June 28, 2024 - 6:25pm

→ Will lobbyists choose Biden’s replacement?

If Joe Biden exits the presidential race between the Democratic National Convention and the election, his replacement would be determined by a cabal of lobbyists with ties to Big Pharma, weapons manufacturers, and Wall Street, per a report from investigative journalist Lee Fang.

DNC rules would allow superdelegates and the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee to control candidate selection in this unusual situation. Superdelegates are party insiders, often former elected officials or fundraisers, who make up about 15% of the party’s roughly 4,000 total delegates. These superdelegates happen to be, in many cases, lobbyists with ties to powerful financial interests including Lockhead Martin, Boeing, Koch Industries, Meta and Google.

It’s par for the course for a party that’s largely consolidated the support of corporations over the past decade while losing its command of the working-class vote. Hillary Clinton still has a chance… 

→ The Tories have lost the Pimm’s drinkers

You can learn a lot about someone from the tipple they most enjoy. Now, a new poll has shown how drinkers are likely to vote in the upcoming election and there are some shocking results. The More in Common survey shows a significant 14-point lead for Labour among Pimm’s drinkers. If this is anything to go by, then the Conservatives have lost the middle-class, middle-aged women who previously made up much of their voter base.

Keir Starmer is also remarkably popular with VK drinkers, taking a stonking 40-point lead. It’s fair to assume that those consuming the sugary alcopop will be on the younger side, underlining Labour’s youth appeal, while the party is also ahead for beer and cider drinkers. Curiously, those who like a shandy also quite like Reform UK.

One last vestige of hope for the dejected Tories lies with the sherry drinkers, where Rishi Sunak’s party has claimed a 28-point victory. Is there a figure for Coca Cola drinkers?

→ Even the New York Times turns on Biden

When you’ve lost the New York Times, you know you’re in trouble. After last night’s excruciating performance, even the Grey Lady doesn’t want to go into bat for the President. Below is a chart of how the paper’s columnists believe the night went:

 Add to that the opinion masthead, which is dominated by headlines such as “Biden cannot go on like this”, “President Biden is my friend. He must bow out of the race”, and “President Biden, it’s time to drop out”.

And of course, spare a thought for Thomas Friedman, a man who once took so much pride in having a chocolate milkshake with the President, now reduced to tears in his Lisbon hotel. At least Lady Macbeth is still on his side…