A NEWSLETTER FROM DAVID CORN |
A NEWSLETTER FROM DAVID CORN |
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Biden or Trump: Who’s Down the Memory Hole? |
By David Corn February 10, 2024 |
President Joe Biden speaking at the White House about the Hur report on Febuary 8, 2024. Evan Vucci/AP |
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For this issue, I originally intended to write a piece on Nikki Haley and what I planned to call the “politics of cowardice.” After watching her lame appearance on Saturday Night Live, I almost felt sorry for her. She reeked of desperation. At a faux town hall with Donald Trump (played superbly by SNL cast member James Austin Johnson), Haley questioned Trump’s smarts (“You might need a mental competency test”) and made fun of his age. This was a continuation of her increasingly intense attacks on Trump. But Haley has only gone after Trump in this manner in the home stretch of this lopsided Republican race as she became one of the last non-Trump candidates left in the contest. When she announced her presidential bid a year ago, Haley took no direct swings at Trump and only obliquely referenced the twice-impeached former president by noting that “America is better than all the division and distractions that we have today” and insisting the nation must “move past the stale ideas and faded names of the past.” She foolishly thought she could win the GOP primary without criticizing Trump. And she stuck to that until she outlasted other back-of-the-packers, such as Mike Pence and Tim Scott. Only then did she dare throw a few punches at Trump. But in politics, candidates never win by going easy on the frontrunner. Remember 2016? For most of her candidacy, Haley was too scared to poke the bear—too frightened of how Trump and the Trump-loving, cultish base of the party would react. She knew Trump was a danger to American democracy. She knew he was erratic. She worked with the guy when she was UN ambassador. After the January 6 riot Trump incited, she said she was “disgusted” by Trump’s attacks on Pence, and she remarked, “He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him.” But not long afterward, when she realized GOP voters were not breaking with Trump, she proclaimed she wouldn’t run in 2024 if Trump sought to return to the White House. She changed her mind, perhaps hoping Trump’s legal woes would sour the base. They didn’t, and she went along with the GOP’s grand delusion that Trump was just fine. The only problem with him, she said at first on the campaign trail, was that he might be distracted by his assorted controversies. She insisted it would be better to have a younger prez with more pizzazz. A majority of GOP voters don’t agree. But now that Haley has gotten juiced up by her (distant) second- and third-place finishes, she’s ratcheting up, finally questioning Trump’s fitness for office and assailing him for throwing temper tantrums and “ranting” about his various legal woes. It looks like she’s flailing, trying to stay afloat, as she loses the meaningless Nevada primary to “None of These Candidates” and heads toward a likely thrashing in her home state of South Carolina on February 24. If she believed this stuff about Trump, why didn’t she say so sooner? It’s not likely to have made a difference. (See Chris Christie.) But there’s a slight chance she could have maybe, perhaps, just possibly shifted the debate a tad. Instead, she comes across as an opportunist, not a truth-teller. That’s what I was going to write about. Then the report of special counsel Robert Hur dropped. A former Trump-appointed US attorney, Hur was chosen by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Joe Biden’s handling of classified records from his stints as senator and vice president. As you know, Hur cleared Biden of any criminal wrongdoing and noted that the Trump/Mar-a-Lago case differed significantly in that Trump, unlike Biden, refused to return classified documents and, according to the indictment, “obstructed justice by enlisting others to destroy evidence and then to lie about it.” That should have been case closed. But Hur, a Republican, used the report to depict Biden as a vainglorious politician with diminished cognitive capacity—as he put it, “a sympathetic, well meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” And the Republicans were off to the races. In nanoseconds, they were citing the report as proof of their never-ending claims that Biden is out of it and long past his sell-by date. I’ve never seen a special counsel sideswipe an exonerated target in such a manner. (James Comey, then the FBI director, came close in 2016 with his announcement that Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of the documents at the State Department did not warrant prosecution but that she had acted improperly.) It is tough not to see Hur’s report as a political hit job. He went far beyond his task of explaining his investigation and his decision to not prosecute, forcing the White House to fiercely push back against his characterization of the president. But even if unfair, the report does raise serious problems for Biden. As soon as the Hur report was released, Democrats and pro-Biden progressives online rushed to point out the obvious: Trump’s own issues. He has often in depositions claimed not to recall events. When he answered questions from special counsel Robert Mueller, he declared over and over that he could not remember recent occurrences that were hardly obscure. His sentences often raise questions about what goes on in his noggin. He recently confused Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi. Not long ago, in a deposition in the E. Jean Carroll rape and defamation case, Trump mistakenly identified Carroll as his second wife, Marla Maples. When president, he forgot to sign an executive order at a White House ceremony and began absent-mindedly walking out of the room. I could go on. Haley is right: There’s plenty of reason to wonder about Trump’s mental competence. Person, woman, man, camera, TV notwithstanding. Yet none of this neutralizes the potent anti-Biden ammo that Hur generated for Trump, MAGAites, and the right-wing media. For months, they have relentlessly waged an attack on Biden based on three pillars: the flow of migrants across the US-Mexico border, inflation (especially still-too-high food costs), and Biden’s age. Each day, they kick out scores—hundreds? thousands?—of social media posts casting Biden as an ancient and doddering fool. (Though, apparently, he’s sharp enough to lead a Deep State conspiracy that’s persecuting Trump and conniving with globalists to destroy the United States.) Now they have Hur’s derogatory evaluation to hurl at Biden and his supporters. (Within minutes of the report’s release, the GOP began attacking House and Senate Democrats who have said there’s no reason to fret about Biden’s abilities, zapping out videos of such statements juxtaposed against Hur’s assessment.) This is sharp stuff that could well be used to influence the small sliver of undecided voters who feel uneasy about Biden and his age. Ultimately, it's an absurd national debate to have: Your guy is more gone than our guy. Trump is 80-minus-3, and Biden is 80-plus-one. It’s hard to argue with voters on the left, right, and elsewhere who are frustrated with this choice. Yet the right has done a much better job of making Biden’s age-related liabilities (whatever they may be) an issue than Trump’s antagonists have done regarding the former guy. That may be because Trump’s faults—of which there are many—don’t bother his own people. He’s rude, racist, demagogic, misogynistic, deceitful, narcissistic, vengeful, and mean. If all that doesn’t disqualify him, why would being forgetful or shy-of-a-full-pack do so? With Biden—of whom more is expected—this stuff sticks more. Instead of a debate, perhaps both men should jointly take a mental competency test. But in addition to that, let’s bring the pair to a park and put each in front of a bicycle and see what happens then. We are stuck with two old guys. One happens to be an authoritarian who tried to blow up American democracy; the other is an experienced legislator and policy maven who has enacted important measures that have expanded health care, strengthened the social safety net, boosted the national infrastructure, addressed climate change (to an extent), and raised employment. Yet lots of folks cannot get past that grumpy-old-men thing. Like many, I think it would have been best for Biden to say farewell and allow a new generation of Dems to slug it out in the primaries. The winner of such a contest would have likely been in a good spot to slam Trump in the general election. Is it too late for that to happen? Probably. Biden seems committed to the course he’s on. And who knows what Democratic chaos would be caused by a Biden exit at this point? Would Vice President Kamala Harris expect a coronation? Would a last-minute battle for the nomination cause deep divisions within the party and perhaps alienate important voting blocs, such as Black women (if Harris ran and lost)? It doesn’t appear we are going to find out. Democrats always knew that it was risky to field an octogenarian who, like most people that age, has lost a step or two. But since no other major Democrat took him on, that’s who the Ds got. Lots of people keep asking me why “they”—meaning the Democrats overall—are running Biden. But there is no “they.” No collective body made this decision. Biden opted to run for reelection, and a series of individual Democrats—such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker—all took a powder. That’s how it goes. (Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota doesn’t count.) We can’t say yet how much the Hur hit will hurt Biden. There’s a long time to go before the election. Biden will make stupid mistakes. So will Trump. The best hope for Democrats and Biden is that as the fight continues over whose memory may be most impaired, voters don’t forget what truly does separate these two old fellas. Got anything to say about this item—or anything else? Email me at ourland@motherjones.com. |
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Dumbass Comment of the Week |
Have you ever noticed that when a kook says something kooky, they often add, “Some people will call this a conspiracy theory”? As if that somehow inoculates them. Usually, it’s a sign that they are indeed promoting a nutty conspiracy theory. That’s certainly the case with a recent remark made by right-wing commentator Candace Owens. She bleated, “I am a big believer that Hollywood was created by the CIA. I believe that. I firmly believe that. You can say that’s a conspiracy theory.” |
Owens was off in her math. The first Hollywood studio was established in 1911. The CIA was set up in 1947. But perhaps that’s how clever the CIA was. It started Hollywood decades before it was “officially” created. During this rant, Owens also claimed the people “at the top of Hollywood” preach “toxic” and “anti-family principles, definitively Satanic principles.” QAnon, anyone? Donald Trump Jr. is back in the mix this week. Whining about the recent federal appeals court decision that ruled that his pop did not have immunity from criminal prosecutions for the misdeeds he committed as president, Junior tweeted: No one who’s been watching is shocked by this partisan hackery but here we go. DC appeals court has ruled that Trump does not have presidential immunity that would shield him in the J6 case Time for SCOTUS to step in. If POTUS doesn’t have immunity they’ll be incapable of action for fear of future partisan reprisal. That endangers the United States and sets a terrible precedent. If this becomes the norm would a Trump DOJ prosecute Obama for droning an American? If not why not? |
Endangers the United States? The US survived for more than two centuries without granting the president total immunity. The idea that this is necessary to preserve the republic is hogwash. This is only about protecting one keister. Junior’s sister-in-law, Lara Trump, was also in contention. Justifying why her father-in-law has been golfing instead of campaigning, she said: He’s not going to have a lot of time for golfing coming up. Hasn’t had a whole lot of time recently for a whole lot of golf. And then come, of course, January 20, 2025, not a lot of time for golf because we’re going to have a country to save… So he has to get a little bit in now. |
The Washington Post estimates Trump played a round of golf every 5.6 days when he was in the White House—far more than Barack Obama did when he was president. He was often on the links rather than serving the public. So who was she trying to fool? Her reality-defying remark was just another indication that Trumpers see their supporters as rubes to con. The judges this week pleaded for an exception to the mercy rule that they have applied to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). She could be named the winner almost every week. Consequently, the judges ago came up with algorithm to suppress her comments so other contestants have a chance to win. But that algorithm could not tamp down this statement she made to reporters on Tuesday: When [the American people] came to Washington and protested [at the Capitol on January 6, 2021], all of you called it an insurrection. And then when Joe Biden was inaugurated, and this entire Capitol complex was surrounded with 30,000 National Guard troops, none of you stood there and called that an insurrection. Oh no, you all stayed silent. |
Whut? The inauguration was an insurrection because 30,000 National Guard troops were deployed to protect the Capitol two weeks after Trumpers rioted there? This makes no sense. Reacting to this statement, Republican speechwriter Mark Salter, who worked for Sen. John McCain, tweeted, “The woman’s stupidity is beyond parody.” For going beyond parody, Greene rings the bell. |
I’ve learned that if I want to juice the numbers on incoming mail for Our Land, I only need write about the horrible Hamas-Israel war. I did so a week ago, and here are a few of the many responses that poured in. Peter Lautz wrote: Joe Biden never met a war he didn’t like. And for various reasons he over-identifies with the born-out-of-horrific-trauma Jewish state. In my opinion, he just can’t see how enabling/supporting the carnage in Gaza is morally wrong and politically stupid. And just horrific. I’ll hold my nose and probably vote for him. And wish we had a Democratic alternative I could happily support. Pat Hollarn merged worry about Biden’s age with concern for his policy on Israel: You are right on the money about Biden's experience vs. results and Netanyahu mirroring Trump, with his judicial scheming and his frantic war tactics. That's why I am so ambivalent about Biden at this time. I am even older than he is (90 this year), and I know for sure his hesitancy and seeming indecision are definitely age-related. As smart as I think I am, I have to truthfully acknowledge my limitations. Scary as hell some days. But with the huge acceptance by the American population of Trump's wizardry in tricking and deceiving them, I almost feel it's too late to stop him. No matter the great infrastructure bill, job totals, lower inflation, higher wages, the masses accept Trump’s deceit, law-breaking, ignorance, and amorality. And I doubt any of these "Christians" think, "What would Jesus do?" Trump is still the worst, so I will vote for Biden, but not with confidence. Joan Fiser emailed: It’s distressing to see how clueless most Democrats are about what’s happening in Gaza and the West Bank and the resultant loss of support among young people, progressives, and other groups who are horrified by what the world has been witnessing. David Hurwitz shared this: Biden’s policy of sending unconditional military aid to Israel that is needlessly contributing to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is a true disgrace, and I write this as someone who greatly admires Joe Biden, overwhelmingly supports his policies, has recently sent his reelection campaign money, plans to vote for him later this year of course, and is not even in favor of a permanent ceasefire agreement with Hamas because Hamas will never honor one. I believe Biden’s gross mishandling of this one issue has the potential to derail his reelection effort, even if he runs a flawless campaign, given that so many people feel so strongly about it. If the Republican Party were normal and decided to nominate someone other than Donald Trump for president, Biden might be in serious political trouble now primarily because of how poorly he has addressed this current Israel/Hamas conflict. However, former President Trump being so reviled by so many Americans gives President Biden a good opportunity to change course so that voters unhappy with his current Israel/Palestine policy are motivated to turn out to vote for him later this year. Conditioning at least some of the aid we send to Israel over them making a sincere effort at protecting Palestinian civilians inside Gaza and around Israel and allowing considerably more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, as they pursue their legitimate military objectives, would seem to me to be the wisest policy at this time and may be enough to mollify many of Biden’s critics on this issue. The president will also need to sanction more and higher-ranking Israeli officials who are inciting violence against Palestinians and at some point in the future perhaps condition some of our Israel aid as well around freezing West Bank settlements because they make Palestinian statehood impossible. The politics surrounding Israel/Palestine are as complex as the policy. If Biden is perceived by many voters as placing too much pressure on Israel to adopt certain policies, it may backfire politically and end up turning off more voters than putting insufficient pressure on Israel to protect innocent Palestinians, even if the pressure is morally justified. Given the atrocities that occurred on October 7, the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe inside Gaza, and people’s general sensitivity to the Israel/Palestine conflict, Biden has no choice but to pitch close to a perfect game around this issue from here on out. Karen Martin had a positive response to the issue that featured my interview with MSNBC host Joy Reid about her new book on civil rights heroes Medgar and Myrlie Evers: This book review really caught my attention. I thought I had an inkling of the horrors inflicted upon Black Americans. I always realized I couldn't possibly put myself in their shoes, but I feel like an idiot for being so naive and oblivious to their daily challenges and fears. I'm sure your conversation with Joy Reid is just the tip of the iceberg. I will definitely purchase the book. Thanks for bringing this book to our attention. As I noted, it’s a superb book that offers a great read and much insight into one of the most important movements in US history and one of its most important leaders. |
“Moxie, thanks to my new phone, Our Land premium subscribers will see sharper shots of you.” “Only the premium subscribers?” “Yes, only they receive the full version of the newsletter with MoxieCam™.” “Well, that must be just about every subscriber, right?” “Uh, yeah, right…just about.” |
Read Recent Issues of Our Land |
February 6, 2024: Joy Reid and a civil rights love story; a new biography of Lou Reed; and more. February 3, 2024: A too-late Biden shift on Israel?; writing about Taylor Swift; a classic Trump video on lying; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar); MoxieCam™; and more. January 30, 2024: New book tells the inside story of the Georgia RICO case against Donald Trump; Trump pals around with accused billionaire sex criminal; Anatomy of a Fall soars; and more. January 27, 2024: The dilemma of the anti-Trump conservatives; Dumbass Comment of the Week; the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more. January 23, 2024: Trump, Putin, and Russia—it never ends; my warning to Ron DeSantis; Ava DuVernay’s big idea in Origin; Allison Russell and The Returner; and more. January 20, 2024: The absurdity of No Labels; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Ron DeSantis); the Mailbag: MoxieCam™; and more. January 17, 2024: Hugh Hewitt’s constitutional con; the truth of American Fiction; George Saunders’ Liberation Day; and more. January 13, 2024: Is Trump extremism getting more extreme?; Dumbass Comment of the Week (everyone!); the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more. January 9, 2024: Two historic Dutch girls and today’s world; the creepy chaos of Leave the World Behind; the awesome creativity of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; and more. |
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Got suggestions, comments, complaints, tips related to any of the above, or anything else? Email me at ourland@motherjones.com. |
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