I think Biden can get away with this if he isn't always the one doing the jabbing. He can have advocates do this effectively and stay above the fray. Although I don't think it's a bad idea for him to land a few himself. He did a great job on Seth Meyer's show.
However, I find your continued defense of the media not being responsible for the concerns over Biden's age to be somewhat off target. I believe that while it is a valid concern for some, the media's constant asking about it keeps Biden's age in the forefront. I wish the media would focus more on his achievements.
I also think the media tends to treat Trump differently. I don't feel that the media doesn't focus enough on his gaffs, misinformation or his threats to democracy.
I talk to people everyday who think Biden is too old. On line, I see people complaining about media bias in reporting those views. These folks lobby others to cancel subscriptions to the NY Times, WaPo on the grounds of anti-Biden bias. All that seems inconsistent with the coverage I see regularly that savages Trump. We learned most of what we know about Trump's crimes&frauds from investigative reporting from those two papers. Conservatives have longed deemed them liberal rags. Now that there is unpleasant news & polling re Biden ,some on left say they are biased for Trump. Some have accused Chris of that bias even though he rips apart every Trump appearance line by line. Does the media beat a story into the ground? Often, but that's a different matter from bias. It's business.
All people (including me) are saying is yes inform people that Biden is old but also be fair and objective enough to also inform people about Biden's numerous achievements. That's all. Nobody is blaming the media or Chris for Biden's age. We are just yearning for fairNess and objectivity
You have frequently, as recently as yesterday, accused Chris of bias. It is not a credible charge. IMO, it seems you are lobbying for favorable coverage, not fairness or objectivity. I understand the frustration. Joe has done a great job. I've seen Chris and the other media cover his achievements and note the disconnect between his record and the poll numbers. I have seen Chris and the other media outlets cover in detail Trump's crimes, lies, and frauds. But whenever there is reporting about Biden's struggles with voters, the howls of protest begin. The right loves to live in a media bubble. I prefer to hear facts regardless of how they cut and opinions regardless of whether I agree.
Todd David, what I am lobbying for is fairNess and objectivity. Nothing more and nothing less. I urge you to read in between the lines of Chris's postings and don't just assume that because he said he's fair and objective and this is Newsletter , he's indeed objective and fair. I like his writings just as I like the postings in the other Newsletters I subscribe to. All we are saying is please be fair and objective, and if you're not going to be then say so. I don't have anything against Chris and I honestly want him to succeed but I know fairNess and objective postings when I see one. By the way this MY OPINION.
The goal is to goad Trump into responding, thereby keeping him on the defensive and make him look whiney and weak. You do it with a jab here and there and ideally with humor, as if you're not taking him that seriously as a candidate or person.
Exactly! And I think President Biden has been good at that, and can continue to do so. Not really attack, but highlight and react to the unbelievable stuff that falls out of Trump's mouth. Basically do what all of us do when Trump says stuff, while the establishment and the media remain stoic and at a loss of what to do. I love that about President Biden. He does it really well. He's so like, " can you believe this?!"
Rubio went after Trump for having a small penis and got down in the gutter. While Clinton's referendum comment was before Trump became president. Hillary Clinton had been in the public eye for 20+ years and people didn't like what they saw from her, which is why it didn't work.
Bien absolutely should go negative and savage Trump, but savage him on his record. Remember 2020? Remember what Trump as president looked like when there was a legitimate crisis? For some reason Trump has been able to memory hole covid and people just remember 2017 to 2019, but he needs to go out there and hammer him on covid, the response to George Floyd, Jan. 6, etc.
He needs to be as visible as possible, get out there, do interviews, podcasts, Sunday shows, press conferences. It's called the Rose Garden strategy for a reason. Use it! And if his campaign doesn't want him to because they think he's too old, he shouldn't be running for president.
100% . How many people died unnecessarily because he mishandled covid. Ignore his reprehensible being, go after his record. Although his adoring cult followers won't care.
He could screw a baby on the White House lawn and those idiots wouldn't care.
Chris - all good points. Getting in the mud with Trump would be quite messy, and favors Trump. However, my sense is there is a way for Biden to goad Trump without playing down to his level. It is kind of like when a ‘boxer’ faces a ‘fighter’. The boxer floats around the ring, firing jabs, yet staying out of range of the big punch from the fighter. If they do it well, the boxer frustrates the fighter, and over time, the fighter makes mistakes, flailing while trying to land the big punch, mostly missing on his punches while taking a beating by being hit over and over by the little jabs. If done well, the fighter tires, and the fans turns against the fighter for lack of skills, and they get behind the superior boxer. Yet, it is a fine line, and there is danger every second the fight continues the fighter lands just one big punch and ends the fight.
Long way of saying, I think Biden can goad Trump into mistakes, and not join Trump in the mud. However, Biden is working on the edge of the precipice, and could be pulled into the mud easily if Biden does not stay quite disciplined, and can keep from reacting to Trump when the very nasty stuff flies.
I actually look forward to Biden trying to goad Trump - it means Biden is getting more engaged, and I think Biden should be significantly more disciplined than Trump. Could be fun.
One comment you made struck me: that to say that it’s the media’s fault that the election is being framed as “Biden is too old” is “ridiculous”.
While blaming the media *exclusively* for that narrative would be incorrect, to give the media at large a “pass” for not being detached, dispassionate, objective (within reason), and fair is simply not warranted.
The current “story” the MSM is playing is very definitely tilted toward the salacious and harps on Biden’s age while barely reporting on Trump’s mental decline, his aphasia, and much much more. (As an aside, the NYT has truly fallen down and is no longer the grand lady it once was, to the point at which I simply can’t support their slanted reporting any longer and cancelled my subscription…)
You say that the polls show that the public cares about Biden’s age, hence it should be reported on, yet that constant drumbeat of reporting is helping to MAKE IT a more significant issue than maybe it would be, if the MSM (and you) focused more broadly on ALL the issues that should be considered.
We the people are being poorly served right now, and it’s not just a shame: it could be *just* enough to tilt what is already going to be a very close election and lead us into a very dark period…
I think that it is time for the President to “take the gloves off” as it were and go after Trump, to a point. He needs to be careful that he doesn’t stoop to Trump’s level. In my mind, Biden should stick to the high road and let Trump show his true colors and self-destruct!
The key is for Biden- and more importantly his surrogates- to attack Trump on his pathetic record as POTUS & contrast that record to Biden's solid one. Insulting Trump merely continues the downward cycle of our politics.It's fine, however, to run ads showing Trump spewing nonsense at rallies. But focus on his record b/c many are unaware that Trump did few things as POTUS,&almost nothing that worked. The tax cut was his only legislative achievement; it benefited solely the wealthy&bloated the debt. No wall. No check from Mexico.The trade war was half-assed & raised prices. Abraham Accords were deals w/ tertiary players that did nothing for Palestinians or peace. He pulled out of the Iran deal; said he'd get a better one; got nothing& left Iran free to pursue nukes. No promised new healthcare or infrastructure bill ever materialized. Oh, & he lied about & mishandled Covid. Sure, give me another 4 years of all that.
I think Biden can and should talk about Trump’s plans for American fascism and be extremely targeted and precise. Biden needs to blatantly tell the unvarnished truth about what will happen to the US and the world if Trump is elected again. I still can’t believe any of this. Trump killed 400 thousand Americans with his inept response to COVID. And so much more. This is all surreal and so deadly if Trump wins. Just a nightmare scenario that Biden needs to BLUNTLY expound upon.
Biden is old and that’s why he knows. And he should tell it like it is, even if he talks slowly. If people can’t hear his wisdom for what it is, and if they can’t hear that he ACTUALLY cares about this country and the people in it…
There is nothing that can fix that.
I agree. He should just tell the truth. His plans, and the threat to our very freedoms, there is the choice. It should be named loud and clear.
You and I are on the same exact page. I hope his campaign team can create a clear and blunt message. Biden has done so much and he needs to talk about what he WILL do and the stakes for all of us.
He’s feisty. Let him be feisty! Lol. There is nothing more endearing than a feisty old man who knows what he stands for. DT is just a maniac, the more he talks the more that is apparent.
They don't need to focus on Trump's age or well-being, they should just focus on his policies - past and future. His inhumane treatment of immigrants, his irrational trade policy, his kissing up to dictators, his support for environmental destruction, his cronyism, his incompetent and corrupt relationship with his Cabinet, his continual firing of high-level officials, his mismanagement of the pandemic that led to hundreds of thousands of American deaths, etc. And that's just 2017-2021! Really they should focus on what he's said he would do next year - installing himself as dictator, helping Russia conquer Ukraine, more inhumane treatment of immigrants, etc.
There’s a simple argument here: “sure, I’m old, but he’s both old AND crazy.” Biden can hire younger people to delegate, which is what a President usually does anyway. Trump can’t really cover for crazy.
And, at some point, Trump will most likely prove him right. While I do think people have questions about Biden’s age, I also think a lot of the polling gaps have to do with people who are only casual politics followers (a) not having entirely processed and internalized that, yes, we’re getting the rematch unless one of them dies, and (b) having partly forgotten what kind of dumpster fire Trump was as president. Once they realize this is really the matchup and Trump spends most of the year reminding them what kind of dog’s breakfast he is as a chief executive, I think this could normalize back down to where it was in 2020 — in fact, I expect it. Trump’s followers are more motivated than his enemies at this stage, but Trump himself is the best way to fix that, and unlike 2016, there’s no mystery as to whether he can be fixed once he’s in the Oval Office.
That said, it’s possible I’m overestimating the wisdom of the American people. Perhaps I’ve not yet become cynical enough to realize how bad this can get.
That's Chris Cilliza opinion and he's free to air his opinion about Biden's campaign strategy but I doubt that Biden's team will take advise as to how to beat Trump from Chris.
Oh and by the way I was hoping that Chris would get the transcript of that interview of Biden by Axios that you just referenced and "analyze" it for your subscribers as you ALWAYS do when Trump gives his usual rambling interviews. Biden's interview is important because he is going to be the 47th President and what he has to say in the interview gives us a window as to how his second term will be. This is the excuse always given for chasing down Trump's interviews Transcript and advertising them here
Trump’s “interviews” are more interesting than Biden’s, Chris would be hard pressed to find the “30 craziest lines” in a Biden interview.! Most of us follow Biden closely in other media, and he is never nutty. Just policy driven and a genuinely good man.
Maybe not an ideal strategy but Biden needs to do things differently this time. Selling his accomplishments won’t be enough. Think he needs to constantly emphasize what a second Trump presidency will bring.
Given what polls consistently indicate, a few things are obvious: most people don't pay attention and have short memories, influenced by the media they consume, and the current Biden strategy isn't working. No one else can stoop to Trump's level, but we simply can't fail to make note of his clear mental instability, jaw-dropping incoherence and pathological lying. His advanced age may make this worse, but much of this has always been part of his makeup. The core of the problem is that no one has ever held him accountable for dangerous, unacceptable behavior. That has to stop. Since he has made a mockery of our justice system, that task falls to the rest of us - including the legitimate media. Trump media traffics in lies and deflection. We just have to use his own words and actions to challenge him.
I don't necessarily like this as a strategy, but that said, I don't know that President Biden has much of a choice. And, I'll add that he does seem to have an ability that Senator Rubio, former Secretary of State Clinton and Senator Cruz don't have, which is that he seems to be able to get under the Former Guy's skin. That is an important point, I think.
I think Biden can get away with this if he isn't always the one doing the jabbing. He can have advocates do this effectively and stay above the fray. Although I don't think it's a bad idea for him to land a few himself. He did a great job on Seth Meyer's show.
However, I find your continued defense of the media not being responsible for the concerns over Biden's age to be somewhat off target. I believe that while it is a valid concern for some, the media's constant asking about it keeps Biden's age in the forefront. I wish the media would focus more on his achievements.
I also think the media tends to treat Trump differently. I don't feel that the media doesn't focus enough on his gaffs, misinformation or his threats to democracy.
I talk to people everyday who think Biden is too old. On line, I see people complaining about media bias in reporting those views. These folks lobby others to cancel subscriptions to the NY Times, WaPo on the grounds of anti-Biden bias. All that seems inconsistent with the coverage I see regularly that savages Trump. We learned most of what we know about Trump's crimes&frauds from investigative reporting from those two papers. Conservatives have longed deemed them liberal rags. Now that there is unpleasant news & polling re Biden ,some on left say they are biased for Trump. Some have accused Chris of that bias even though he rips apart every Trump appearance line by line. Does the media beat a story into the ground? Often, but that's a different matter from bias. It's business.
All people (including me) are saying is yes inform people that Biden is old but also be fair and objective enough to also inform people about Biden's numerous achievements. That's all. Nobody is blaming the media or Chris for Biden's age. We are just yearning for fairNess and objectivity
You have frequently, as recently as yesterday, accused Chris of bias. It is not a credible charge. IMO, it seems you are lobbying for favorable coverage, not fairness or objectivity. I understand the frustration. Joe has done a great job. I've seen Chris and the other media cover his achievements and note the disconnect between his record and the poll numbers. I have seen Chris and the other media outlets cover in detail Trump's crimes, lies, and frauds. But whenever there is reporting about Biden's struggles with voters, the howls of protest begin. The right loves to live in a media bubble. I prefer to hear facts regardless of how they cut and opinions regardless of whether I agree.
Todd David, what I am lobbying for is fairNess and objectivity. Nothing more and nothing less. I urge you to read in between the lines of Chris's postings and don't just assume that because he said he's fair and objective and this is Newsletter , he's indeed objective and fair. I like his writings just as I like the postings in the other Newsletters I subscribe to. All we are saying is please be fair and objective, and if you're not going to be then say so. I don't have anything against Chris and I honestly want him to succeed but I know fairNess and objective postings when I see one. By the way this MY OPINION.
I disagree with your view, but I thank you for the exchange.
You've been beating this same horse for a while now. If you don't like the content here, why are you subscribing to this newsletter?
I also disagree with your view. Have a pleasant evening.
The goal is to goad Trump into responding, thereby keeping him on the defensive and make him look whiney and weak. You do it with a jab here and there and ideally with humor, as if you're not taking him that seriously as a candidate or person.
Exactly! And I think President Biden has been good at that, and can continue to do so. Not really attack, but highlight and react to the unbelievable stuff that falls out of Trump's mouth. Basically do what all of us do when Trump says stuff, while the establishment and the media remain stoic and at a loss of what to do. I love that about President Biden. He does it really well. He's so like, " can you believe this?!"
I like that approach too!
Re: Rubio and Clinton:
Rubio went after Trump for having a small penis and got down in the gutter. While Clinton's referendum comment was before Trump became president. Hillary Clinton had been in the public eye for 20+ years and people didn't like what they saw from her, which is why it didn't work.
Bien absolutely should go negative and savage Trump, but savage him on his record. Remember 2020? Remember what Trump as president looked like when there was a legitimate crisis? For some reason Trump has been able to memory hole covid and people just remember 2017 to 2019, but he needs to go out there and hammer him on covid, the response to George Floyd, Jan. 6, etc.
He needs to be as visible as possible, get out there, do interviews, podcasts, Sunday shows, press conferences. It's called the Rose Garden strategy for a reason. Use it! And if his campaign doesn't want him to because they think he's too old, he shouldn't be running for president.
100% . How many people died unnecessarily because he mishandled covid. Ignore his reprehensible being, go after his record. Although his adoring cult followers won't care.
He could screw a baby on the White House lawn and those idiots wouldn't care.
I agree 100%!
Chris - all good points. Getting in the mud with Trump would be quite messy, and favors Trump. However, my sense is there is a way for Biden to goad Trump without playing down to his level. It is kind of like when a ‘boxer’ faces a ‘fighter’. The boxer floats around the ring, firing jabs, yet staying out of range of the big punch from the fighter. If they do it well, the boxer frustrates the fighter, and over time, the fighter makes mistakes, flailing while trying to land the big punch, mostly missing on his punches while taking a beating by being hit over and over by the little jabs. If done well, the fighter tires, and the fans turns against the fighter for lack of skills, and they get behind the superior boxer. Yet, it is a fine line, and there is danger every second the fight continues the fighter lands just one big punch and ends the fight.
Long way of saying, I think Biden can goad Trump into mistakes, and not join Trump in the mud. However, Biden is working on the edge of the precipice, and could be pulled into the mud easily if Biden does not stay quite disciplined, and can keep from reacting to Trump when the very nasty stuff flies.
I actually look forward to Biden trying to goad Trump - it means Biden is getting more engaged, and I think Biden should be significantly more disciplined than Trump. Could be fun.
The boxing is a great analogy!
One comment you made struck me: that to say that it’s the media’s fault that the election is being framed as “Biden is too old” is “ridiculous”.
While blaming the media *exclusively* for that narrative would be incorrect, to give the media at large a “pass” for not being detached, dispassionate, objective (within reason), and fair is simply not warranted.
The current “story” the MSM is playing is very definitely tilted toward the salacious and harps on Biden’s age while barely reporting on Trump’s mental decline, his aphasia, and much much more. (As an aside, the NYT has truly fallen down and is no longer the grand lady it once was, to the point at which I simply can’t support their slanted reporting any longer and cancelled my subscription…)
You say that the polls show that the public cares about Biden’s age, hence it should be reported on, yet that constant drumbeat of reporting is helping to MAKE IT a more significant issue than maybe it would be, if the MSM (and you) focused more broadly on ALL the issues that should be considered.
We the people are being poorly served right now, and it’s not just a shame: it could be *just* enough to tilt what is already going to be a very close election and lead us into a very dark period…
I think that it is time for the President to “take the gloves off” as it were and go after Trump, to a point. He needs to be careful that he doesn’t stoop to Trump’s level. In my mind, Biden should stick to the high road and let Trump show his true colors and self-destruct!
The key is for Biden- and more importantly his surrogates- to attack Trump on his pathetic record as POTUS & contrast that record to Biden's solid one. Insulting Trump merely continues the downward cycle of our politics.It's fine, however, to run ads showing Trump spewing nonsense at rallies. But focus on his record b/c many are unaware that Trump did few things as POTUS,&almost nothing that worked. The tax cut was his only legislative achievement; it benefited solely the wealthy&bloated the debt. No wall. No check from Mexico.The trade war was half-assed & raised prices. Abraham Accords were deals w/ tertiary players that did nothing for Palestinians or peace. He pulled out of the Iran deal; said he'd get a better one; got nothing& left Iran free to pursue nukes. No promised new healthcare or infrastructure bill ever materialized. Oh, & he lied about & mishandled Covid. Sure, give me another 4 years of all that.
I think Biden can and should talk about Trump’s plans for American fascism and be extremely targeted and precise. Biden needs to blatantly tell the unvarnished truth about what will happen to the US and the world if Trump is elected again. I still can’t believe any of this. Trump killed 400 thousand Americans with his inept response to COVID. And so much more. This is all surreal and so deadly if Trump wins. Just a nightmare scenario that Biden needs to BLUNTLY expound upon.
Biden is old and that’s why he knows. And he should tell it like it is, even if he talks slowly. If people can’t hear his wisdom for what it is, and if they can’t hear that he ACTUALLY cares about this country and the people in it…
There is nothing that can fix that.
I agree. He should just tell the truth. His plans, and the threat to our very freedoms, there is the choice. It should be named loud and clear.
You and I are on the same exact page. I hope his campaign team can create a clear and blunt message. Biden has done so much and he needs to talk about what he WILL do and the stakes for all of us.
He’s feisty. Let him be feisty! Lol. There is nothing more endearing than a feisty old man who knows what he stands for. DT is just a maniac, the more he talks the more that is apparent.
Amen!
They don't need to focus on Trump's age or well-being, they should just focus on his policies - past and future. His inhumane treatment of immigrants, his irrational trade policy, his kissing up to dictators, his support for environmental destruction, his cronyism, his incompetent and corrupt relationship with his Cabinet, his continual firing of high-level officials, his mismanagement of the pandemic that led to hundreds of thousands of American deaths, etc. And that's just 2017-2021! Really they should focus on what he's said he would do next year - installing himself as dictator, helping Russia conquer Ukraine, more inhumane treatment of immigrants, etc.
There’s a simple argument here: “sure, I’m old, but he’s both old AND crazy.” Biden can hire younger people to delegate, which is what a President usually does anyway. Trump can’t really cover for crazy.
And, at some point, Trump will most likely prove him right. While I do think people have questions about Biden’s age, I also think a lot of the polling gaps have to do with people who are only casual politics followers (a) not having entirely processed and internalized that, yes, we’re getting the rematch unless one of them dies, and (b) having partly forgotten what kind of dumpster fire Trump was as president. Once they realize this is really the matchup and Trump spends most of the year reminding them what kind of dog’s breakfast he is as a chief executive, I think this could normalize back down to where it was in 2020 — in fact, I expect it. Trump’s followers are more motivated than his enemies at this stage, but Trump himself is the best way to fix that, and unlike 2016, there’s no mystery as to whether he can be fixed once he’s in the Oval Office.
That said, it’s possible I’m overestimating the wisdom of the American people. Perhaps I’ve not yet become cynical enough to realize how bad this can get.
That's Chris Cilliza opinion and he's free to air his opinion about Biden's campaign strategy but I doubt that Biden's team will take advise as to how to beat Trump from Chris.
Oh and by the way I was hoping that Chris would get the transcript of that interview of Biden by Axios that you just referenced and "analyze" it for your subscribers as you ALWAYS do when Trump gives his usual rambling interviews. Biden's interview is important because he is going to be the 47th President and what he has to say in the interview gives us a window as to how his second term will be. This is the excuse always given for chasing down Trump's interviews Transcript and advertising them here
Trump’s “interviews” are more interesting than Biden’s, Chris would be hard pressed to find the “30 craziest lines” in a Biden interview.! Most of us follow Biden closely in other media, and he is never nutty. Just policy driven and a genuinely good man.
That's true about Biden but we also want to hear that about Biden in this forum instead of ALWAYS about his age and his Negatives.
Maybe not an ideal strategy but Biden needs to do things differently this time. Selling his accomplishments won’t be enough. Think he needs to constantly emphasize what a second Trump presidency will bring.
I don’t think Biden means “savage” in the way Trump means savage. But, of course, that’s where Trumps goes.
I’m just curious, hasn’t Trump already “gone there” pertaining to Biden? I mean what worse could he say? 😂
I would choose "age" over the "lack of mental acuity" every time!
Given what polls consistently indicate, a few things are obvious: most people don't pay attention and have short memories, influenced by the media they consume, and the current Biden strategy isn't working. No one else can stoop to Trump's level, but we simply can't fail to make note of his clear mental instability, jaw-dropping incoherence and pathological lying. His advanced age may make this worse, but much of this has always been part of his makeup. The core of the problem is that no one has ever held him accountable for dangerous, unacceptable behavior. That has to stop. Since he has made a mockery of our justice system, that task falls to the rest of us - including the legitimate media. Trump media traffics in lies and deflection. We just have to use his own words and actions to challenge him.
Amen!
I don't necessarily like this as a strategy, but that said, I don't know that President Biden has much of a choice. And, I'll add that he does seem to have an ability that Senator Rubio, former Secretary of State Clinton and Senator Cruz don't have, which is that he seems to be able to get under the Former Guy's skin. That is an important point, I think.