week at camp david before the debate.
One thing's for damn sure: if Biden pulls out of the campaign but stays in office, the nominee is going to spend every day of September and October trying to explain why Biden's still in office if he's not able to run.
Easy. He’s capable now but he can’t commit to still being capable in 4 more years. I don’t believe it, but that’s an ok spin.
Bring President and running for President are two different skill sets/jobs.
> awal AWOL - absent without leave. And it's up to him to demonstrate his ability, that's what I'm saying.
They've gotta be blind if they aren't wetting the bed.
These DC centrist democrat latter climbing aide types are so infuriating to me. They always act like they’re so much more enlightened and level headed and well mannered than everybody else but continuously act without class and like spoiled frat boys on a nicotine break. Everything they try to claim about progressives is just projection
Centrist love to act like they are not extreme and that both sides are way out there but often the center in a way are just as extreme in trying to be above the fray and acting like both sides are the same.
Imagine tanking in such a spectacular way that it’s understandable and believable that you might consider dropping out. Then, in reaction to looking like a victim of elder abuse, people suggest you might drop out. So what do you do? Double down, cite a headcold, call the concerned people bedwetters and pretend like nothing happened. This will go well for them. And lets be honest…anyone who watched that debate knows Biden is more likely going to be wetting the bed soon than most of the people they insults. Was like the barely-walking dead
“Bedwetting Brigade” has to be the most condescending response possible to the very real (virtually unanimous) concerns voters have for a candidate whose visible aging has rapidly increased over the past year. I love Joe, I think he’s done a fine job, but him dying in office is a near certainty and Kamala is one of the least liked politicians the democrats have to offer. If by some chance Biden wins, the DMC will try to shove her down our throats in four years and we will be back in the same position of fighting against whatever Christian nationalist candidate takes over the party after Trump.
Oh are we at the point where the DNC tells us to shut up and fall in line behind their terrible candidate? Cool
Digimon vote for the Democrat!
Whatever name is in front of (D) this year is who is getting my vote.
Biden should use his new executive powers to declare Project 2025 and this federalist society as a terrorist organization...
>The report seems to be the first indication that Biden understands the stakes here. Publicly, the campaign has insisted that concerns over his debate performance are nothing more than misplaced anxiety from “the bedwetting brigade.”
Speech 12/40.
"Bedwetting brigade." Yeah, talking down to your own voters will win an election 👍
2016 all over again. The hubris and arrogance of these people will be the downfall of all of us.
Bernie Bro's, Bedwetting brigade, its always our faults when dems lose, not their own actions right
Schrodinger's demographic: Strong enough to flip the election. Too insignificant to court or take seriously.
They fume? They mad at us? It’s our fault? Hurry the fuck up and put someone in there who can walk, speak loudly, and tell us we’re gonna whip that cry babies’ ass into oblivion in the election. You’re wetting the bed this time, dumb ass.
I’m in the UK, so viewing from a different lens. But, it’s over isn’t it? There’s no coming back from this. Snap excuse: he had a cold. New excuse: he was jet lagged and nearly fell asleep. Oh, and his debate prep started at 11, ended at 4 and had a nap time in the middle. Next what? In the meantime, Trump wins a landmark SCOTUS ruling practically declaring him King, his NY sentencing is postponed until September but we all know that means forever and the world is watching. Biden could take advantage, but blah blah “respects the ruling” like the fucking idiot he is now and STILL the world needs saving. Biden needs to be gone, ASAP. Parachute in another candidate and get Trump beaten again.
People can talk about how obvious this binary choice is all they want. The simple fact is, running a good guy with dementia against a racist POS is a recipe for disaster. White midwesterner moderates will decide this election, and they don't care about abortion or racism. All they care about is getting a moderate who speaks well. They just want civility and decorum. They will now stay home if Biden is the candidate. Simple as.
Maybe he should fume at the corruption of the supreme court. Maybe he should fume at the damn people making public statements about second American revolutions. Maybe he should do something to get this country under control. Maybe even more than just fume at bullshit rumors.
What the actual fuck are we doing here Biden Admin/DNC? I'll vote for a stump over any Republican but like what the actual fuck is this timeline. Modern day Democratic Party needs to be launched into the Sun. My copium fantasy is that when Trump wins in 2024 there will be a tidal wave populist left wing movement in 2028 as a result
Hey man didn’t see that wave after he won in 2016 and it’s even worse now. That’s a copium overdose you’re having.
If Trump wins 2024 American as it has existed will have effectively died. Project 2025 is no joke, and now that the president has free reign to do \*checks notes\* literally anything so long as it's "official", I fully expect political dissidents to start disappearing in the exact fashion that Putin is known for.
it won't start with that, it will start with "defamation" lawsuits and other SLAPP actions, because that's how they work: They complain about anything done to them as accountability, until they can frame it as wrong, then they do it "back" as prevenge, while being shitty and passive aggressive about it, like "this is what we told you would happen if you started suing people for lying."
And by 2028 you mean 2128. Cause if Trump wins, there won't be elections in 2028 let alone anything with the breathing space to be a "populist left wing movement" for decades afterwards. Even that will just be picking up ashes cause the planet is fucked.
There'll probably still be an election in 2028 but it'll be about as legit as a Russian or North Korean presidential election.
Yep. We will have “elections” that result in perpetual president trump receiving 99% of the vote and claiming irregularities for the 1% that didn’t vote for him
the way the GOP projects on election fraud you can tell they're 100 percent ready to do it before it (in their mind) gets done to them. "We have to rig it so they can't rig it, the only way to save democracy is to kill it" will be a perfectly coherent thought in the national right in 4-6 years, it's already working its way in from the fringe.
Except with a LOT more shootings, bombings, kidnappings, and arson.
Better fantasy: we get an amazing replacement in who is charismatic, vocal, young, smart and likeable (there’s a few possibilities) and we rally around them and they beat the shit out of Trump. Maybe I’m in denial but I’m starting to have some real hope for this scenario. Last Thursday almost felt like when Trump was elected the first time. It was devastating. But there’s still time to at least attempt a Hail Mary and it needs to happen
I completely agree. My uninformed take: I think a good portion of voters are desperate for a choice beyond these two at this point. It very well could inject a crazy amount of energy into whoever’s campaign.
Yuuuuup. Imagine replacing Biden on that stage with someone I described? Trump would basically became Biden2.0. If someone is up there actually pushing back at Trump and making sense, you could actually see how awful he is. Biden’s atrocious presentation totally overshadowed Trump’s bad showing too. I saw an interview yesterday with Andy Beshear, and good god was it refreshing. He was honest about the situation while still remaining political. It made me crave a leader like him. I think many, many other people feel the same way.
I’d say 80-90% of people are tired of how old these guys are and just can’t do anything about it because they want to beat the other side. You grab someone that is younger and you’ll get a huge amount of independents.
People are starving for leadership and hope. Biden isn’t giving it to them, otherwise you wouldn’t have to constantly be fighting back against “reports” like this. You can’t blame people for being concerned and searching for anything to give them a sense that all is not lost. He is not delivering. Period.
I’m concerned about his age. I’m more concerned with the lack of leadership and messaging in that debate, and with the response afterwards. The age is the cause of that for sure.
Which will be conveniently ignored in favor of whichever candidate the DNC seeks to coronate for 2028
Cool. How about we do something, *anything*. All of these horrific Supreme Court decisions: silence. Heritage Foundation leader openly saying they want a revolution: silence. It’s time to fucking *do something*.
I say this as a person who would vote for a corpse to prevent fascism from taking over. I phonebanked last time around and am canvassing/volunteering on campaign events thus time: Are you fucking kidding me? They just ruled that Trump can be a king and your response is "I'll won't abuse my power"?!?!?!? Fucking great - what are you doing to prevent all of us from being at their mercy. What's the plan? How are you dealing with the iceberg were about to hit???
His generation won’t give up until they’ve permanently knee capped this country and most of the people in it
Just say I need more time for ice cream vote for this guy or gal America, thank you
This is called losing control of the situation and denying facts at this point
We all saw it. He's cooked.
And while we're spinning our wheels on this, the lying felon who has openly talked about being a dictator is using the SC's decision to knock the legs out from his multiple trials/convictions. And the christofacists are cueing up their next moves to implement project2025. Fascism is coming to America. We love you, Joe. But it's time.
You know how you know this is all bullshit? Where were all these *"insiders and staffers"* during the primaries? You know, the last one was just in June. This is total propaganda, meant to stoke chaos in a mostly unified democratic party and the shit didn't start going sideways until the Gaza conflict kicked off and Ukraine got their money. It's got active measures wtitten all over it. People are fucking stupid and have learned nothing in the 9 years we've been subjected to Trump and his foreign handlers.
In 1838, 23 years before he became President, Lincoln presented his essay titled "Perpetuation of our Political Institutions" to the Young Men's Lyceum in Springfield Illinois. [Please take 20 minutes out of your day to listen to his words.](https://youtu.be/GB6rPqD1Mnw?si=yiNwNiNVXwcRHygj) [You can read the essay here](https://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/lyceum.htm) Pass this on to ANYONE who claims they are an American. Have them listen to this. Have them hear from Lincoln that what is happening is unAmerican.
Trump is dangerous and unscrupulous, yes, but the mind stubbornly balks at identifying him with Lincoln's evocation of an "an Alexander, a Caesar, or a Napoleon". I suppose that while Americans of 1838 could envisage the end of their system of government, they at least imagined it happening with some *dignity*.
I’m so pissed off at JB and his team. They hid him from us and gaslit us all year. He’s done less interviews than any president since Reagan because he is incapable of talking without a prompter. He’s too old for the job and the democrats are throwing the election to the convicted rapist.
I don’t think the NYT would’ve posted the article if it wasn’t a legit report. I’d be worried if Biden wasn’t considering dropping out after seeing the public’s reaction to the debate.
Chuckles in Judith Miller
Two things needs to happen to put this to bed. 1) Biden needs to say unequivocally whether he's in or out. 2a) If he's in, he needs to do interviews, rallies, whatever and carpet bomb the news cycle with him being coherent and high energy. Once people see for themselves that he's okay, this goes away. 2b) If he's out, step aside now, release his delegates, and pledge to support whoever the nominee is. It's not rocket science - just be decisive and pick a lane. What is killing him right now is uncertainty.
DNC fucked up big. All trump allies lost their elections, they could have easily won this election had they back the right candidate.
Damn, what a mess we are in.
I hope Mr. White House does something to make it seem like he’s in the race.
He's not dropping out, it's a bullshit story.
His White House aids are the ones that got us in this predicament in the first place.
Those idiots in the White House and all of those other “advisors” are fucking delusional!! Can they possibly be this blind *and* this stupid? Will Americans finally take to the streets to save our democracy because of the ignorance and stupidity of a feeble and feckless old man and his enablers?
RBG decided to stay and look where we are now.
Who is White House and what race is he in?
Senator Whitehouse is running for his Rhode Island seat. I don’t think that’s the same White House that the article is referring to.
Could you imagine if we had a President Whitehouse?
I can hear the song already. "Whitehouse in the middle of the White House."
Sounds like it's probably true then
This is getting awkward For me in that debate. It wasn’t the words but that old man stare. Like my 99 year old grandmother at end of life
Drop out Joe. For all of us. Drop out. Whitmer in.
Everyone is so focused on the election, no one is asking how’s he going to fare for the next four years should he pull this one out. This isn’t something that is going to get better. It’s only going to get worse. You might not like it, but ask anyone who has or is currently caring for an elder parent. The President’s mental clarity is only going to get worse.
For the ones considering Kamala — at that point you’re just giving the presidency away. There’s no way she’d win.