WEBVTT - 7/21/24 BREAKING: BIDEN OUT! BACKS KAMALA! 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:04.480 All right, everybody, we have some absolutely massive breaking news 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:09.559 which is that much anticipated or speculated about. President Joe 0:00:09.600 --> 0:00:15.400 Biden is stepping back from being the Democratic nominee withdrawing 0:00:15.640 --> 0:00:19.520 from the twenty twenty four race. He will remain as president. 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:21.920 He is not resigning that position. I'm going to pull 0:00:22.000 --> 0:00:24.160 up for you the letter that he posted, which I'm 0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:25.680 going to be one hundred with you. 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:26.760 I actually haven't. 0:00:26.520 --> 0:00:28.680 Read yet, so we're going to read it together right 0:00:28.720 --> 0:00:31.600 now in real time, because I wanted to jump on 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:33.480 and bring you the news as much as possible, and also, 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:36.560 obviously Ryan Grimm here with us to help us pass 0:00:36.600 --> 0:00:39.000 through what all of this means. So he says, my 0:00:39.080 --> 0:00:42.240 fellow Americans, over the past three and a half years, 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:46.000 we have made great progress as a nation. Today, America 0:00:46.080 --> 0:00:49.320 has the strongest economy in the world. We've made historic 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:52.360 investments in rebuilding our nation, in luring prescription drug costs 0:00:52.360 --> 0:00:55.360 for seniors, and expanding affordable healthcare to a record number 0:00:55.360 --> 0:00:58.480 of Americans. We've provided critically needed care to a million 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:01.200 veterans exposed to toxic subs sinces past. The first gun 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:04.080 safety law on thirty years pointed the first African American 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:06.440 woman to the Supreme Court and passed the most significant 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:09.679 climate legislation in the history of the world. America has 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:12.520 never been better positioned to lead than we are today. 0:01:12.959 --> 0:01:15.120 I know none of this could have been done without you, 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:17.600 the American people. Together, we overcame a once in a 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:20.640 century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. 0:01:20.920 --> 0:01:23.720 We have protected and preserved our democracy, and we've revitalized 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:26.880 and strengthened our alliances around the world. It has been 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:30.319 the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president. 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:32.920 And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:36.760 I believe it is in the best interest of my 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:40.679 party and the country for me to stand down and 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:44.840 to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:47.280 the remainder of my term. I will speak to the 0:01:47.360 --> 0:01:49.720 nation later this week in more detail about my decision. 0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:52.880 For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:55.000 those who have worked so hard to see me reelected. 0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:57.600 I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:00.680 an extraordinary partner in all this work. Let me express 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:03.240 my heart felt appreciation to the American people for the 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:05.600 faith and trust you have placed in me. I believe 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:09.040 today what I always have, that there is nothing America 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:12.080 can't do when we do it together. We just have 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:15.400 to remember we are the United States of America, signed 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:19.760 Joe Biden. So, Ryan, a few things that jump out 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:22.680 at me right off the jump. First of all, the 0:02:22.720 --> 0:02:27.640 timing is wild. The RNC just concluded obviously we are 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:31.520 weeks away from the DNC, so just an extraordinary moment 0:02:31.639 --> 0:02:36.040 in history. Second of all, he is withdrawing from the 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:39.280 race but remaining as president, not resigning from that position. 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:41.520 That was a new push that Republicans in particular were 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:43.480 starting to make, but others as well are saying, listen, 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:46.480 if you're not fit to run for office, how are 0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:50.560 you fit to continue to serve in the presidency? Number Three, 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:55.799 While he expresses his gratitude to Kamala Harris, his of course, 0:02:55.919 --> 0:03:01.200 vice president, he does not endorse her or any specific 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:06.680 process to succeed him as Democratic nominee, here, leaving an 0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:10.200 open question whether he will do any of that or 0:03:10.400 --> 0:03:12.800 just leave it open to what comes next. 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:14.359 So what is your initial reaction here? 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:19.880 Yes, all of that, thanking Kamala Harris for being a 0:03:19.919 --> 0:03:23.600 partner in the process, but not endorsing her is huge. 0:03:23.960 --> 0:03:26.640 It opens up the next several days to be a 0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:32.520 period of intense jocking Biden, as has been reported basically everywhere. 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:36.119 Was that King lear levels of resentment and anger over 0:03:36.160 --> 0:03:40.000 the last several days as he's been being pushed to leave. 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:42.760 And Griffin did you say something. 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:49.000 Okay, there you go, Griffin says he just endorsed Kamala Harris. 0:03:50.160 --> 0:03:52.720 So breaking news from Griffin. 0:03:54.080 --> 0:03:57.000 That he did not endorse her in the letter but 0:03:57.080 --> 0:04:00.760 waited until afterwards to endorse her might be a way 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:04.480 to you know, sanctify the dignity of the Oval office 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:06.720 and not sully it with. 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:10.280 The political machinations of political machinims. 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:13.600 That's how democrats think. That is very Democrat brain. 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:17.760 So now you're going to see the entire Now you're 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:23.000 going to see a contest between those who are advocating 0:04:23.000 --> 0:04:27.000 for an open convention, such as Nancy Pelosi, such as myself, 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:32.159 I rarely agree with Nancy Pelosi, and those who say, look, 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:37.120 it's too chaotic, it's too toxic, it's too late. 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:38.480 What we need to do. 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:41.960 Now is just rally behind Kamala Harris and just right, 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:44.200 you know, ride to the elect ride to the general election. 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:48.320 So here's the Joe Biden tweet in which he endorses 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:51.040 Kamala Harris. He says, my fellow Democrats, I've decided not 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:53.560 to accept the nomination to focus all my energies on 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:55.680 my duties as president for the remainder of my term. 0:04:56.000 --> 0:04:58.920 My very first decision as the party nominee in twenty 0:04:59.040 --> 0:05:01.720 twenty was to pick Kamala Harris as my vice president, 0:05:01.720 --> 0:05:03.640 and it's been the best decision I've made. Today, I 0:05:03.640 --> 0:05:06.560 want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.560 to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats, 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:13.280 it's time to come together and beat Trump. Let's do this. 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:18.880 So we'll see whether the strength of Joe Biden's endorsement 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:22.920 of Kamala is enough to completely quiet those like Pelosi 0:05:22.960 --> 0:05:26.280 who reportedly, behind the scenes, had been pushing for an 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:29.920 open convention process. I suspect that many of the donors 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:34.120 also are interested in that open convention process. The reason 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:36.640 being that, I mean, if you look at the polling, 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:40.600 one of the weakest candidates to run against Trump not 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:43.960 named Joe Biden is Kamala Harris, at least according to 0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:46.520 the polling today. Now listen, none of that is set 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:50.880 in stone. She may be sort of I think underappreciated 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:52.839 at the moment, given the fact that she just hasn't 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:54.800 been in the public spotlight that much. You could see 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:56.600 a bump just based on the fact, oh my god, 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:58.760 she's not a thousand years old and she can string 0:05:58.839 --> 0:05:59.799 three sentences together. 0:05:59.839 --> 0:06:00.800 This, this is incredible. 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:03.520 But if you're just going by the data at this point, 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:07.200 you would look at her compared to a Gretchen Whitmer, 0:06:07.360 --> 0:06:11.839 a Pete Bootage, a Gavin Newsom, Andy Basher, a Josh Shapiro, 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:14.000 a Roy Coo. The list goes on and on and on, 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:18.000 and say, if you're just concerned with defeating Donald Trump, 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:20.919 any one of these other candidates is likely to be 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:24.320 in a stronger position. The other thing with regards to 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:26.279 Kamala Harris, I mean, there are a few things to 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:29.640 mention here. Obviously, it goes without saying that her defenders 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:33.680 will say that it is outrageous to shove aside the 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:38.240 first female woman vice president, black woman vice president. They 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:41.479 will also say voters in the primary, which you know, 0:06:41.600 --> 0:06:43.719 let's put aside the fact there really wasn't a primary, 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:46.920 but they voted for Biden Harris, so she has more 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:49.760 democratic legitimacy. This is the case that they would make 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:53.120 for why she should be the presumptive nominee. 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:54.680 So there's that. 0:06:55.720 --> 0:06:59.200 There's also the fact that she's been in the public eye, 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:03.479 so perhaps she's better vetted than other potential candidates who 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:05.960 could be a wildcard. On the flip side of all 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:10.640 of that, Ryan, you know she also we know her weaknesses, 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:14.960 we know the negatives, and we also know based on 0:07:15.040 --> 0:07:19.640 polling that the people who are most closely associated with 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:23.720 the Biden administration really have a weight around their neck 0:07:23.760 --> 0:07:26.960 at this point, especially because of the sense of betrayal 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:30.560 of this administration and the level of cover up that 0:07:30.720 --> 0:07:34.320 they perpetrated on the American public visa via his health concerns. 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:38.040 Yea, and I think the argument that she's been vetted 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:41.120 is one of the flimsiest, and that she's been a 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:44.880 national figure. It's true that she was vetted during the 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:49.000 twenty nineteen twenty twenty campaign and she absolutely withered under 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:51.400 the heat of it. So it's not like she was 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:56.680 vetted and then succeeded in even making it to Iowa, 0:07:56.800 --> 0:08:00.440 like she dropped out before Iowa, because once national tension 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:04.400 was on her, she crumbled. She was then picked by Biden, 0:08:04.840 --> 0:08:07.000 not as he says, because he thinks she'd be a 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:10.280 great president, but because that's what he wanted to add to. 0:08:10.240 --> 0:08:11.800 The ticket for electoral purposes. 0:08:12.800 --> 0:08:14.840 There hasn't been a whole lot of focus on her, 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:18.280 you know, during the Biden Harris administration, to the extent 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:22.000 it was was about her comment do not come about immigration, 0:08:23.080 --> 0:08:26.720 or you know, her effort to do voting rights she got. 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:30.600 She kept getting handed these really impossible tasks, which is 0:08:30.680 --> 0:08:34.200 often what presidents do. That's what Obama did to Joe Biden. 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:39.439 The most scrutiny she got was over her massive staff turmoil. Now, journalistically, 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:42.600 if Kamal Harris does win, it could be delightful for 0:08:42.679 --> 0:08:46.160 reporters because you know, the vice president's office has been 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:49.680 toxic and chaotic and filled with leaks. Less so in 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:51.560 the last you know, six months or so, but for 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:53.840 most of the Biden administration. 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:55.320 Her office was just a disaster. 0:08:55.920 --> 0:08:58.319 Yeah, just with people rotating in and out constantly and 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:03.840 leaving and trashing the culture there, which is exactly what 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:06.720 happened during the campaign. Remember New York Times and Political 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:09.199 and others did the tiktoks about her campaign talking about 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:13.200 how what a train wreck the entire thing was. Now, 0:09:13.320 --> 0:09:15.840 the reason I think that you're not going to end 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:19.479 up with an open convention is because people like Pelosi 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:22.400 can manifest the possibility of it, because they have enough 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:25.800 power to do that, but they can't force anybody to run, 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:29.480 and that these centrist Democratic candidates are so cowardly and 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:33.120 cynical and calculating that I don't think, I hope I'm 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:34.920 proven wrong here. I don't think any of them will 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:39.360 even challenge Kamala Harris. My understanding is that they believe 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:44.800 that because she has establishment endorsements and she's the vice president, 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:48.080 that she's very difficult to beat, that they will likely 0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:50.680 lose to her, that they would be seen as disloyal, 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:53.520 and that Harris will lose in the general that they 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:57.679 would be blamed for her loss or the fact that 0:09:57.720 --> 0:09:59.760 they challenge her, and loss would be considered their. 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:02.400 Shot, like hey, hey, you had your shot. 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:04.520 You pulled your ticket, you got your order, get in 0:10:04.559 --> 0:10:08.199 the back of line, and so everybody else. So everybody's like, Okay, 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:11.559 let's let her lose and then we will run in 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:13.800 twenty twenty eight, which of course flies in the face 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:16.240 of all the Democratic arguments that they make that there 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:18.440 won't be a twenty twenty eight elections, Like, wait a minute, 0:10:18.440 --> 0:10:19.760 which one is it here? 0:10:20.440 --> 0:10:22.760 So I want to come back to this, but I 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:24.320 do want to back up for a second and just 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:27.880 talk a little bit about Joe Biden's decision making process 0:10:27.960 --> 0:10:31.760 and these extraordinary past several weeks. Obviously, this all began 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:35.839 with that utterly disastrous debate performance, which Ryan, I want 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:37.400 to give you an eye will pat on the back 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:39.840 because in our pre debate coverage, I don't know if 0:10:39.880 --> 0:10:42.520 you remember this, I think we both were saying that 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:45.920 there is a possibility that he's so bad tonight that 0:10:46.000 --> 0:10:47.160 it is not recoverable. 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:49.959 And I haven't said a bunch of Democrats were like 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:51.240 secretly hoping for well. 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:53.560 Thing, that it would be such a disaster. That's right, 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.559 and that is what unfolds now. I didn't actually expect 0:10:57.600 --> 0:10:59.960 it to be that bad. I thought it would be bad, 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:00.719 but in the way that. 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:02.600 It did. 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:04.040 I thought it would be bad in the way that 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:06.360 he's normally bad. But it was, you know, an extra 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:09.480 special level of bad, and that has just sent the 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:14.480 whole party into a total tail spin. So first you had, 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:17.120 you know, you had some some early comments that even 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:20.520 people like David Axerod, you had some immediate jumping on 0:11:20.679 --> 0:11:23.080 saying this can't this isn't going to work. 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:24.400 We got to do something else. 0:11:25.040 --> 0:11:29.720 Then you had some lower level members of Congress predominantly 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:32.439 come out and say, all right, it's time for him 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:35.000 to move on. Just a handful, right, few who came out, 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:38.640 sort of these you know, little known moderate types. Then 0:11:38.679 --> 0:11:41.400 you started to have the you had the George Clooney 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:43.880 op ed, and you start to get leaks behind the 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:49.719 scenes about pressure from donors, about some higher level Democratic 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:53.160 officials who believed that he needed to step aside. Very 0:11:53.160 --> 0:11:56.079 early on, we had reporting that Schumer was actually glad 0:11:56.440 --> 0:11:59.120 that the debate was so early because he thought that 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:02.120 this was actually a possibility and wanted to have enough 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:04.680 time to be able to get another candidate in there. 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:08.400 So this is happening behind the scenes. But Biden and 0:12:08.520 --> 0:12:13.200 his close in circle were talking Jill Hunter, his sister, 0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:17.320 Steve Ruschetti, Mike Donald, and just a few others outside 0:12:17.320 --> 0:12:21.240 of that are seemingly totally dug in and impervious to 0:12:21.320 --> 0:12:24.000 all of it and just saying absolutely not, I'm in 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:26.240 on the nominee I'm doing these rallies. I'm going to 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:27.520 prove it to you. I'm going to do my big 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:32.400 boy press conference, et cetera. But and then Trump's attempted 0:12:32.400 --> 0:12:34.960 assassination occurs. It sort of quiets the talk for a while. 0:12:34.960 --> 0:12:37.000 At that point, I thought, oh, this is over. This 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:41.120 is the conversation is over. It's not coming back. That's it. 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:43.800 But while the conversation was quiet, there was a lot 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:47.200 going on behind the scenes. And when the fallout from 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:51.880 Trump's assassination attempt quiets, then you get these more public 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:56.200 reports and Nancy Pelosi Obama seems to be a primary 0:12:56.240 --> 0:12:59.440 mover and this as well, who decided to go more 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:03.240 public with their views which had been largely behind the scenes. 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:05.959 We also had reports about the way the donor cash 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:09.480 had just fallen off a cliff. We're talking he was 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:13.679 bringing in twenty five percent of what he had been previously. 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:18.400 There's donor efforts going on, and so the sense is, 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:21.120 and then he gets his COVID diagnosis, The sense is, 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:24.040 and you tell me your view of how this all unfolded, 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:26.760 that while he very much wanted to stay in, his 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:29.760 family very much wanted him to stay in, he came 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:31.360 to a point where you just. 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:34.880 Realized, there is no way that I can win. 0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:37.640 I'm going to be out here on an island with 0:13:37.920 --> 0:13:41.480 every major leader and powerbroker in the party against me. 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:45.960 Every Democratic member of Congress and swing state Democrat is 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:48.719 going to be running against me. I'm not going to 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:50.920 have money to run ads, and those ads have been 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:53.520 significantly keeping him afloat to the extent that he's even 0:13:53.559 --> 0:13:57.080 competitive at this point. There is just no way I 0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:58.200 can persist. 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:01.680 Yeah, and I think he could have held on with 0:14:01.960 --> 0:14:06.680 some cojin appearances after the debate, like it was on 0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:09.000 a razor's edge, Like if he would have come out 0:14:09.400 --> 0:14:13.240 and done nightly press conferences and handled them well. If 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:14.959 he had done if he'd have done better in the 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:17.560 Lesser Whole interview, if he'd done better in the George 0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:20.320 step Monopolis interview, if he'd have done better even at 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:23.119 the NATO press conference where people praised them because you 0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:25.880 remember the names of the countries correctly half the time, 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:29.680 then he could have survived. But it's not that he 0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:32.000 was nervous, or it was in poor form or whatever. 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:33.320 He just couldn't. 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:38.080 He wasn't physically and mentally capable of delivering the kind 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:41.800 of performance that people needed to say, Okay, you know what, 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:45.160 you had a bad night, rather than you know, you 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:49.400 have a degenerative neurological condition. And also the neurologists have 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:53.160 been saying that one of the symptoms of all of these. 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:55.360 Different degenerative conditions, regardless of which one he. 0:14:55.360 --> 0:15:00.080 Has, is a rapidly increased amount of stubbornness and a 0:14:59.760 --> 0:15:04.160 col apse of in executive functioning. And anybody who's dealt 0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:08.040 with family members at that stage of their life recognize 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:11.560 that that increased stubbornness. And for some people who are 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:15.320 already stubborn, like at Joe Biden, people might think, oh, 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:18.280 that's just Joe Biden being Joe, but it's actually it's 0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:21.800 beyond Joe. It's stubborness beyond him. So the amount of 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:25.160 force that was must have been required to get him 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:29.000 to this place is almost you know, unimaginable. 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:29.120 That there is. 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:32.880 Yeah, there was also so much behind the scenes. I'm 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:35.320 just sort of scanning Twitter now to see what, you know, 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:37.960 other reactions were getting in. But there was also so 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:42.080 much behind the scenes about First of all, you had 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:45.400 a lot of people coming forward and saying, uh, you know, 0:15:45.480 --> 0:15:48.160 with that, how he was at that debate. This was 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:50.080 what Clooney said in his op ed, and then others 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:53.480 came out to verify it. What he was at that debate. 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:56.760 That's who he is now, so you know, and then 0:15:56.840 --> 0:15:59.200 all those pieces, why didn't you do the super Bowl interview? 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:01.440 Why was he wondering away at the G seven? Why 0:16:01.440 --> 0:16:03.800 did he forget this former Congress, this congress when Jackie 0:16:03.840 --> 0:16:06.080 who had just died weeks ago, Why did he forget 0:16:06.080 --> 0:16:09.080 that she was dead? All of these pieces come together 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:12.680 and it's really as unseeable. The other thing that came 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:17.720 out is just the lingering, utter bitterness that he has 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:23.800 towards Barack Obama, and he was really incensed that. So 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:26.280 it's Davild Axelrod who sort of leads the charge early 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:29.920 on the Podsave Bros who are Obama world guys through 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:33.280 and through, are aggressively leading the charge. Then you have 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:35.880 the Clooney op ed. Clooney also seen as being like 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:40.360 a cipher for Barack Obama, the Obama Yeah that's exactly right. 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:42.400 Reporting comes out that he's in touch with Obama. And 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:46.040 then you get reports specifically about Obama now talking to 0:16:46.080 --> 0:16:49.760 people essentially saying yeah, he needs to step aside, and 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:55.280 Joe and Obama have always had this sort of fraught 0:16:55.320 --> 0:16:57.800 relationship because I think while it was true that they 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:00.000 had a good working relationship while he was vice president, 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:03.720 there was also always this sense that Joe felt he 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:06.879 was looked down upon because you got Obama, this Ivy 0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:11.000 League guy with the super smart brainiac crew, and Joe Biden, 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:15.680 who's this more old school backslapping, like personal relationship type 0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:18.720 of politician. And those two styles were like oil and water, 0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:20.600 and Biden went to a state school and all of 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:24.399 those sort of like class driven dynamics as well. So 0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:28.080 you know, the irony here, Ryan that cannot be lost 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:31.320 is that it was Barack Obama that brings him to 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:33.040 the dance in the first place by being his vice 0:17:33.359 --> 0:17:35.600 like picking him his vice president. Then he really brings 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:37.760 him to the dance in the second place by helping 0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:41.160 to clear the field for him when the whole Democratic 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:45.359 Party establishment unites in order to defeat Bernie Sanders, and 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:48.520 he ends up being the guy. And so for all 0:17:48.560 --> 0:17:51.280 of Joe Biden's talk recently about all the elites are 0:17:51.280 --> 0:17:53.400 trying to take me ont et cetera, et cetera, it's like, well, 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:56.520 your entire presidency was based on the strength of the 0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:59.960 elites in this party. So if he had some sort 0:17:59.920 --> 0:18:03.680 of a ground swell of grassroots support, if he had 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:06.720 run through a real democratic primary process where he'd had 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:08.480 to be on a debate stage, and where the field 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:11.400 wasn't you know, cleared for any of the other establishment 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:13.880 contenders who are chomping at the bit. If he had 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:17.359 done those things and had actual democratic support and a 0:18:17.359 --> 0:18:20.960 grassroots fundraising base, then he wouldn't have ended up in 0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:24.400 this place where he cannot go forward without the very 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:27.720 elites who are the ones who brought him here and 0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:30.760 propped him up and hid his condition, by the way 0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:31.960 in the first place. 0:18:33.200 --> 0:18:35.960 Yeah, nineteen eighty eight he ran, and it was a 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:41.000 humiliating defeat. Two thousand and eight he ran slow, single 0:18:41.000 --> 0:18:44.320 digits and exactly right. Was then rescued by Obama and 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:47.720 put on the ticket. Twenty twenty, he ran, finished fourth 0:18:47.720 --> 0:18:51.120 in Iowa, fifth in New Hampshire, absolutely clabberd in Nevada, 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:54.680 and then brought back to life by Obama and Jim Clyburn, 0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:58.480 right ahead of South Carolina and Super Tuesday. So as 0:18:58.560 --> 0:19:01.600 as Congress and Adam Smith said, it is extraordinarily rich 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:05.639 for Biden to complain that elites, you know, we're orchestrating 0:19:05.680 --> 0:19:09.119 his ouster when, like you said, elites are the only 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:12.720 reason he became either vice president or president. Right, there 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:16.440 was there was no The American people had the opportunity 0:19:17.119 --> 0:19:20.679 to name him president multiple times before and decide not 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:25.600 to only when he was. You know, the alternative being 0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:27.920 Bernie is what is what got the elites. 0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:28.879 To say they got him to focus. 0:19:29.040 --> 0:19:32.040 All right, I guess they've got no choice. I've got 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:35.080 a John Fetterman reaction for you, Ryan, if you'd like it, 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:39.200 He says. This is This is from Dave Weigel's Twitter account. 0:19:39.240 --> 0:19:42.000 He says, people push down an honorable man, loving father 0:19:42.080 --> 0:19:47.000 and a great president before an absolute sleeze ball like Menendez. Congratulations. 0:19:47.560 --> 0:19:53.919 So Fetterman, Yeah, fair enough, he shouldn't be in the Senate. 0:19:53.960 --> 0:19:54.400 That's fair. 0:19:54.400 --> 0:19:56.880 Although it's funny because it's actually the Republicans who seemingly 0:19:56.880 --> 0:20:00.119 want to rescue Menendez because they don't like, you know, 0:20:00.280 --> 0:20:02.480 going after people for their corruption. They're afraid it looks 0:20:02.480 --> 0:20:06.199 bad on their guys. So I saw a shoot. I 0:20:06.240 --> 0:20:08.199 was just looking for. I do see a Schumer statement, 0:20:08.240 --> 0:20:10.520 But I'm not coming across it right now, but I'm 0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:12.840 sure that we'll get, you know, statements from all of 0:20:12.880 --> 0:20:16.560 the high ranking politicians. I see Jamal Bowman here, he says, 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:19.080 now that President Biden has suspended his campaign, vice President 0:20:19.119 --> 0:20:22.080 Kamala Harris is the most qualified and best choice to 0:20:22.200 --> 0:20:25.880 lead us forward. So that is definitely where the debate 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:28.760 is going to head next. And you know, to go 0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:31.720 back to that. Oh, I see doctor Jill Biden tweeted 0:20:31.720 --> 0:20:34.679 out Joe's letter with just a heart emoji, so that 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:40.120 was her reaction to his decision. Here Jon Favreau, one 0:20:40.119 --> 0:20:42.520 of the Pod Save guys, he says, a courageous and 0:20:42.560 --> 0:20:44.480 selfless decision. The president did what he's done for the 0:20:44.560 --> 0:20:46.440 last four years. He listened to the American people, but 0:20:46.520 --> 0:20:49.080 the country's interests ahead of his own. The exact opposite 0:20:49.080 --> 0:20:52.399 of Donald Trump. Not surprised by that framing, obviously, I 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:55.359 strenuously disagree because all of this like, oh, he's such 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:57.800 a great man, he's so selfless, blah blah blah. Tell 0:20:57.840 --> 0:21:00.880 that to the babies who don't have limbs or their 0:21:00.920 --> 0:21:04.280 lives or food to eat in Gaza. So spare me 0:21:04.320 --> 0:21:06.199 that one. And I do want to ask you about that, 0:21:06.320 --> 0:21:12.159 because not that I have great hopes that Kamala Harris 0:21:12.200 --> 0:21:14.320 or any one of these Democrats is going to be like, 0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:17.440 you know, shown up with a watermelon T shirt anytime soon, 0:21:17.720 --> 0:21:23.359 or affirmatively like truly pro Palestine. But I am I 0:21:23.400 --> 0:21:27.719 am somewhat hopeful that they may be less terrible than 0:21:27.800 --> 0:21:32.159 Joe Biden has been, simply because first of all, I 0:21:32.160 --> 0:21:34.320