Quick take: Trump says, "I'm rubber, you're glue!"

Donald Trump lashed back at Vice-President Harris's terming the myriad odd comments from the Trump/Vance ticket--such as Trump's rally rambling "If there's a shark about 10 yards away, 'do I get electrocuted, or do I go with the shark?' I would take electrocution all day long," and Vance's sexist and moronic belief that the country's being run by "childless cats ladies"--as "weird."

I'M not weird! SHE'S weird!

In an interview with Fox News's Laura Ingraham, Trump set the record straight.

In a move appreciated and applauded by five-year-olds everywhere, Trump responded to Harris having called his campaign's comments "weird."

His insightful retort?

"Do you know who is plain weird? She's plain weird. She's a weird person."

That, my friends, is a man who is flailing in the water. Now that he can't decry Biden's age and related issues, he can't swim, and he doesn't know what to do. 

That who he thought would be his life preserver, his (seriously) weird choice for VP, JD Vance, is, instead, wrapped around the legs of the flailing candidate, pulling him further down into the abyss.

To extend (belabor?) the metaphor, the sharks are circling, Donald, and it doesn't look like electrocution is an option...

I'm sick of the deplorable GOP

 A couple elections ago, the Democratic candidate for President termed some of Trump's supporters a "basket of deplorables."

Now, in 2024, it has encompassed the entire party.

And I'm sick of them.

Back during Covid, when science said to wear masks (which, research shows, works to inhibit virus dispersal--despite what your MAGA uncle says), GOP supporters in my community chose not to. They didn't care about possibly infecting the elderly or the immunocompromised. They didn't care about stopping Covid completely by reducing the possibility of variants created as it spread.

They just didn't want to wear a mask. So, they didn't.

As the GOP President spread lies and misinformation about an election that was "stollen" (as Trump spelled it), his gullible believers--despite copious mountains of debunking evidence and testimony from his own administration and daughter, Ivanka--continued to push the lie. Many shameless GOP officials suggested the election was not legitimate. Only a handful of principled GOP members called out Trump and his baseless accusations.

Trump and the GOP now celebrate
those that attacked police and tried
 to thwart the Constitution

And when Trump's supporters, on January 6, 2021, attacked and injured Capitol police, ransacked the US Capitol, and chanted to hang the GOP Vice-President because of Trump's GOP-backed lies, the GOP President watched it unfold on television for 187 minutes, before he finally told these violent domestic terrorists that he agreed with them and that he loved them.

Many GOP members blamed Trump directly for, what some principled GOP leaders termed, the insurrection. Senator Mitch McConnell had a particularly powerful such opinion here.

But within months, when it became apparent that Trump still had his rabid, gullible base, the GOP tried to rewrite history, whitewash the day's violence and intent, and now GOP members call these perpetrators of horrendous violence (designed to thwart the Constitution) "patriots" and "political prisoners." 

The GOP chose the criminal
over the people

And when juries of citizens--selected, in part, by Trump's own lawyers, for goodness sakes--heard evidence, and in the face of possible retaliation from Trump's basket of deplorables (as many had previously threatened judges, court officials, their families, and witnesses), rendered guilty verdicts on 34 (THIRTY-FOUR!) felony counts, and also civil liabilities in the hundreds of millions of dollars, GOP leaders took the side of the duly-found criminal, and called these proceedings a sham.

Amazingly, the GOP then made this deplorable man their candidate for President. All of the sudden, the few, remaining, principled GOP backers, it seems, have turned their backs on morality, and decency, and what is right, just to kowtow to Donald Trump--to get his tax breaks, or to confirm they can vilify and call other people names, or whatever they--and his supporters--get from this deplorable act of hypocrisy and cowardice.

And now, GOP members use racist tactics to attack Trump's opponent, the Vice-President of the United States--by Trump purposely mispronouncing her name, or others shouting "She's a DEI hire!" or claiming Democrats back Harris because of "her ethnic background."

They call migrants "trash," "rapists," "convicts." 

They demonize gays and Muslims, and call cities run by Democrats "horrible."

And I'm just sick of them.

Let me say that a little louder:

I'M SICK OF THEM!

It's time to vote them out for the good of our country--

the whole deplorable basketful of them.

.

Quick Take: Buttigieg skewers Fox News

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared today on Fox News with Shannon Bream. 

To Bream's credit, she let Buttigieg talk.

But, in retrospect, she--and the Trump campaign--probably wishes she hadn't.

Buttigieg proceeded to factually and systematically dismantle the right's negative talking points about Vice-President (and likely Presidential nominee) Kamala Harris.

It's a lot of fun to watch, actually (well, unless you're a Trump fan...).

Democratic support for Kamala Harris is ‘coming from the ground up’: Pete Buttigieg | Watch (msn.com)

Quick Take: How white was the RNC?

Just an interesting nugget:

The Republican National Committe's GOP convention included numerous African-American speakers, and RNC officials talked about their "big tent" to include people of color.

According to Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a whopping 3% of the delegates were Black.

Which, to be honest, was an enormous increase from Trump's first RNC convention in 2016, which had 1%.

Keep pitching that "big tent," GOP!

Trump mispronouncing Kamala: straight-up racism

Trump claims he's a “stable genius,” so why doesn’t he pronounce correctly the first name of the country’s Vice-President (and Presidential race opponent) Kamala Harris?

The choice is clear--
Kamala or the racist?

To be sure, Trump has butchered a lot of words (calling, for instance, California’s National Park “Yo, Semite”), but saying Harris’s name wrong isn’t just another example of his being uneducated or the bumblings of a doddering old man.

Experts point out that such purposeful mispronunciation is often a power move meant to bully another, assert dominance, put someone down.

However, when it involves the name of a person of color, it’s much more than that.

It’s straight-up racism.

Harris’s first name (pronounced--as Trump well knows--“Comma-la”) is Sanskrit, meaning “lotus flower.” About a million people worldwide share “Kamala,” most of them in India—the country of origin for Harris’s mother.

And when Trump purposely pronounces it otherwise, it hearkens back to days of US slavery, when names were changed or “Americanized” to strip enslaved people of their culture, their heritage, and their dignity. It also serves to disparage, in general, the culture from which it comes. And Trump’s done it before—mocking Nikki Haley’s given first name, “Nimarata,” and assigning her his demeaning version, “Nimbra.”

So, when you hear the despicable Donald Trump mispronounce the name of Vice-President Kamala Harris, know that it’s not just another “clever” nickname like his tiresome “Sleepy Joe,” or his now-self-describing “Crooked Hillary.”

Nope.

It’s racism.

And that’s who the despicable GOP thinks should be President.

Vote KAMALA Harris.

Harris's VP sweepstakes

So, who will be Harris's pick for VP? There's plenty of speculation, but one thing is certain: Harris's choice won't be anywhere as abysmal as Trump's JD Vance.

Arizona's US Senator Mark Kelly

Although some of the early favorites, such as Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and California's Gavin Newsom, have taken their names out of the running, there's still a surprisingly strong line-up from which Harris can choose.

The two that seem to be drawing the most attention are North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper--a close friend of Harris's who has won convincingly in what many consider a red state--and Arizona's US Senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut who was only elected in 2020.

I think she'd do well to pick Kelly. 

First off, he's from a swing state. It's always nice for a campaign to have a "favorite son" in a swing state.  

And, as Arizona Senator, Kelly has worked on in-state border issues; he's even been critical of Biden's handling of immigration.  Kelly could give the Harris ticket a bit of instant credibility regarding Harris's perceived weakest issue.

His views on guns align with a tenet of the Harris campaign, which promotes "the freedom to be safe from gun violence." Kelly and his wife, former AZ Rep. Gabby Giffords--who was shot and disabled at a political event--formed their own political action committee to address gun violence. But Kelly still can additionally appeal to Second Amendment advocates: "Gabby and I are pro-gun ownership. We are anti-gun violence."

Hey! He's an astronaut!

Kelly's service as a US Navy Captain will likely bring automatic standing with US Vets, as well.

And, hey, he's an astronaut (which is undeniably cool, right?).

And he's WAY better than JD Vance.

Here's a USA Today article with pros and cons of Harris's potential VP picks

Quick Take: Favorite Harris speech lines yesterday

Former prosecutor VP
Harris knows Trump's type

Vice-President Harris blew the doors off the presidential race yesterday with a dynamic speech in Milwaukee. Here are a couple lines worth reliving:

Predator, fraudster,
cheater

"I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So, hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump's type."

"Ultimately, in this election, we each face a question, what kind of country do we want to live in? Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion, and rule of law? Or a country of chaos, fear, and hate? We each have the power to answer that question. The power is with the people."

Thank you, Kamala.

And, uh-oh, Donald.

Relive the entire speech here.

 

THIS is our next President

Vice-President Kamala Harris just blew the doors off this whole election in Milwaukee today with this INCREDIBLE speech.

THIS is our next President:

GOP demonizes Harris for being Black and a woman

As I posted yesterday, now that Biden's gone, the GOP would have to start demonizing the Democrats' new pick, Vice-President Kamala Harris.

It didn't take long.

Instead of attacking her competence and her record, however, they went right for the racist and sexist jugular. 

WI Rep. Glenn Grothman proudly
shares his racist attitudes

Despite Harris having won elections for San Francisco DA, California AG, US Senate, and as Biden's running mate, the "pride" of my home state, GOP Representative Glenn Grothman (a longtime espouser of misogynist views, btw), jumped into the racism with both feet, attributing her recent backing from Democrats to her "ethnic background."

Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett (um, also GOP), joined right in, calling Harris a DEI Vice-President (Note: "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" is designed to provide opportunity for qualified individuals from underserved populations, but has become a right-wing slur accusing people of getting handed a job solely because of their race or their gender), having only gotten the job because of her race. 

TN Rep. Tim Burchett:
"What about white females?"

Amazingly, Burchett dug his racist hole even deeper: "What about--what about white females?" he asked.

It also turns out that GOP VP nominee J.D. Vance has been on the misogyny train all along. In a 2021 video, Vance called Harris one of the "childless cat ladies, who are miserable at their own lives." (Note: Harris is not childless (with two stepchildren) and, anecdotally, does not seem the least bit miserable with her life).

Some GOP have said Harris (to use a longstanding slur against Black Americans) is not articulate or doesn't speak well (which they never said about their mumbling, bumbling Trump).

And the GOP's despicable flag-bearer Donald Trump, in a continuation of his misogynistic behavior he perfected during his 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton, posted that Harris was "dumb as a rock." Of course, he also purposely mispronounces her name to denigrate her.

And, right on cue, the birther lies and accusations--as is GOP standard procedure--have, once again, reared their ugly, racist heads (to devalue accomplishments of people of color). Supposedly, Harris is ineligible for President because her parents were born outside of the US--which is of no consequence where they were born (Trump even perpetuated this racist lie in 2019: "I heard today that she doesn't meet the requirements").

So, only a day or so in, and the GOP's racist/misogynist banner is fully hoisted and flying for all the world to see.

It's time to send Trump and his GOP packing.

Vote Harris.

Remembering the GOP demonization of Joe Biden

Now that Joe Biden's out of the Presidential race, the GOP will have to start its work on demonizing Harris.

But before we let Biden go, let's take a moment to review the disgusting lies told about him by Trump and his GOP.

The GOP certainly gives Pinocchio
a run for his money

Pre-MAGA GOP colleagues universally found Joe Biden to be a decent and honorable man. For decades. Decent and honorable.

That all changed when the GOP needed to create distractions in order to defend their indefensible President Trump who had had a dalliance with Russia, worked to overturn the election, hoarded and hid classified documents, did nothing for 187 minutes while the US Capitol was being overrun, was found to be a sexual abuser and a business fraud, and was convicted of 34 felonies.

Yikes! That’s a lot of distractions to create.

So, they did.

Biden rigged the election.

Biden accepted bribes.

Biden weaponized the Department of Justice.

And none of it was true.

Not one court found that the election had been rigged. Trump's administration (even his daughter, Ivanka) attested to its legitimacy. The right's baseless claims about Dominion vote-switching or Trump's felonious lies about Georgia's dead voters have all been debunked.

And the sheer scope of rigging an election would include law enforcement, poll workers, political individuals and organizations (both Democrats AND Republicans), and the judiciary. AND NO ONE EVER SPILLED THE TEA?!

And how about Joe's bribes (as part of a GOP impeachment fishing expedition)? Records showed that about $5000 pertained to his son's truck payments, and the $200,000 from his brother James was clearly shown as a loan repayment (by the way, head of the Biden impeachment committee James Comer also loaned his OWN brother about $200,000).

Well, still, Biden certainly weaponized the DOJ, right? Similar to the election-rigging lies, such an operation would have been massive. Joe would have not only had to strongarm the DOJ, but local District Attorneys and their staffs, FBI investigators, judges throughout the country, citizens on several Grand Juries, witnesses, the lawyers (including Trump's) who selected the jurors to hear and decide his case, as well as the jurors themselves.

For good measure (to evidently throw people off the scent of his insidious weaponization plot) Biden retained the Special Prosecutor investigating HIS OWN SON! And then he let the court proceedings run their course of convicting him. I'm curious, was Joe willing to also throw Jill under the bus, if it had come to that?

As Joe Biden would say, "C'mon, man!"

And now that Biden is gone, it's Harris's turn to take the slings and arrows launched by the lying, desperate, and morally-bereft GOP.

How long, for instance, before Trump amplifies another birther accusation against an opponent (especially one born of two immigrants)? Or creates dishonest narratives about her record? Or maybe the porn-star-hush-money-payer will salaciously question Harris's past? 

After the demonization of Joe Biden--a decent and honorable man--nothing is beneath Trump and the GOP.

Harris, I think, is more than ready to take them on.

 

Can Kamala Harris win?

Now that Democrats are coming to grips with Biden's much-needed departure from the presidential race, it's time to choose the successor.

Being this late in the game, the logical choice is Biden's VP Kamala Harris.

But can Harris win?

She has a lot of things going for her.

Harris can beat Trump in November

She's got the name recognition, her policies have been out there since her run for the Democratic nomination in 2020, she was elected Vice President in 2020 and is on the Biden/Harris ticket that resoundingly swept the primaries in 2024.

Harris is a known commodity that could hit the campaign trail running.

And, perhaps the biggest reason of all, because Harris and Biden share a campaign committee, all $91 million on hand of the campaign's war chest would come Harris's way (which wouldn't likewise transfer to any other Democrat).

Note: Although, amazingly, that massive amount still trails Trump's $116 million, it towers above the available funds any other potential Democratic hopefuls might have.

Harris's polling tends to run a bit better than Biden's in a match-up with Trump. Her numbers are generally better, as well, with two demographics that are well-positioned to make a difference in the upcoming election: Blacks and women.

She has also gained renown as a champion for abortion and women's reproductive rights, an issue that has mobilized voters even in red states to support laws protecting a woman's right to choose. Ostensibly, Harris would bring those voters out in November, as well.

There are the Biden/Harris administration successes she could point to--bipartisan bills regarding infrastructure and semi-conductor production, for example--and what, by then, should be a much more positive picture regarding issues such as inflation and the border (especially with Biden's recent executive action).

And her experience as a California prosecutor would eviscerate Trump's positions and record--the exact opposite of what Biden should have done (and was unable to do) in his catastrophic June debate.

Some down sides: She's connected to the perceived failures of the Biden administration, i.e., inflation and immigration (the latter of which she was tasked with improving, pretty much to no avail); her disapproval rating runs higher than her approval (although she still fares better than both Biden and Trump); she fostered some policy and performance criticism during her time as San Francisco DA and California Attorney General; and the above-mentioned Biden/Harris administration successes appear to have been pretty much all Joe, no Kamala.

But there are two ENORMOUSLY important points that would help Kamala Harris win in November:

1) She's not Biden

2) She's not Trump

So, Democrats, let's get on with it.

It's Harris's time.

Bring on November.

Here's a great take about why Harris may NOT win (from Politico)

Today's take from "The None-yun": Where's Melania? Top 10 reasons Melania hasn't been with Donald during his campaign/court proceedings/assassination attempt/convention

Where's Melania?
 (image from craiyon.com)

So, where, exactly, IS Melania?

The None-yun offers some insight.

Click here for the "Top ten reasons Melania hasn't been with Donald during his campaign/court proceedings/assassination attempt/convention"

Trump's pathetic band of GOP hypocrites

GOP "leaders" crawled out from the cesspool that is their party last night at the RNC Convention in Milwaukee to lavish praise upon GOP Presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The evening featured fellow Republicans (who have said some much-less-than-complimentary things in the past about Trump's character and abilities) now fawning over their fearless leader. Perhaps they're angling for Cabinet posts in a Trump administration. Perhaps they justifiably fear retribution from Trump and his worshipping minions for any dissent. Or maybe--and this seems the most reasonable explanation--these GOP politicians really are that spineless and unprincipled.

So, sit back and enjoy a trip down memory lane as we compare what Trump's GOP hypocrites said about him--then and now. By the way, Trump's clever nicknames (um, sarcasm intended) for his now-staunch allies are referenced after their quote from last night's RNC Convention.

Trump also insulted Ted's wife and suggested
Cruz's father was in on the JFK assassination

"I'm going to tell you what I really think of Donald Trump. This man is a pathological liar. He doesn't know the difference between truth and lies. He lies, practically every word that comes out of his mouth...Whatever he does, he accuses everybody else of doing. The man cannot tell the truth, but he combines it with being a narcissist, a narcissist at a level I don't think this country has ever seen...the man is utterly amoral. Morality does not exist for him."

Senator Ted Cruz, 2016

"God bless Donald J. Trump!"

"Lyin' Ted" Cruz, last night

Trump spread "birther" lies about
South Carolina-born Haley

"We need to acknowledge (Trump) let us down. He went down a path he shouldn't have, and we shouldn't have followed him, and we shouldn't have listened to him. And we can't let that ever happen again."

UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, 2021 

"Let me be clear, Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period." 

"Nimbra" "Birdbrain" Haley, last night

Rubio once wondered why the hands of 6'2"
 Trump were the size of someone who is 5'2"

"He runs on this idea that he is fighting for the little guy. But he has spent his entire career, sticking it to the little guy...If you all have friends who are thinking about voting for Donald Trump, friends do not let friends vote for con artists." 

Senator Marco Rubio, 2016

“It is time to put our country and its people first again…Together we will make Donald Trump president again!”  

“Liddle Marco” Rubio, last night

Trump, who once implied DeSantis
was a pedophile, now calls him
"a really terrific person"

"You can be the most worthless Republican in America, but if you kiss the ring, he’ll say you’re wonderful."  

Ron DeSantis, earlier in 2024

“Donald Trump…stands up for America…We cannot let him down.” 

"Meatball Ron" DeSanctimonious, last night

“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office; My God, what an idiot.” 

Trump running mate J.D. Vance, 2016

Check out the whole, pathetic Day 2 of the RNC Convention in Milwaukee Bing Videos

A great take on the current state of the GOP (from Rex Huppke, USA Today): Nikki Haley booed, other sad losers paraded out for Trump's Republican National Convention (msn.com)

WI's Ron Johnson and "his" people

"Unity" has been tabbed the new watchword for Milwaukee's RNC convention.

Wisconsin's own US Senator, Ron Johnson, took the podium yesterday to address the GOP (aka: the new "unity party," apparently) with his personal take on unity:

"Today’s Democrat agenda. Their policies are a clear and present danger to America, our institutions, our values, and our people."

WI's Sen. Ron Johnson is a bit confused
about the meaning of the word "unity"

So, not only does Johnson essentially call Democrats a "clear and present danger," he very clearly pits the sides against one another in "us" vs. "them" camps (highlighted by my italics, above). He states that a Democrat's values and institutions are different from, and dangerous to, HIS values and HIS people.

Johnson claims the wrong speech had been loaded into the teleprompter--his rewritten speech had supposedly omitted the line about "clear and present danger" as well as the "us" and "them" descriptors of his fellow citizens and constituents. But, the fact is, this divisive speech is the one he intended to give before Trump was shot. And, um, actually, he did give it, after all (just maybe Johnson wasn't aware enough or bright enough to realize the word unity was nowhere to be found in the words he was saying?).

But the idea of his people is nothing new for Johnson. At a 2020 Janesville, WI, presidential rally, a hot mic picked up Johnson telling Trump, "You know who doesn't love this country? Joe Biden supporters." 

Trump supporters? 

HIS people.

More than half the country's voters--as well as the majority of his home state constituents--who voted for Biden? 

NOT his people.

And, of course, Johnson claimed he wasn't worried about January 6 rioters as they attacked police, ransacked the US Capitol, or threatened Vice-President Pence because he "knew those were people who loved this country (and) would never do anything to break the law."

Violent Trump supporters?

 HIS people.

Oh, yeah, and then Johnson added, "Now, had the tables been turned...and President Trump won the election and those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter...protestors, I might have been a little concerned."

Black Lives Matter protestors? 

NOT his people.

So, it appears that Ron Johnson--and the GOP that backs him and asks him to speak at its convention--have a ways to go before they can meaningfully use the word "unity," huh?

Will Trump's shooting change him? I'm guessing, no

Will the assassination attempt be a catalyst for Trump's personal change?

Because of the shooting, Trump has supposedly altered his upcoming convention speech, calling it "a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world together."  Trump claims, instead of attacking Biden, he will focus on unity.

Call me skeptical. 

Wallace and Trump were both shot while campaigning,
and the similarities don't end there

Trump's had plenty of chances to call for unity before and instead has stoked division--from his "American carnage" inauguration remarks (about which Former President George W. Bush commented, "That was some weird sh*t") to his calls to jail opponents to imploring January 6 supporters to "fight like hell." And, unlike Biden's recent national speech to calm the nation after the attempt on Trump's life, Trump never once addressed the country, for example, about the murder of George Floyd. 

But such change has happened before (albeit far too little, and far too late).

Against the backdrop of the 1960's, in a country of southern whites angry and scared about integration and civil rights, George Wallace ran gubernatorial campaign ads shouting, "Wake up Alabama! Blacks vow to take over!" And, yet, in 1968, Wallace garnered an incredible (and terrifying) 13.5% of the popular vote as a third-party presidential candidate (which translated to 46 electoral votes from southern states).

Note: Trump has tapped into that same disgusting (and unwarranted) white rage (for example, through his numerous instances of calling undocumented migrants rapists/animals/convicts that are poisoning the blood of our country).

Wallace--a loathsome man who once vowed "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever"--was shot while campaigning for the primaries in 1972.

The man behind sending state troopers that mercilessly beat Blacks peacefully marching for voting rights (a dark day that's now known as "Bloody Sunday") supposedly reflected on his horrific words and actions regarding civil rights after becoming paralyzed from the shooting. In fact, the man once reviled by Blacks and whites alike publicly changed his views, becoming Alabama governor yet again (amazingly, with 90% of the African-American vote), appointing scores of African-Americans to governmental posts, working to increase Black voter registration, and with continuing admissions of the repugnance of his earlier views.

So, there's precedent for a vile, populist presidential candidate to search his soul and change his views following an attempt on his life.

Will that happen with Donald Trump in Milwaukee this week with his GOP convention speech? Will it be unifying? Will it be soul-searching? Will it be inspiring?

We'll just have to wait and see.

But I wouldn't bet on it.

Trump shooting exposes disingenuous GOP

Well, that didn't take long.

Mere minutes after the horrible assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Georgia's Republican Representative Mike Collins posted this despicable accusation on X: Joe Biden sent the orders.

To recap: an elected government official just accused the President of the United States of ordering the assassination of a political rival.

Agents surround Trump after his being shot

Fortunately, Trump is relatively okay (full disclosure: I am adamant in the belief that Donald Trump has been destructive to this country, but there is NO excuse for this terrible act; political voices should only be silenced via the ballot box).

Biden had carelessly stated, to be sure, after his debate debacle, that he needed to focus on Trump, to, metaphorically, "put Trump in a bullseye."

But Biden did not order such a despicable act (nor did Biden ever specify to "fight like hell" after telling his supporters to come to a specific time or place because it "will be wild").

Interestingly enough, however, ordering the assassination of a political rival, was EXACTLY what Trump's legal team argued a President would have the right to do under the broad umbrella of presidential immunity.

The GOP has rightly decried this political violence and called for "unity." 

This is the same political party that celebrates the January 6 carnage in which Trump's GOP supporters--whom they now call patriots--stormed the US Capitol, injured Capitol police and chanted to hang Trump's own GOP Vice President.

By the way, not only DIDN'T Trump denounce the violence (in his name) against Capitol police and the ransacking of our country's Capitol (nor did he once call to check on his VP Pence), Trump, instead, told these political thugs he "loved" them and that these perpetrators of grotesque political violence were "very special."

And Trump was the same guy who spread rumors and mocked the vicious, politically-motivated attack on the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (who yesterday tweeted about the Trump shooting: "...political violence of any kind has no place in our society. I thank God that former President Trump is safe"). 

Come to think of it, Trump was the same guy (along with his political party) who defended a "Trump train" of Texas supporters in pick-up trucks who surrounded a Biden campaign bus, ostensibly trying to force it off the road.

So, yeah, you can--and SHOULD--decry political violence and call for unity. 

And you can do that with certainty and with clarity. And without the slightest sense of irony.

Unless you're Trump's GOP.

Oops! Trump gets his wish

Back when the 2020 presidential campaign started, Donald Trump needed a strategy to beat Joe Biden. 

Trump didn't have any real policies. He couldn't speak knowledgably about the issues. His own track record included botching the Covid response, crashing the economy, and disparaging institutions such as the judiciary and the FBI. 

So, Trump defaulted to bully mode: relentlessly attack an opponent with personal insults and baseless allegations. This one was that Biden was feeble--physically and mentally. 

And as he entered 2024, in the wake of impeachments, indictments, convictions, civil judgments, and lying to overturn an election, Trump continued the attacks with the wish that enough people would believe his lies and accusations to swing the election.

Sure, there have been Biden gaffes over the years--although Trump had his share, too. But as Biden bested Trump in the 2020 debate, or was elected President, or even delivered a rousing State of the Union speech earlier this year, Biden's cognitive decline wasn't really a salient issue for anyone outside of Trump's MAGA sphere as they tried to distract voters from their own candidate's court proceeding after court proceeding (they also ceaselessly touted Hunter's "nothing-burger" laptop, or empty impeachments against members of Biden's administration, or non-existent bribes supposedly coming Joe's way). 

Primarily because of Biden's shortcomings being exposed during the debate (and since), it now appears that Biden has slowed. 

Trump has been granted his wish.

As a result, Trump now leads Biden in most polls. The Democrats are sniping and in seeming disarray. And Trump's Republicans are united behind him as he heads into Milwaukee to accept the GOP nomination.

But now that Trump's gotten his wish, is it a case of "be careful what you wish for?"

After all, there remains a real possibility that Biden--a struggling incumbent who Trump had at least a 50/50 chance to defeat--will be replaced.

By someone younger than Trump.

By someone smarter than him.

By someone less controversial than him.

Which could significantly change the calculus regarding the election.

And that wouldn't be good news for Trump.

But it just could be the very thing America has been wishing for. 

Biden goes off the rails

Biden's campaign is in serious trouble.

His poll numbers are dropping, allies are leaving, voters are questioning his cognitive abilities.

And that is readily apparent to anyone.

Unless your name is Biden.

It's time to go, Joe.

And that denial of reality is serious trouble for Democrats--and for this country.

For some reason, Joe (and Jill) seems to think that Biden can turn his candidacy around based on his past accomplishments rather than the reality of the present--or the doubt of a coherent Biden future.

His debate should have sealed his fate. His answers were rambling, mumbling, and, at times, downright incoherent.

If that wasn't the final nail, his "redemption" interview with George Stephanopolous--an interview, again, with his ramblings, a reluctance to answer questions about his mental acuity, and his refusal to submit to cognitive testing--surely was. 

But, inexplicably, it wasn't.

Today, Biden wrote a letter to Democratic legislators telling them he would not step aside.

He denies cratering polling numbers. He dismisses abysmal approval ratings. He defies those allies that suggest that it's time to go.

He clings to the (incredibly misguided) belief that his accomplishments are enough, that the despicable character of his opponent is disqualifying, that HE alone can beat Trump. 

But it's just not reality. It's not. And I'm not sure why he (or his advisors--I'm looking at you, Jill) can't see that.

And, regarding his mental acuity, that incredibly absurd belief and lack of judgment is more than enough to prove that Biden should no longer be running the country.

It's time to go, Joe.

Joe, it's time to bow out

As if Biden's stumbling, fumbling, mumbling debate performance wasn't bad enough to doom his reelection chances, last night's "redemption" interview with ABC's George Stephanopolous should be the end of his presidential campaign.

Biden's interview--just another "bad night?"

This was an interview for which Biden should have been prepared, focused, and convincing. 

But he wasn't.

Instead, Biden rambled. He deflected when asked questions about his cognitive capabilities. He was disingenuous (or clueless) when talking about falling numbers in the polls or the maelstrom in Democratic circles resulting from his alarming debate earlier in the week. And when asked if he had since watched the debate (which he optimistically termed  simply "a bad night"), Biden inexplicably claimed, "I don't think so."

I don't think so? How would he not know if he watched it or not?

But perhaps the biggest drop of all: Biden said he wouldn't take a cognitive exam.

"I have a cognitive test every single day."

No, you don't, Joe.

And this would be THE easiest thing to do to bring your campaign back, putting all the questions and concerns to rest. Just take an evaluative test.

But he won't do it.

Because, I think--and I'm guessing as does every other American think likewise (including Jill Biden)--he isn't sure he would pass one.

And that's sad.

But it happens. And when it gets to that point, even though a person is still capable of doing lots of things, running the world's most powerful country is no longer on that list.

So, it's time to bow out, Joe Biden. Thank you for your decades of public service, your accomplishments as President, your decency as a person.

It's time to move on.

For you, and for the country.

Here's a complete transcript of the interview from ABC News

Biden's story (and campaign) keeps crumbling

President Biden's team is in crisis/spin mode, scrambling to keep Biden's campaign alive as his poll numbers drop.

And it's not going well.

As you may have seen (or certainly heard about), Biden's debate--arguably the biggest night of his life-- was a disaster. He was wide-eyed, slack-jawed, and couldn't regularly respond to Donald Trump or the moderators with coherent, salient arguments (I wrote about it here).

"Oh, he had a cold," said the Biden campaign.

And then more excuses.

Biden attributed his horrible performance to jet lag from his G7 European trip--from which he had returned TWELVE days prior and then spent almost a week at Camp David.

His White House staff said Biden had just prepped too much.

His wife, Jill, offered that her husband "didn't feel great" for the debate.

And none of it explains anything, really.

Biden's debate performance was pitiable, to be honest--with the US President appearing as a dazed and confused elderly man. It was sad to watch (and scary, too, if one stops to consider that this man is responsible for things like the nuclear codes).

Amazingly, however, he followed his feeble debate performance the next day with a cogent and rousing speech in North Carolina. 

So, what gives?

As former House Speaker (and staunch Biden supporter) Nancy Pelosi wondered regarding Biden's tremendous debate stumble, "I think it's a legitimate question...is it an episode or is this a condition?"

Of course, the White House isn't offering any clarity on that question.

Just yesterday, the White House Press Secretary said Biden hadn't had any medical exams since his last one in February.

Now, word comes out that Biden actually did see a doctor after the debate. 

The White House explained it away by saying it was only a "brief check," not a physical.

But this lack of transparency and the ever-evolving stories coming out point to one thing as Biden's team is in crisis mode: this IS a crisis.

And should it ever come to a split-second decision--maybe regarding a nuclear launch or an insidious cyber-attack on our infrastructure or thwarting an attempted coup--who is making that decision to protect our country, a clear-headed President or the elderly man at the debate who froze like a deer in the headlights?

And if you have to even ask that question, it's clear.

Joe Biden has to step aside.

And no spin can disguise that.