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Joe Biden has already blown it The Democrat hopeful looks like an amateur, even as Trump risks American lives

Joe Biden is not having a good virus war. Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty

Joe Biden is not having a good virus war. Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty


March 27, 2020   5 mins

Let us be frank: the bar is not high.

“Live from the Court of the Mad King!” is how the former Bush speechwriter David Frum introduces his tweets on presidential press conferences. Others are less kind. The word ‘deranged’ is used frequently by opponents. Some Americans have moved beyond political distaste. They are simply frightened by what they are witnessing: Gabriel Sherman of Vanity Fair spoke for many after one recent presidential performance:

Indeed: the President, with what his own chief scientific advisors seem to regard as a reckless desire to keep the economy safe, appears willing to sign the death warrants of a large number of American citizens. This is not normal. This is — politically speaking and putting it very mildly — an opportunity for the opposition party.

Step forward, Joe Biden. Fill the space. Calm the nerves. Unite those Americans who still accept science: unite them around some basic facts. Do it fast. Do it daily. Build something of substance.

That is the challenge. As I say, a low bar to be cleared, by a man or woman of any age.

But he cannot do it. And the nation increasingly has two worries: two lacunae where previously a Reagan, an FDR, even an LBJ would have trod. Hell, Jimmy Carter could have given it a shot. Now, though, a President apparently trying to fight a virus with words faces an opponent who is struggling with an autocue.

Yes, seriously. There is a good deal of nonsense talked about Joe Biden by the more extreme elements of the Republican party. For instance: did he forget the name of Barack Obama when he mentioned him — or tried to — in a recent speech? In fact, Mr Biden has a stammer and seemed to be finding a way of getting round a phrase he was going to find difficult. It was an uncomfortable moment but well short of dementia and, for plenty of Americans, well short of the daily performance of the man actually in the Oval Office.

Fair enough.

But nothing can hide the fact that Joe Biden is struggling and struggling badly. First, he went missing. He did not appear at an hour of need. The famous and hugely repeated Sunday morning political shows would all have had him on at the beginning of the week but he appeared nowhere. #whereisjoe started trending on Twitter. So he announced an address to the nation. “Biden seeks to offer a possible presidency preview,” is how ABC News, ever hopeful, trailed the 15 minute address streamed from his home in Delaware.

It was painful to watch. They had assembled a lectern with a BIDEN sign, as if he were on the campaign trail in Boise. It was ill-lit. At one point he said:

“And uh, in addition to that, in addition to that, we have to make sure that we, uh, are in a position, that we are, we. Let me go to the second thing.”

As he was saying those words he was motioning with a hand — flapping it, apparently to suggest that the teleprompter had broken. It was amateurish. It was, given the ease of the task, jaw dropping that the former Vice President and his team could not have managed better.

But even when he’s responding to questions, Mr Biden often seems at sea. A round of patsy interviews with friendly interviewers yielded little in the way of firmer grip. At one stage in a CNN spot, Mr Biden coughed into his hand. The interviewer had to remind him that was no longer done.

As they say in top level sport: get the basics right.

What on earth are the Democrats going to do?

First: not panic.

The reasoning here: it is genuinely difficult for the Biden team to break through because their man holds no elected office and thus no obvious platform — and he cannot hold mass rallies because of the risk from the coronavirus, hence the basement teleprompter. He is not even the nominee: Bernie Sanders is still in the race, though he cannot win.

Also: yes, there was a poll suggesting that 60% of Americans backed Mr Trump’s handling of the crisis and yes, that does seem quite a thing. But as the veteran pollster Stan Greenberg pointed out, the “fatalistic chatter” in the wake of the poll was well wide off the mark. In fact, in swing states that Biden must win in November, he is well ahead. He is on course to install his wonky teleprompter in the White House.

Second, though: panic.

The crisis has exposed, for many Democrats, the horrible deficiencies of the contest they have just held. Mr Biden is no Obama. His only genuinely enthusiastic supporters tend to be black voters in the south, many of whom like him because he took instructions — gladly and faithfully — from a black man. But is that enough?

He says he will appoint a woman as his vice presidential pick. But why? Possession of a vagina might have seemed vital in the far-off days when identity politics were a thing and coronavirus mentioned at the end of the news. But now? How about possession of a medical qualification? Or a proven ability to run something. There are women who fit the bill of course, but they made no headway during the campaign. This person needs to be ready to run the country: how odd for a centrist to limit the choice to make a woke point that no longer needs making.

And Mr Biden himself? He has never in his life run anything. Not a town. Not a state. Not even a collapsing and obscurely leveraged casino chain. And here some panicky Democrats are shifting their gaze to the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has become the anti-Trump star of the coronavirus outbreak with a constant daily outpouring of executive decisions and an equally high-profile string of barbs aimed at the White House.

Some Democrats are swooning. Could Mr Cuomo not be drafted in at the last minute? “America’s Governor” in the same way Rudy Giuliani became (briefly) “America’s mayor.” His father Mario was the great hope who never actually ran for president. Might history come calling on the Cuomos?

I doubt it. The practicalities are too tricky. But the very fact that the question is being asked is a measure of how uncharted these waters really are.

There is another worry for the Democrats’ panicky brigade. What if the President is just a little bit right? Right enough to harvest a political boost just as the autumn comes?

Frankly it does not seem likely. But this is a president entirely comfortable with spending borrowed money. This is a president entirely at ease with unorthodoxy. A healthcare election might force Trump (finally) to come up with the healthcare reforms he promised before 2016.

And before that? Well, this is a president who in some respects is voicing the worries of millions of Americans for whom the crisis seems still distant.

America is a huge nation. But also — because of its size — a small one. Many Americans live isolated lives, particularly Republicans who inhabit the great rural expanses rather than the big cities. A catastrophe in New York is an event on the news, little more. Put crudely: this pandemic is affecting urban Democrats more than rural Republicans.

America is also — sad to say — a nation in which reported facts are distrusted to an unnerving extent, with consequences that are not always predictable. An example from my life: a good friend was coming to London from San Francisco recently and asked if we might meet.

“Coronavirus?,” I emailed. “Are you really coming?”

His response: “we can have a good discussion about Media Induced Hysteria.”

Here is the point: he is a Democrat. A Left-wing Democrat. And one of the cleverest people I know. I assume he saw the coronavirus reporting on the media he watches and reads, but did not believe it because he knows that the reporters (like him) cannot stand Trump. The media landscape in the US today is Putin-like: flooded with nonsense nobody believes to the extent that even reliable reports are discounted. There is no impartiality. No truth.

Into this world, a strong communicator with a steely focus on healthcare and a bag full of ideas could make quite a splash. Is Joe Biden that person? It may not matter. A disaster might be about to engulf America.

But if disaster is averted, the Democrats could be left with a broken teleprompter in a Delaware basement as the metaphor for this presidential campaign, and the world will be open-mouthed at the mess they have made of finding a treatment for Donald Trump.


Justin Webb presents the Americast podcast and Today on Radio Four. His Panorama documentary “Trump the Sequel”, is available now on  Iplayer

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Fraser Bailey
Fraser Bailey
4 years ago

This seems to be yet another anti-Trump rant by a media stalwart. They won’t give up, will they? As Trump has pointed out, many US states have only a handful of people with the virus, and I believe some states have seen no deaths. Even a state as large as Texas is relatively unaffected. New York is the worst hit, partly because its leaders and health commissioner were still encouraging people to go out and party until very recently. Blame them for the deaths, not Trump.

In fact, the US has little more than twice as many dead as the UK, which is remarkable given the respective populations. Even the Netherlands now has over 400 deaths, which is very high relative to the US.

Fraser Bailey
Fraser Bailey
4 years ago

I have just watched Sean Hannity conduct a 30-minute interview with Trump. The president was lucid, open, and, as usual, correct about almost everything. His approval ratings are through the roof, something that the disgraceful, biased media simply cannot understand. Nor can they understand why so many of us have simply ‘walked away’ from the MSM.

And now Biden is being accused of sexual assault back in the early 1990s by Tara Reade, who was on his staff at the time, The fact is that the Democrats had three years to come up with a plausible candidate and policies to take on Trump. Instead they pursued hoax campaigns around Russia-gate, Cavanaugh, the fake and wicked impeachment etc.

Then they came up with Biden, a guy who doesn’t even know what day it is and who has corruptly and openly enriched almost all his family while in office. Moreover, they could have gone for Andrew Yang or Tulsi Gabbard, two reasonably plausible candidates. Instead, they threw Gabbard under a bus and accused her of being a ‘Russian asset’ because she is opposed to all the wars. The Democrats are truly evil.

jared.wasdin
jared.wasdin
4 years ago
Reply to  Fraser Bailey

Could you back up this statement with some facts or references, “as usual, [Trump is] correct about almost everything”? Seems a statement like that warrants some validation.

colin.powis
colin.powis
4 years ago

Justin, I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at your” Second, thought: panic.”

Yes the DNC has very good reasons to panic as they have a melting ice cube for a nominee and a quasi Marxist as a back up ; what could possibly go wrong ? Biden is clearly not playing with a full deck and is not far from the movie ”one flew over the Cuckoos nest ” Hello, I’m Joe Biden but I have no idea why I’m here ” ?

The DNC will never allow this disaster to happen ; if you were familiar with Dem political history you’d see there is a precedent for this dire situation ; as Mark Twain wisely noted ”History may not repeat itself but it often rhymes ” Back in the tumultuous summer of 68 president Johnson had dropped out of the race so they shoe horned his VP, Humphrey, into the convention without winning any primaries ; if Biden quits the race then his delegates are free to vote for whoever they chose ; the Dems made their byzantine rules and can change them when they see fit, so I can easily envision Andrew Cuomo becoming the Dem nominee ; naturally the Sanders supporters will not like that one bit but the convention will likely become televised with electronic voting so they wont get the chance to run riot like what happened at the 68 convention in Chicago

davidhralph
davidhralph
4 years ago

I am convinced that the American rate of deaths will jump very shortly, because of the inequalities of the health system. Both Democratic candidates have health problems. Both may be unable to go forward as Presidential candidates

Dave Weeden
Dave Weeden
4 years ago
Reply to  davidhralph

Best comment so far, IMO. Two things: being of a pessimistic turn of mind, I’ve worried about a pandemic for some time, but I worried about one starting in the USA with its divisions between rich and poor, and large homeless underclass, denied basic hygiene facilities. Second, surely this will expose America’s crazy preoccupation with septuagenarians: Trump, Mrs Clinton, Saunders, Biden. What happened to the idea of still-vigorous younger man, like Clinton, GW Bush, or Obama? I understand why there’s a lower age limit for the Presidency (full disclosure: I’m 58 v soon). Perhaps it’s time for an upper one as well?

Richard Gibbons
Richard Gibbons
4 years ago
Reply to  Dave Weeden

Still vigorous Bill Clinton ? Have you seen him recently . He is more wobbly than Biden.

Gerald gwarcuri
Gerald gwarcuri
4 years ago

“Trump risks lives?” Get a grip. I am no Trump fan, much less an apologist for his administration. But on COVID-19, he has assembled a formidable group of experts – including the eminent epidemiologist Dr. Anthony Fauci – and he is listening to them.

Trump Derangement Syndrome is a seriously pernicious pandemic, making otherwise sane people descend into irrationality.

Russell Hamilton
Russell Hamilton
4 years ago

Could the Democrats not, at their conference or whatever its called, agree to nominate Michelle Obama as their candidate? For the good of the country and the world, she has to do it! Not so good being already the wife of a former President, but anyway, the most liked and admired woman in America could easily win. Everyone knows she smart enough, she’s seen how it all works, familiar with all the issues, very popular. Michelle for President! Biden & Sanders are hopeless.

Kant Remember
Kant Remember
4 years ago

Justin,
You avoid any mention of Biden’s wandering hands, hands which fondle women’s bodies and, notably, the bodies of innocent little girls, 13 yo or so.

He kisses them, plays with their hair, touches the little ones’ chests, all on camera.

https://youtu.be/_pgG9mDxRNQ
or :
https://www.youtube.com/wat

IMO, groping is not a quality to be sought in a President of the US of A. What’s your take ?

Kant Remember
Kant Remember
4 years ago

OK, you scrubbed my post, that is your privilege and, sometimes your duty. The link I attached was to a bad site, that fellow makes Trump’s posts look cultured and I apologise for the error.

But – are you suppressing revelations about Biden’s wandering hands and lttle girls ? Looks like it.

Links such as these are not going to disappear anytime soon and there are so many of them :

https://youtu.be/DwXweiRjckI

https://www.youtube.com/wat

https://youtu.be/kCf2Nfd9iCc

https://youtu.be/kCf2Nfd9iCc

https://www.youtube.com/wat

https://youtu.be/DAUOurZIVfI

https://youtu.be/-iSAh3haVtY

https://youtu.be/qTWlIWRe0VQ

https://youtu.be/_H5NJZMDumY

https://youtu.be/ZEC0eRFQvLw

https://youtu.be/7S-3KnMwS48

On the other hand, Trump would be laughing if Biden is his opponent for the election,no doubt about it, is there ?

Robin Bury
Robin Bury
4 years ago

America has a President who has been analysed with dementia and needs an MRI scan and removed. He said this virus would go away by miracle and was not to be taken seriously. As a Canadian I am sad Americans have such a dangerous man as President and many take him seriously.