Biden: "I’m the best qualified to win"
President gives no hint that he's quitting the 2024 race
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for July 12, 2024:
Back to Biden basics on foreign policy.
Some thoughts on the press and Biden.
An embarrassing Thursday for House Republicans.
BIDEN. With more Democrats in Congress openly calling on him to step aside and not run for reelection, President Joe Biden last night gave no hint that he would abandon his quest for a second term. "There's a long way to go in this campaign, so I'm just going to keep moving," Biden said at a news conference. "I've got to finish this job because so much is at stake."
NEWSER. If Democrats were worried that Biden might go down in flames on national television - that didn't happen. The President went nearly an hour with only a few minor verbal hiccups, as he probably bored many to death with his extended foreign policy answers.
POSTGAME. Last night was definitely not the Biden we saw in the June debate. It was not the performance of a dementia patient. Biden spent a good chunk of time talking about foreign policy, a reminder of how comfortable he is on granular foreign policy matters - in a way that Donald Trump is not.
DOMESTIC. Biden made sure to take a number of shots at Trump, criticizing his 10 percent tariff plan on imports, "It's a tax of $2,500 a year." There was also a jab about golf. "Where's Trump been? Riding around in his golf cart filling out his scorecard before he hits the ball?"
CAMPAIGN. The questions for Biden quickly got around to his campaign, and whether he was comfortable with Vice President Kamala Harris - were she suddenly at the top of the ticket. "I wouldn't have picked her unless I thought she was qualified to be President," Mr. Biden said.
THE POLLS. Biden did seem to leave a little wiggle room on his future at one point, conceding that if his poll numbers started dropping to the point where he wasn't going to beat Trump, then maybe he might think about dropping out. "No, unless they came back and said there's no way you can win," Biden said.
POSTGAME. Other than his gaffe where he said Vice President 'Trump' instead of Vice President ‘Harris,’ it was a solid news conference for Biden. He basically staved off a major collapse of his support in Congress. "I think he convinced a lot of people he should stay in the race," Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) said on CNN.
DROP OUT. While that may be true, Biden did not erase concerns about his candidacy. Minutes after he walked off stage, the first press release arrived from a Democrat in Congress - Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called on Biden to 'make way for a new generation of leaders.' It could have been much worse.
HALLWAYS. Thursday was a really bad day on Capitol Hill for Biden, even before he mistakenly called President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, 'President Putin.' You could feel it, as Democrats remained freaked out by bad poll numbers. "We haven't had a good day since the debate," said Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL).
DON'T RUN. As more Democrats issued statements calling on Biden to step aside, what was striking was the breadth of those calls. They came from California, Connecticut, Michigan, Illinois, Arizona, and Hawaii. They came from swing districts and safe seats.
CHANGED MINDS. We've also seen Democrats go from defending Biden to being done with him - in just a few days. One of those was Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI). Last week, she publicly ripped a national political reporter for going to Michigan and raising questions about Biden's candidacy. Yesterday, she called on Biden to step aside. "It's time to pass the torch."
BOTTOM LINE. Democrats are ending the week in a political gray zone. They are in limbo. A lot of them - and a lot of voters - are wary of seeing a repeat debate performance from Biden. But after a good news conference last night, Biden probably is not dropping out of the race for the White House - at least, not right now.
PHILLIPS. One House Democrat - Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota - was basically run out of the party for raising questions about Biden's age when he challenged the President in the 2024 primary campaign. After the debate debacle, Phillips wasn't gloating this week. "Vindication has never been so unfulfilling." More in my column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
DECLINE. I've heard from a number of readers and friends in recent weeks with much the same type of question - how did Democratic lawmakers and the press not report on Biden’s problems? "For three and a half years, Democrats have covered up Biden's cognitive decline," Speaker Mike Johnson charged on Thursday.
MEETINGS. To many people, that quote from the Speaker makes sense. Democrats must have known that Biden was slipping. The press must have known, many tell me. I disagree. For the press - and even many lawmakers, I really think that’s unfair criticism. Let me explain.
CONTACT. Most members of Congress have very little direct contact with a President. If you get invited to the White House, you're not hanging out with Biden. You might get a quick photo or handshake, but that’s it.
UP CLOSE. There is only a narrow set of lawmakers who might have extra contact with a President: Congressional leaders, key lawmakers, and a few close allies. Your average rank and file lawmaker would mainly see the President on TV, or via social media.
PRESS. It's the same with the news media. We see Biden at his events - not behind the scenes. Just four months ago, Biden had a big night at his State of the Union Address. He gave a good speech. Then he chatted with lawmakers on the floor for nearly 45 minutes. I did a podcast about it.
LAST NIGHT. Just look at Biden’s press conference last night. Most of you would have been bored to death watching or reading through the foreign policy segments where he went deep into details. That wasn’t what you would hear from some old guy who is suffering badly from dementia. At the same time, Biden is clearly getting older.
HUR REPORT. Remember, the report of Special Counsel Robert Hur - released in February - portrayed Biden in a much different light. Hur pretty much said that Biden was a feeble, old man. He was called a 'sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.' It drew furious attacks from Democrats.
WSJ. The Hur report was the genesis for a report done by the Wall Street Journal, which ran a big story about Biden in early June which raised all sorts of red flags about his possible decline. Democrats denounced it as a GOP hit job. But it was deeply sourced with people who had met with Biden.
STORY. 'Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping,' was the headline. "Participants in meetings said the 81-year-old President performed poorly at times."
SCRIBES. I know one of the two reporters who wrote that WSJ story. She does solid work here in Congress. She took a lot of crap from Democrats who attacked her story and attacked her personally. But three weeks later, Biden stumbled badly in the debate - and that WSJ story suddenly looked different.
MEDIA. Again, I want to go back to what I wrote above, to get at the question, 'Why did the press cover up for Biden?' I think that is unfair criticism. We don't see Biden behind the scenes. He doesn't do many one-on-one interviews. He doesn't visit with reporters. We see him at his events - just like the public can see him - and that's it.
LAST NIGHT. Just look at last night’s news conference. If this had been held a few weeks ago, it would have been treated as just a regular story. It wasn’t an event where Biden stopped talking or couldn’t complete sentences or anything like that. If you watched that and this year’s State of the Union, you wouldn’t think Biden had any major problems - other than he’s getting a bit old.
GOP MISCUES. With most of the media focused on Democrats and President Biden, House Republicans had done a pretty good job this week of not making too many dumb headlines. But that ended with an embarrassing thud on Thursday, as the House defeated a GOP funding bill for Congress, and a plan to fine the Attorney General for not releasing audio tapes of Biden.
LEG BRANCH. The defeat of the funding bill for Congress - what we all call 'Leg Branch' (pronounced, Ledge Branch) - was a big surprise. Ten Republicans (mainly from the Freedom Caucus) rebelled against the bill, which is normally one of the easiest spending bills to pass. The vote was 213-205 to defeat the measure.
GOP TEN. The Republicans voting against the Leg Branch bill were Biggs AZ, Burchett TN, Clyde GA, Crane AZ, Gaetz FL, Good VA, Lesko AZ, Norman SC, Rosendale MT, and Self TX. It brought back memories of the 'GOP Can't Govern' Laff-A-Lympics from 2023.
FUNDING. Up until now, Freedom Caucus Republicans had put aside their 2023 funding rebellion, when they opposed spending bills designed by the GOP. Six more of those bills are on the schedule later this month, chock full of much more controversial items than the budget for the Library of Congress.
GARLAND. Right after the Leg Branch bill was defeated, the House voted 210-204 to defeat a resolution which held Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt, and then ordered a fine of $10,000 per day against him - until he turns over audio tapes made of a Justice Department interview with President Biden.
LUNA. After the vote, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) blamed the loss on unexpected GOP absences due to 'family emergencies.' "We will be bringing it back," Luna told reporters. "We feel very confident that it will pass." The House returns on July 22.
GOP NO. Four Republicans voted against Luna's resolution targeting the Attorney General: Duarte CA, Joyce OH, McClintock CA, and Turner OH. If all members had voted, it would have been defeated 217-216. We'll see if it gets another chance.
SCHEDULE. The House has eight legislative work days scheduled for the last two weeks of July. To achieve their goal of approving all 12 government funding bills by August 1, Republicans will have to try to pass seven government funding bills in those eight days. That might be tricky.
NEXT WEEK. Congress is off next week for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. I’ll join you from there as well.
MASSIE. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has long been a critic of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, sometimes tweeting out stories of people who believed certain unexplained deaths were caused by that vaccine. Now, in the wake of the sudden death of his wife, Massie is having to deal with internet conspiracy theories - blaming her death on the COVID-19 vaccine.
SASSY. "Although I first reacted with indignation to internet conspiracy theories about her death, I’ve since been amused," Massie tweeted on Thursday. "I can dismiss some of those theories by disclosing: she did not take the COVID shots." No cause of death has been announced. Massie says he is still awaiting the autopsy results.
RAP SHEET. Three men were sentenced to prison this week after pleading guilty to felony charges for their actions on Jan. 6. The men - from North Carolina, Kentucky, and Missouri - all joined in attacks on police in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, site of some of the most violent actions that day. They will serve between 6 and 18 months in prison.
MUSE OF HISTORY. July 12, 1909. On this date, the House voted 318-14 to give final approval to what became the 16th Amendment to the Constitution - which allows the feds to levy income taxes. "Mr. Speaker, the eyes of the Nation are turned upon this Capitol," said Rep. Adam Byrd of Mississippi. The debate was feisty, as the two parties dueled over taxes, spending, and government largesse. It took until early 1913 for the states to ratify the plan.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House is back for votes on July 22.
The Senate is back for votes on July 23.
Check President Biden’s schedule.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.
Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
If you want to say ‘thanks’ - you can buy me a cup of coffee.
This forum (unsurprisingly) reflects mixed reactions to last night's event. I personally relate to Biden as a fellow-octogenarian, so I know it would be a waste of energy to rattle on any further. But I need to note that he clearly has a graduate-school grasp of foreign policy and an LBJ/FDR level of insights about how domestic policy impacts economic, cultural and historic issues of the *whole* population. That includes citizens and undocumented adults and dependents who are part of our cultural and economic life, and have been for most of American history.
Speaking of which, your history note about the income tax is a reminder that the federal income tax (like the 14th Amendment) is part of our Civil War legacy. Lincoln signed into law a revenue-raising measure to help pay for Civil War expenses. The measure created a Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the nation's first income tax. It levied a 3 percent tax on incomes between $600 and $10,000 and a 5 percent tax on incomes of more than $10,000.
Boy, you sure had a different take on that presser than I did. I watched the whole thing, and the BS about him leading in all the polls at the end was the capper. The DNC will stick with him to the very end - right up to when he loses and the D's lose both houses of Congress also. The tone of discussion in my house has changed from "what if .... " to now that it's fait accompli that Trump will win this election. Positioning my life accordingly, sadly.