Biden Blames the Elites
Plus: GOP platform changes, Russia destroys children's hospital, Mayor Eric Adams invents garbage cans, and more...
President Joe Biden tries new approach: For his latest excuse regarding his cognitive decline and subsequent refusal to step down, President Joe Biden is attempting to portray himself as an embattled outsider who has earned the scorn of Democratic Party elites.
"I'm getting so frustrated by the elites," the sitting president, who has been in politics for 52 years, said on MSNBC. He clarified that he wasn't referring to the hosts but "the elites in the party who, they know so much more," he added, emphasizing the last few words in a mocking tone.
"I don't care what the millionaires think," he added. (He had a fundraising Zoom call with that precise demographic later in the day, of course.)
"All the data shows that the average Democrat out there who voted…for me still want me to be the nominee," said Biden. Polling does not corroborate this.
A post-debate CBS/YouGov poll found that 72 percent of registered voters believe that Biden has insufficient mental and cognitive health to serve as president. Another poll, conducted last week by The New York Times/Siena found that "74 percent of voters view Mr. Biden as too old for the job, an uptick since the debate."
Biden is now "counting on the support of African-American Democrats and his union allies as his last line of defense," reports Politico. "It's a playbook Biden has turned to in the past, portraying his detractors as mostly elite white liberals who are out of step with the more diverse and working-class grassroots of the party."
Meanwhile, some members of the Congressional Black Caucus are claiming on CNN that calls for the president, who is 81 and would be serving another term until the age of 85, to drop out are "more around ageism and ableism, and not what President Biden has done….This president is fit and prepared to continue to serve. He's civil and he's experienced." Are there no adults in the room within the Democratic Party who are prepared to help Biden face reality?
Change of platform: The committee that decides on the platform of the Republican Party has voted 84–18 in support of a major update that considerably softens the party's stance on abortion, bringing it more in line with former President Donald Trump's views.
The older platform, most recently updated in 2016, supported a federal ban on abortion after 20 weeks and contained lines such as "the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed." It mentioned abortion 35 times. The new platform does not mention any sort of federal abortion ban, saying instead that the party opposes late-term abortions and supports birth control and in vitro fertilization access. It says the word abortion once.
The platform also supports tougher immigration policy, economic protectionism, and moderating on a whole slew of social issues, even signaling acceptance of gay marriage. It gives minimal attention to the issue of the national debt. On issues of Medicare and Social Security—which the old platform made clear Republicans rejected as the "'Third Rail' of American politics"—the new platform simply adopts Trump's stance, affirming that he will not "cut one penny" from either program.
Though the document has not yet been fully approved and adopted, it looks slated to become formalized, reflecting the degree to which the party has become synonymous with the man himself. In a sense, actually articulating beliefs is better than what the party did in 2020, which was simple abstention from releasing a platform. But these specific beliefs are a far cry from actual conservative values and priorities.
Scenes from New York: We have the strangest mayor.
New York learning about trash cans in 2024 is an insane flex. https://t.co/SBaxvoylAH
— Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) July 8, 2024
QUICK HITS
- Most sensationalist headline of the week award goes to Slate.
- Might Joe Biden have Parkinson's? The Free Press' Emily Yoffe makes the case for why the American people have the right to greater transparency about the president's health.
- "I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump," Joe Biden wrote in a letter released by his campaign, addressed to lawmakers. He spoke to donors, went on MSNBC, and attempted to spend much of Monday trying to put the issue of his cognitive fitness to rest. It remains to be seen whether the digging-the-heels-in approach will work.
- "Fuck em both 2024" sign lady, who represents how so many of us feel about the presidential election, won her free speech lawsuit.
- Russia obliterated Ukraine's largest children's hospital.
