Former President Joe Biden’s recent TV appearance was riddled with baffling and stumbling remarks, epitomizing his tumultuous tenure. It’s no wonder former President Trump had a decisive victory over Kamala Harris in the 2024 elections – a fact Biden conceded with surprising equanimity. While he tried to appear gracious by asserting Harris’ so-called ‘qualification’ for the Presidency, it was tinged with a regretful undertone that he had conceded the last presidential contest.
Biden’s feeble attempt at a veneer of confidence crumbled when he recollected Trump’s massive victory, in spite of the 7 million fewer votes Trump received nationwide than in their 2020 clash. ‘A lot of people didn’t show up,’ Biden lamented, indirectly chastising the Democrat’s voter-base for their lack of enthusiasm during the 2024 elections. His odd deflection to his own victory over Trump was an apparent attempt to divert attention from the Democrats’ recent debacle, a ploy that could fool no one.
Former President Trump’s triumph not only included flipping back the ‘blue wall’ states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, but also claiming Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia – all states Biden had won previously. The indomitable Trump rendered all seven key swing-state Electoral College votes to his side, dealing a significant blow to the Democratic party’s dwindling political standing. Harris’ failure to secure a popular vote victory further underlines the voters’ dissatisfaction with the Democratic leadership.
With a disappointing overtone, Biden reflected on Harris’s flawed campaign strategy, which clearly distanced her from the prevalent public sentiment. ‘She has to be her own person — and she was,’ Biden tried to validate, but the voters’ discerning judgment suggested otherwise. Election post-mortem revealed deep-seated administrative issues and failed policies that had led to the downfall of the Democratic party.
In the aftermath of the election, it emerged from the Harris campaign that their internal data never actually indicated that Harris was leading Trump. This raises serious questions about the Democratic party’s intuition and strategic foresight. It seems they were navigating their campaign in the dark, oblivious to their impending doom.
A post-election poll by the Democratic firm, Blueprint, disclosed the top three reasons for Harris’ loss – a surge in inflation, a swell of illegal migration, and a misplaced focus on cultural issues at the expense of middle-class struggle. It’s clear that the Democrats were too engrossed in virtue signaling to attend to pressing concerns plaguing the nation’s heartland.
While the reasons for the Democrats’ failure were apparent to any discerning observer, Biden chose to ignore the hard facts. Astoundingly, he tried to attribute the loss to sexist attacks on Harris from the Trump campaign. His audacious assertion of a ‘sexist route’ taken by the Trump camp seemed like a desperate attempt to deflect from their own failings.
Interestingly, Biden went on to insinuate that the Trump campaign successfully argued against the feasibility of a mixed-race woman leading the country. However, his baseless rhetoric failed to address the actual issues that led to the Democrats’ loss. Moreover, his tactless humor about his long-winded speeches did nothing to salvage his own image.
Biden’s disappointment with the Democrats’ staggering defeat was palpable, yet he refused to acknowledge the inherent flaws in their political agenda. In an attempt to justify their failure, he pointed fingers at ‘liberal democracies’ worldwide, again attempting to deflect from the Democratic party’s own shortcomings. His excuse of the ‘phenomenal negative impact’ of the pandemic on people’s attitudes merely underscored his disconnect from reality.
Biden cryptically stated that he maintains regular communication with Harris, yet he remained vague about the content of their conversations. His reluctance to provide details on their discussions only adds to the air of uncertainty surrounding the future direction of Democratic leadership.
In response to speculations about Harris possibly running for California governor, Biden offered a non-committal response: ‘She’s got a difficult decision to make about what she’s going to do.’ The vague comment failed to lend any clarity to Harris’s political future, reinforcing the persisting ambiguity within the Democratic party.
Biden’s claim that there are ‘a lot of really good candidates’ in their party also felt unconvincing, considering their recent electoral defeats. Even his faint praise for Harris – ‘I hope she stays fully engaged. I think she’s first rate,’ – seemed rather hollow given her overwhelming loss in the presidential elections.
In summary, Biden’s rambling interview was filled with empty rhetoric and feeble attempts to deflect blame. It underscored the Democrats’ inability to acknowledge their failings and lack of direction, further amplifying the chasm in their leadership. The party’s future seems uncertain at best, given the lack of clarity from its leaders and the disconnect from the country’s realities.