Thursday, July 18, 2024
BY CROOKED MEDIA
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President Biden is facing unprecedented pressure to step aside. However this drama ends, the next few days look like a wild ride for the Democratic Party.
- President Biden’s candidacy appears beset on all sides. Big-name Democrats are maneuvering, publicly and privately, to convince him to ditch his candidacy. And yet the decision remains entirely his: Biden won the vast majority of delegates in the Democratic primary, meaning no one can force him off the ticket if he doesn’t want to go (barring a longshot, unheard-of rebellion by the delegates themselves).
- Top Dems are therefore attempting to pressure and persuade, after the stunning collapse in confidence that followed Biden’s disastrous debate in late June. The result is a dizzying barrage of anonymous press leaks and official statements. Last week, Biden vowed to regain momentum, hit the campaign trail and stay in the public eye to demonstrate vivacity. None of it worked. Top Democrats quoted anonymously by CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett said they believe the next 3-5 days will be crucial in determining the fate of Biden’s campaign. “A change at the top of the ticket has taken on an aura of inevitability,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) told Axios.
- People close to Biden say he has begun to accept that he may have to bow out, the New York Times reported Thursday, without naming names. One person told the paper that Biden hasn’t yet made up his mind. But another said “reality is setting in,” and that no one should be surprised if he drops out and endorses Vice President Kamala Harris. Still another described Biden as “willing to listen,” but not necessarily ready to pass the torch.
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The biggest players in the Democratic Party are reportedly deeply involved.
- Privately, both House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have pressed the president over their concerns about his candidacy and fear of a Trump win, according to multiple reports. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), one of the most respected and formidable figures in the party, has reportedly warned Biden he could invoke losses down ballot across the country if he stays in the race.
- Amid all this drama, Biden remains self-isolating in his residence in Delaware after his COVID diagnosis on Wednesday. A new Emerson College poll found Biden trailing disgraced former President Trump by double digits in Arizona (46% to 36%, respectively) and more than five percentage points in Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and nationally.
Aye, aye, aye. This could be a crazy, historic weekend.
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Vice Presidential hopeful JD Vance may be simply been taking care not to outshine his new boss. Or he might just have no charisma. Whatever the reason, he delivered a strikingly milquetoast, dud of a speech on Wednesday night, in what many observers called a wasted opportunity to use the compelling material of his personal life story to introduce himself to the biggest TV audience of his life.
Disgraced former President Trump, of course, famously hates to be outdone, and he’ll address the Republican National Convention tonight. Still, even that reality doesn’t seem to fully explain the boring speech Vance gave. Even Trump seemed to be dozing off at times… like he did in court!
Vance recounted stories from his upbringing in Appalachia, including the time he found an alarming number of loaded guns (19!) in his grandmother’s house, which, of course, served as a big applause line from the GOP audience. But, otherwise, the failure to use his personal narrative, which at one time won so much acclaim in his best-selling Hillbilly Elegy, was a kind of “strategic idiocy,” said Pod Save America coh-host Dan Pfeiffer.
“Vance’s speech falling flat,” noted Bill Kristol, the Never Trumper-Republican, mid-speech. “But I imagine Trump’s people insisted it be flat. No competition for the Big Guy.”
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There is a LOT of political news to cover, and there’s no better way to process the crazy year than with other like-minded friends of the pod, so good thing Jon, Jon, and Tommy are going on tour! The Democracy or Else Tour is headed to The Orpheum Theater in Madison, Wisconsin this Friday, July 19th, with co-host Errin Haines and guest Ben Wikler. And on the 20th, Lovett or Leave It will also be in Madison, joined by Thomas Lennon, Victoria Vincent, Former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, & State Representative Francesca Hong at the Barrymore Theatre. Head to crooked.com/events to grab tickets now!
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Officials are still trying to understand the shooter’s motives, and have found out that he also searched for dates for the Democratic National Convention, to be held in Chicago in August.
Sen. Robert Menedez (NJ-D) dismissed reports that he may be planning to resign after he was federally convicted for—among other things—leveraging the power of his office for gold bars. Gotta respect this commitment to the grift.
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The Biden administration announced Thursday it will cancel an additional $1.2 billion in student debt. The move will affect 35,000 public service workers, according to the Department of Education. The Biden administration’s total forgiveness will now total 168.5 billion for 4.76 million Americans. (And it’s not like he’s been able to do it without any pushback: A St. Louis federal court moved to block a separate segment of Biden’s student debt relief plan Thursday.)
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