There's been a noticeable shift in the days since Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance. Initially, we saw tremendous panic set in, followed by widespread calls from the left for Biden to drop out of the race.
Things have cooled off considerably since then, as it has become clear (for now anyway) that Biden (and I mean Jill Biden) has no intention of giving up the White House willingly. But while Biden boosters are starting to express confidence in him again, the campaign is clearly in desperation mode. And that reflects real trouble.
I suspect that many on the left have realized that replacing Biden at this point would be hugely problematic. Politically, it could set off an intraparty fight among those who have been circling around Biden like vultures, waiting for him to drop out so they can take over. On top of that, Kamala Harris, whose main talent is being even more unpopular than Biden, sees herself as Biden's heir apparent, and if the party snubs her, particularly for a white candidate, it could backfire badly on the Democratic Party.
The Biden campaign is hoping that unease about switching candidates is greater than unease about Biden's age and health and is doing everything possible to regain control of the narrative.
On Sunday, the White House released a new video featuring Biden — which I suppose they thought would be helpful.
Democracy is the essence of who we are. pic.twitter.com/OHwbSoDRM3
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 30, 2024
I counted eight jump cuts in this video, which likely means it took many takes for Biden to get through the 38-second video. At times, it was difficult to understand him, which is likely why the video has captions. Remember, folks, the above video represents the best takes of who knows how many. Yikes.
Perhaps the even more desperate move was that the Biden campaign emailed a list of talking points to supporters to "to push back on the massive negative reaction to his poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump," as Mediaite puts it.
According to the report, on Saturday night, to help facilitate a "reset" of the campaign in the wake of the debate fallout, the Biden campaign sent out an email to supporters called "7 Things To Tell Your Friends After The Debate — And 4 Things You Can Do."
Hey, [name]–
If you’re like me, you’re getting lots of texts or calls from folks about the state of the race after Thursday. Maybe it was your panicked aunt, your MAGA uncle, or some self-important Podcasters. It’s a tough position to be in, so I thought it might be helpful to send you a few responses.
The letter continued by claiming that while many see Biden as old, the debate reminded people of the negative aspects of Donald Trump, such as being unhinged and self-serving. While many flash polls showed that people overwhelmingly thought Trump won the debate and that Biden should drop out, the campaign insists that the debate didn’t change the overall race, with Biden still leading on key attributes like being presidential and likable. The letter also reminded supporters that losing early debates didn't prevent past presidents like Obama, Bush, and Reagan from ultimately winning.
"Joe Biden is extremely good at being president," the letter continues. Good Lord, who wrote that?
And then the letter lists 22 "accomplishments" Biden wants credit for. And then there's this gem:
The bedwetting brigade is calling for Joe Biden to “drop out.” That is the best possible way for Donald Trump to win and us to lose.
First of all: Joe Biden is going to be the Democratic nominee, period. End of story. Voters voted. He won overwhelmingly. And if he were to drop out, it would lead to weeks of chaos, internal foodfighting, and a bunch of candidates who limp into a brutal floor fight at the convention, all while Donald Trump has time to speak to American voters uncontested. All of that would be in service of a nominee who would go into a general election in the weakest possible position with zero dollars in their bank account. You want a highway to losing? It’s that.
The Biden Campaign is sending out emails telling people how to respond to their friends who talk about Joe’s incoherent performance at the debate 🤣 pic.twitter.com/NRjCC1Ov0b
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) June 30, 2024
You can smell the desperation, can't you?
