A Reason that Biden's Withdrawal Was Unavoidable

In the last 48 hours, we've learned why it was necessary for Joe Biden, a very good President, to bow out of the presidential race and why selecting Tim Walz over Josh Shapiro was a very wise decision by Kamala Harris. (If Harris loses this election, and solely because of losing Pennsylvania, please forget this latter point.)

Politico White House bureau chief and MSNBC host Jonathan Lemire has written

The White House scrambled Tuesday night to clean up a remark by President Joe Biden, who appeared to refer to Donald Trump's supporters as "garbage" — though the president and his aides vehemently denied that was his intention.

“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American,” Biden said in a Zoom call with the organization Voto Latino, a liberal nonprofit group, on Tuesday evening, according to a White House transcript. “It's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've been.”

It was not only "according to a White House transcript" and the White House did not have to "clean (it) up." It's what Joe Biden literally said.

An  Axios reporter similarly was confused, although an English-speaking progressive blogger tried to clear up his confusion:

One of those cases where it's clear what Biden said and the only question is how much MSM journalists will allow Trumpers to lie about it. Nothingburger. "demonization" coming after supporters makes no sense unless it's the supporters demonization. Again, Trump's closing on… https://t.co/W0HI0U3J9n

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 30, 2024

To make matters worse

When asked whether Biden should clarify his comment, Shapiro replied, "Well, I think President Biden will decide what he wants to say. It's certainly not words that I would choose, and I think it's important that we remain focused on the contrast between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and not attacking supporters of either candidate."

(Of course, it doesn't help that Harris misinterpreted Biden's remark. But, Kamala Harris.)

Josh Shapiro is the Democratic governor of the state most likely to provide the pivotal electoral votes in this election, and he was refusing to tell CNN's Kaitlan Collins that she was, at the least, misinterpreting the Biden remarks. He might have tried something such as "they're not words that I would use. However, the President was not referring to Americans but the demonization of Latinos by such a loyal supporter of an ex-President that the guy was chosen to speaking at a Trump rally."

Would that have been so hard? No, especially because Shapiro is not up for re-election this cycle. Nevertheless, it demonstrates that the Pennsylvania governor, who ultimately was passed up by Kamala Harris, for Tim Walz, is out for himself. That is not the case with Walz, which contrasts favorably to Shapiro and to the party's presidential nominee.

Surprise! (Not surprise.) Harris, who could have stated "as the President's clarification confirms, neither I nor the President believes voters should be criticized for whom they vote," instead refused to defend the man who put her on his team four years ago.

 

Nonetheless, the several instances of misinterpretation, probably deliberate in some instances and unintentional in others, illustrates the danger which continuation of the Biden candidacy would have posed.  The media simply doesn't like the guy, in a manner in which "doesn't like" is doing a lot of work.

You may recall that in the months prior to (and unavoidably, after) Joe Biden's debate with Donald Trump, that the media obsessed over polls taken about the President's mental and physical fitness to continue in office.  Trump has mistaken rape victim E. Jean Carroll for Marla Maples; former California state senator Nate Holden for former San Francisco mayor and political fixer Willie Brown; Nancy Pelosi for Nikki Haley; and Joe Biden for Barack Obama (eight times). But there are oh, so many questions about Biden's mental acuity and voters wouldn't stand for it, we were told.

In 2020, Trump refused to release his medical records; in 2020, his doctors pretended his case of Covid-19 was less serious than it was; in 2024, he won't allow doctors to talk about his medical condition after the assassination attempt in western Pennsylvania. Yet, it was Joe Biden who was portrayed as inadequate to perform the tasks of the presidency for lack of vigor and vitality.

Fortunately, for Kamala Harris, there is no such concern. Not only is she appreciably younger than Biden (or Trump), far less hostility prevails in the media toward the Vice President. There is even a bounce in their step that the nation may be on the verge of electing the first black (or Asian-American or bi-racial, as the media prefers it at the time) woman to the presidency.

By contrast, Joe Biden was never a darling to the Fourth Estate. And reaction to the incident in which the words (arguably) and the context (inarguably) indicate that the President was not calling Trump's supporters "garbage" demonstrate yet again that Biden is not the sort of individual they believe should be operating in the Oval Office.

If Kamala Harris has a far better chance- as she does- to keep Donald Trump away from the absolute power he intends to wield, the withdrawal by Joe Biden from the race was a great patriotic act. And with her choice of a running mate, a President Harris won't have to watch her back.

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