The 24 Seven: Role Reversal Edition
The 24 Seven: Role Reversal Edition
24sight News’ daily newsletter highlighting the most important story shaping the race for the White House
1. Bronzed
Under siege for a flop of his own making, President Joe Biden sure looks and sounds a lot like former president Donald Trump – right down to the bronzer. After having spent much of his administration dodging interview requests from mainstream publications, Biden pulled a Trump 2016 card out and called into a morning show, “Morning Joe” to drive his message.
He’s even touting the size of his crowds, which led ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos to do an instant fact check last Friday.
Awash in calls to drop out of the race after flopping his first debate of the campaign, Biden has been acting decidedly Trumpy. His response has been, to borrow from Martin Scorsese, “I’m not f***ing leaving!” (H/T Jake LaHut who nailed this dynamic early in the longest stretch of will-he-won’t-he coverage of the 2024 race.)
Biden’s hardest of the hardcore supporters, have earned, for their cultish devotion, the tags “Blue Anon” (like Trump QAnon supporters, who are still waiting on JFK Jr.’s return before the rapture) and “Blue MAGA”.
Mike Madrid, a veteran political strategist and co-founder of The Lincoln Project, looks past the daily thrum of constant news bites in the rolling scandal and sees some possible 4-D chess being played: Biden has become based. He’s energizing the Democratic base with distinctly digital-era tactics of attacking longstanding institutions – like legacy media – because this is what sells to the base, and he needs an energized base to survive.
Recommend the whole Madrid thread here.
What’s still highly uncertain, however, is whether this will be enough to secure the White House for Biden.
2. Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.
With Biden’s infirmity on full display, national attention has turned to the possibility he has Parkinson’s Disease – which, like the possibility that Trump has dementia, has not been proven. White House visitor logs voluntarily released by the Biden White House, showed that a Parkinson’s specialist from Walter Reed visited the White House, the White House responded with a letter saying it was part of Biden’s regular physicals and also for other staffers in the building.
Which is highly reminiscent of attempts to diagnose Trump as having some type of neurological disorder. At the height of the Covid pandemic, Trump said on live TV he had aced a cognitive test – which is not part of the normal White House medical regimen. (Veteran health care reporter Dan Diamond detailed the ins and outs of this test at the start of the year, amid a surge in concerns about Trump’s cognitive health.)
3. Dammed by Faint Praise
Biden’s forceful rebuttal of Congressional Democrats welcoming them back to Washington after July 4th break seems to have worked in shoring up his support for the nomination, and keeping some of heavier names in Democratic politics from calling for his ouster.
Long-serving House Democratic member Jerry Nadler privately said two days ago that Biden should drop, but told the New York Times Tuesday those concerns are “beside the point now” and said he supports Biden.
24sight Washington correspondent Warren Rojas is working the halls of the Capitol all week taking the pulse. Keep it tuned here for more.
4. Hidin’ Felon
Trump’s criminal sentencing for his 2016 election interference was set for Thursday, he successfully delayed that until September citing the Supreme Court’s sweeping new determination of presidential “immunity”.
Trump, who complained that the historic New York criminal trial was designed to keep him off the campaign trail has been largely off the campaign trail since then. Close attention will be paid to a pair of rallies he’s hosting – one tonight in Florida and another before the convention in Pennsylvania.
Related, The Guardian reports that Trump’s legal team is looking to block appearances by and evidence from witnesses in his January 6th criminal case, following the landmark ruling from the Supreme Court on immunity. This potentially includes Trump’s last running mate, former vice president Mike Pence.
5. Victim in Chief
The pile on is coming from … elites.
The New York Times editorial board called on Biden to drop out to ensure Trump does not become the nation’s first authoritarian leader. San Francisco tech billionaires supporting Trump have called on Biden to drop and said that Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips was the best choice all along.
Again, back to Madrid’s point earlier – this type of siege mentality plays with the base. What’s unclear yet is whether it works in November.
6. Veepstakes
With just days to go before Trump is expected to select his second running mate, the hottest parlor game in Washington has become … who Vice President Kamala Harris will select as her running mate should Biden fold after his Trumpy show of defiance and hand her the reins.
Names floated by various Democratic operatives have included everyone from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.
7. Conventional Wisdom
Trump appears likely to name his running mate by Monday, the first day of the Republican convention in Milwaukee.
Chatter is still heavily focused on a handful of top candidates, including Sens. J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio – both of whom savaged Trump before working their way into his good graces. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson are still in the mix.
Even though possible alternatives to Biden are attractive and have varying levels of support, my guess is it’s “Go With Joe Until He Says No.” I’m voting the party so hopefully it rises to the occasion. Heck, if he’s as near death as he acts, Kamala is a worthy successor