Chris, your straight talk is exactly why I'm still a subscriber. Politically, I'm well to the right of you and probably most of your readers (thank Mr Tony for my continued loyalty!!!). Even though we don't agree on a lot of things, I appreciate folks on the other side who aren't afraid to be honest when their side misses the mark. I know, you don't have a "side", but I think you know what I mean. Sadly, there aren't many folks willing to do that on the right (other than The Dispatch).
"But I also think there are structures in place — the independent media, checks and balances and the like — that would constrain him from simply, with a snap of his fingers, overthrowing 200 years of democracy and turning the U.S. into a dictatorship."
You mean, like the courts? Like the fact that a President isn't a king and can be held accountab . . . Oh, wait.
You mean by career civil servants and people of good will who care more about the country than Trump? Oh wait, Project 2025 explicitly states they are going to get off those people.
I genuinely am curious which guardrails you think will hold? Because they are explicitly telling us which guardrails they are getting out of the way.
Ed, I think your points are significant and it’s one reason why I take Chris’s opinions with a ”grain of salt”. I think he’s both offbase and delusional if he thinks that there aren’t those on the Right that will use Trump for their own agenda and that there are any “guardrails” that will stop them. Project 2025 makes that abundantly clear.
Trump’s lack of introspection and his easily-flattered ego make him a complete dupe for the oligarchs like Leo, the far-right organizations like the Heritage Foundation, even the strongmen in the world that have our worst interests in mind (like Putin, Orbán, etc.). And given that the Party-formerly-known-as-Republican is totally in the tank for him and see, in him, a way of moving their *own* agenda forward (including the partisans on SCOTUS, I just don’t see any guardrails that will hold.
Chris is the umpire who calls balls and strikes. We may think he misses a call once in awhile, but he calls it like he sees it...which is why I appreciate his coverage. As a fellow media member, I've been criticized before for just reporting the facts. Some people just want to kill the messenger instead of dealing with reality.
I agree with you that the debate performance was unsettling, even for longtime Biden supporters such as myself. And questioning his abilities in light of that is fair.
What worries me is the tendency from many in the media, not necessarily yourself, that creates a false equivalence between Biden and Trump. They are not the same in any respect and that must be highlighted to an American public that cannot grasp nuance and subtext
I, as a NeverTrump Republican, would never yell at you on Twitter or cancel my subscription. It's a bit weird to me observing the same conflict you noted. People who are taking seriously Biden's decline and trying to seriously figure out the extent of the liability and how to beat Trump are on the receiving end of plenty of mean tweets. The reaction to Biden realists is very much a parallel to what NeverTrump Republicans went through in 2016. But guess what? If I found Trump unacceptable and was loud and tried to advance concrete actions to prevent an outcome I found unthinkable, despite pressure from the team, I cannot imagine not approaching the Biden situation with the same intellectual honesty. But then again, I guess this is why I subscribe to you and the Bulwark. I don't have to necessarily agree with everything you write, but people who just engage with ideas in good faith are in relatively short supply these days.
Chris, you’re doing a hella job covering the nuances of all this. We have to much to lose as a country to FAFO the hard way by keeping Biden as a candidate as his prospects implode. What I’m feeling most is sadness and heartache for Joe Biden. He is a beloved public figure and he has been a tremendous POTUS. It was tragic to watch him stumble and struggle at the debate. And it was a self-inflicted wound.
Where I disagree with you is your position that Donald Trump can’t end the US in 120 days, as planned. He CAN and he WILL. He will displace the remainder of Gaza and turn the Gaza Strip into another obscene resort and hotel emblazoned with his name. He will give Ukraine to Putin and allow Putin to do WTF he wants to Europe. He will withdraw from NATO. He will set up deportation camps and follow through on his sick promises. And he will be PROTECTED by SCOTUS and the toadies in Congress. No more Stewart, Kimmel, Colbert, and Fallon. They’ll be shut down.
Steve Schmidt, who I have followed since 2008, knows this.
I can’t wait for your discussion. Steve asks ALL the questions.
Sorry I’m going to nitpick even though I agree with your essential points. Congress recently passed a law (POTUS signed!) that prevents a formal withdrawal from NATO without their assent. Of course he could just emasculate our participation. Not sure on the Gaza thing either, but…
I would agree with you completely, except now he can run roughshod over ALL the things and call them official acts, thanks to the Red Court. Even if he didn’t withdraw from NATO, when Putin does “whatever the hell he wants”, Trump could refuse Article 5 and call it an official act.
Good point! That law that was passed, assumes that President must obey the law while acting as President. Who decides whether or not he is acting in his capacity? The SCOTUS that Trump has corrupted.
I take your point although it may take somewhat less or more than 120 days to irrevocably destroy the U.S. foreign policy and gift Ukraine to Putin, etc. Leaders in Europe have been preparing for this worse-case since the first Trump administration, reasoning that if it happened once, why not again? One opinion, that heard after Biden won the 2020 election from a European born commentator, was not relief that Biden won, but that the margin was NOT much larger in favor of Biden. The Jan 6 attempt to overthrow the U.S. government/2020 election was another shocking event from which many world citizens have not lost the shock of that overt threat to U.S. democracy.
Absolutely. When Joe Biden announced in 2021 that the “US WAS BACK”, the prevailing question from world leaders was “for how long?” And the terrible debate performance was another shock point for the world.
(Sir alert with tears in my eyes 😊). You are right sir! Part of the problem may be that committed Ds (I’m one) see only that Joe is a good man who cares about all Americans and who’s run a competent, honest and productive administration. And therefore deserves re-election against a dangerous opponent. All true, but those people miss how important IMAGE, OPTICS, PERCEPTION, COMMUNICATION and their ilk are in this reality-TV age. Chris made this point in the days since the debate. I’d still be onboard with Joe (he’s toast now, anyway) but not everyone will be!
I appreciate the criticism of both candidates. You can like Biden and still vote for him, but doesn’t mean he doesn’t have flaws and it’s important to point out those flaws
Most liberals just can't understand why Trump has the cult following he does when he doesn't actually care about what's best for his supporters or the country. Baffling. But, isn't that essentially the same thing these hyper-partisans on the left are now doing? If someone says something bad about Biden, it's because they're really a Republican hack? To me, it seems like a similar kind of blind loyalty, and it's not good.
I totally agree. But I’m also afraid the discussion is going to drag on focused on the wrong topic altogether. At this point we have essentially 4 months. The issue is BEYOND can Biden win. DO NOT FORGET that Hilary Clinton won the popular vote but lost her election to Trump in the Electoral College vote. A change at the top of the Dem ticket gives us a chance to guarantee an exciting convention...with new candidates, new viewers, and hopefully new $$ coming in. If a new Dem ticket featured a candidate, or maybe even 2, from swing states, we could essentially “bank” those Electoral votes from the start. I know most people today don’t remember an “open convention”, with the ticket selected by delegates in real time...but I do. It’s exciting, and in this day & age it would be “must see TV”. Heck....it would be entertaining as well as educational. And I’m sure would make Election Day more exciting. PLEASE ...DEMOCRATS....don’t waste these next few months hand-wringing over Biden. I love him to, but it’s time to move on. WE MUST WIN this next election...Trump will destroy this country, guaranteed.
I agree that a fair chunk of the left of center (which is where I find myself these days - back when there was such a thing, I was a moderate Republican in the Charlie Baker/Larry Hogan mold) suffers from some severe bubbles of their own.
Strongly disagree that there is a _personality cult_ around Biden (if you are looking for a personality cult on the left, *maybe* AOC).
"But, beyond that, I also think that this way of thinking leads to a very slippery slope. Because it suggests that NO MATTER WHAT Biden is above reproach, that writing anything that raises even legitimate questions about him is off limits." - spot on Chris. Although I wrote a dissenting post yesterday, about your column, I also said that I was staying a subscriber. I am a Biden fan, and I was rooting for him to do well on Thursday night. He did not do so. Thanks for calling things straight, even when they hurt!
Biden is going to drop out, I think fairly soon. He has been anexcellent president but he is not the best candidate to beat Trump. Harris is going to become the dem candidate and is going to have a very difficult time winning the election. People need to quickly get through the stages of grief over BIden dropping out and unite behind Harris. I know I am getting ahead of people here but this is how I see it.
I'm reminded of the joke about the husband caught in bed with another woman by his wife. He says, "Do you believe me or your lying eyes?" This debate debacle is fatal because it confirms the cognitive and health decline that was already apparent. He'll be out of the race early next week as he should be for lying to the public about his real condition. Journalists like you who've remained independent have played an important role in getting the truth to the public. Thanks!
Well give the guy a break... If Biden is as cognitively compromised as he appears to be, then he probably truly believed that he was/is capable of being President. It's not lying if you really believe it to be true...
However - the enablers and sycophants around him are without a doubt guilty of lying to the American public about the President's condition. And the consequences of that may well be devestating.
This "decline" is interesting. I will continue to posit that he was never that great to begin with. The media ignored the active efforts to keep it quiet for the three years that it wasn't a "story." Once the election cycle kicked, suddenly there was attention and comparison made. Who in that mire (the WH in particular) was going to keep Joe to his one-term promise?
Thank you for your straight talk Chris, as painful as it can be to read, I appreciate your honest opinions. I just finished JVL’s piece today concerning Kamala Harris and must say I found it very cogent (as usual!). I would very much like to hear your opinions on his piece!
Chris, your straight talk is exactly why I'm still a subscriber. Politically, I'm well to the right of you and probably most of your readers (thank Mr Tony for my continued loyalty!!!). Even though we don't agree on a lot of things, I appreciate folks on the other side who aren't afraid to be honest when their side misses the mark. I know, you don't have a "side", but I think you know what I mean. Sadly, there aren't many folks willing to do that on the right (other than The Dispatch).
So, to summarize, Keep it up.
Thanks, BT. Appreciate it.
"But I also think there are structures in place — the independent media, checks and balances and the like — that would constrain him from simply, with a snap of his fingers, overthrowing 200 years of democracy and turning the U.S. into a dictatorship."
You mean, like the courts? Like the fact that a President isn't a king and can be held accountab . . . Oh, wait.
You mean by career civil servants and people of good will who care more about the country than Trump? Oh wait, Project 2025 explicitly states they are going to get off those people.
I genuinely am curious which guardrails you think will hold? Because they are explicitly telling us which guardrails they are getting out of the way.
Ed, I think your points are significant and it’s one reason why I take Chris’s opinions with a ”grain of salt”. I think he’s both offbase and delusional if he thinks that there aren’t those on the Right that will use Trump for their own agenda and that there are any “guardrails” that will stop them. Project 2025 makes that abundantly clear.
Trump’s lack of introspection and his easily-flattered ego make him a complete dupe for the oligarchs like Leo, the far-right organizations like the Heritage Foundation, even the strongmen in the world that have our worst interests in mind (like Putin, Orbán, etc.). And given that the Party-formerly-known-as-Republican is totally in the tank for him and see, in him, a way of moving their *own* agenda forward (including the partisans on SCOTUS, I just don’t see any guardrails that will hold.
Chris is the umpire who calls balls and strikes. We may think he misses a call once in awhile, but he calls it like he sees it...which is why I appreciate his coverage. As a fellow media member, I've been criticized before for just reporting the facts. Some people just want to kill the messenger instead of dealing with reality.
You make a “foul” point sir! 😉👍
I agree with you that the debate performance was unsettling, even for longtime Biden supporters such as myself. And questioning his abilities in light of that is fair.
What worries me is the tendency from many in the media, not necessarily yourself, that creates a false equivalence between Biden and Trump. They are not the same in any respect and that must be highlighted to an American public that cannot grasp nuance and subtext
Agreed 💯!
I, as a NeverTrump Republican, would never yell at you on Twitter or cancel my subscription. It's a bit weird to me observing the same conflict you noted. People who are taking seriously Biden's decline and trying to seriously figure out the extent of the liability and how to beat Trump are on the receiving end of plenty of mean tweets. The reaction to Biden realists is very much a parallel to what NeverTrump Republicans went through in 2016. But guess what? If I found Trump unacceptable and was loud and tried to advance concrete actions to prevent an outcome I found unthinkable, despite pressure from the team, I cannot imagine not approaching the Biden situation with the same intellectual honesty. But then again, I guess this is why I subscribe to you and the Bulwark. I don't have to necessarily agree with everything you write, but people who just engage with ideas in good faith are in relatively short supply these days.
Chris, you’re doing a hella job covering the nuances of all this. We have to much to lose as a country to FAFO the hard way by keeping Biden as a candidate as his prospects implode. What I’m feeling most is sadness and heartache for Joe Biden. He is a beloved public figure and he has been a tremendous POTUS. It was tragic to watch him stumble and struggle at the debate. And it was a self-inflicted wound.
Where I disagree with you is your position that Donald Trump can’t end the US in 120 days, as planned. He CAN and he WILL. He will displace the remainder of Gaza and turn the Gaza Strip into another obscene resort and hotel emblazoned with his name. He will give Ukraine to Putin and allow Putin to do WTF he wants to Europe. He will withdraw from NATO. He will set up deportation camps and follow through on his sick promises. And he will be PROTECTED by SCOTUS and the toadies in Congress. No more Stewart, Kimmel, Colbert, and Fallon. They’ll be shut down.
Steve Schmidt, who I have followed since 2008, knows this.
I can’t wait for your discussion. Steve asks ALL the questions.
Sorry I’m going to nitpick even though I agree with your essential points. Congress recently passed a law (POTUS signed!) that prevents a formal withdrawal from NATO without their assent. Of course he could just emasculate our participation. Not sure on the Gaza thing either, but…
I would agree with you completely, except now he can run roughshod over ALL the things and call them official acts, thanks to the Red Court. Even if he didn’t withdraw from NATO, when Putin does “whatever the hell he wants”, Trump could refuse Article 5 and call it an official act.
Good point! That law that was passed, assumes that President must obey the law while acting as President. Who decides whether or not he is acting in his capacity? The SCOTUS that Trump has corrupted.
That’s the scariest thing! tRump can now do any vile thing he wants and call it an official act!😰
Right you are. Dark times these be (yoda).
I take your point although it may take somewhat less or more than 120 days to irrevocably destroy the U.S. foreign policy and gift Ukraine to Putin, etc. Leaders in Europe have been preparing for this worse-case since the first Trump administration, reasoning that if it happened once, why not again? One opinion, that heard after Biden won the 2020 election from a European born commentator, was not relief that Biden won, but that the margin was NOT much larger in favor of Biden. The Jan 6 attempt to overthrow the U.S. government/2020 election was another shocking event from which many world citizens have not lost the shock of that overt threat to U.S. democracy.
Absolutely. When Joe Biden announced in 2021 that the “US WAS BACK”, the prevailing question from world leaders was “for how long?” And the terrible debate performance was another shock point for the world.
Spot on Chris
TY.
(Sir alert with tears in my eyes 😊). You are right sir! Part of the problem may be that committed Ds (I’m one) see only that Joe is a good man who cares about all Americans and who’s run a competent, honest and productive administration. And therefore deserves re-election against a dangerous opponent. All true, but those people miss how important IMAGE, OPTICS, PERCEPTION, COMMUNICATION and their ilk are in this reality-TV age. Chris made this point in the days since the debate. I’d still be onboard with Joe (he’s toast now, anyway) but not everyone will be!
I appreciate the criticism of both candidates. You can like Biden and still vote for him, but doesn’t mean he doesn’t have flaws and it’s important to point out those flaws
Most liberals just can't understand why Trump has the cult following he does when he doesn't actually care about what's best for his supporters or the country. Baffling. But, isn't that essentially the same thing these hyper-partisans on the left are now doing? If someone says something bad about Biden, it's because they're really a Republican hack? To me, it seems like a similar kind of blind loyalty, and it's not good.
I totally agree. But I’m also afraid the discussion is going to drag on focused on the wrong topic altogether. At this point we have essentially 4 months. The issue is BEYOND can Biden win. DO NOT FORGET that Hilary Clinton won the popular vote but lost her election to Trump in the Electoral College vote. A change at the top of the Dem ticket gives us a chance to guarantee an exciting convention...with new candidates, new viewers, and hopefully new $$ coming in. If a new Dem ticket featured a candidate, or maybe even 2, from swing states, we could essentially “bank” those Electoral votes from the start. I know most people today don’t remember an “open convention”, with the ticket selected by delegates in real time...but I do. It’s exciting, and in this day & age it would be “must see TV”. Heck....it would be entertaining as well as educational. And I’m sure would make Election Day more exciting. PLEASE ...DEMOCRATS....don’t waste these next few months hand-wringing over Biden. I love him to, but it’s time to move on. WE MUST WIN this next election...Trump will destroy this country, guaranteed.
EXACTLY RIGHT! It's not only the MAGA crowd that are in a personality cult...
I agree that a fair chunk of the left of center (which is where I find myself these days - back when there was such a thing, I was a moderate Republican in the Charlie Baker/Larry Hogan mold) suffers from some severe bubbles of their own.
Strongly disagree that there is a _personality cult_ around Biden (if you are looking for a personality cult on the left, *maybe* AOC).
Good points!
It's not a cult if there is no personality. "Is your refridgerator running? If so, I would like to vote for it."
"But, beyond that, I also think that this way of thinking leads to a very slippery slope. Because it suggests that NO MATTER WHAT Biden is above reproach, that writing anything that raises even legitimate questions about him is off limits." - spot on Chris. Although I wrote a dissenting post yesterday, about your column, I also said that I was staying a subscriber. I am a Biden fan, and I was rooting for him to do well on Thursday night. He did not do so. Thanks for calling things straight, even when they hurt!
Biden is going to drop out, I think fairly soon. He has been anexcellent president but he is not the best candidate to beat Trump. Harris is going to become the dem candidate and is going to have a very difficult time winning the election. People need to quickly get through the stages of grief over BIden dropping out and unite behind Harris. I know I am getting ahead of people here but this is how I see it.
I'm reminded of the joke about the husband caught in bed with another woman by his wife. He says, "Do you believe me or your lying eyes?" This debate debacle is fatal because it confirms the cognitive and health decline that was already apparent. He'll be out of the race early next week as he should be for lying to the public about his real condition. Journalists like you who've remained independent have played an important role in getting the truth to the public. Thanks!
Well give the guy a break... If Biden is as cognitively compromised as he appears to be, then he probably truly believed that he was/is capable of being President. It's not lying if you really believe it to be true...
However - the enablers and sycophants around him are without a doubt guilty of lying to the American public about the President's condition. And the consequences of that may well be devestating.
This "decline" is interesting. I will continue to posit that he was never that great to begin with. The media ignored the active efforts to keep it quiet for the three years that it wasn't a "story." Once the election cycle kicked, suddenly there was attention and comparison made. Who in that mire (the WH in particular) was going to keep Joe to his one-term promise?
Good column Chris. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for your straight talk Chris, as painful as it can be to read, I appreciate your honest opinions. I just finished JVL’s piece today concerning Kamala Harris and must say I found it very cogent (as usual!). I would very much like to hear your opinions on his piece!
You won't be deterred from reporting the FACTS! Keep on rolling with refreshing views.