The dumbest paragraph you will read today

When both-sides-ism goes very wrong.

There’s an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal this week by Joseph Epstein that starts out quite well — making the point that polling suggests that the American public really doesn’t want to see another Joe Biden vs Donald Trump race in 2024.

Which is true! A majority of Democrats would prefer Biden not run again and there is serious trepidation among at least some Republicans about re-nominating Trump.

But, then Epstein writes this paragraph, which has to be read to be believed:

But no one would argue that either Mr. Trump or Mr. Biden is a notably good man. Both have been accused of poor personal behavior. Each has been ethically challenged and found wanting: Mr. Trump by his long experience in the New York real-estate world, Mr. Biden by his 36 years in the Senate. Neither man has been touched by a scintilla of culture. It’s difficult to imagine either ever having read a serious book, sat through a classical music concert, or strolled through an art museum. Charm is far from the long suit of either man. Neither is even especially likable.

Wait, what?

Let’s revisit what we know about both men.

Donald Trump:

• Attempted to overturn a free and fair election, exerting pressure on state and federal officials to do so

• Helped incite the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol that left 5 people dead and more than 100 police officers injured

• Impeached twice by the House

• Accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women

• Currently embroiled in a civil rape case

• Indicted by a New York grand jury for allegedly making hush money payments to a porn star with whom he had an affair

• Currently under investigation for his attempt to overturn the election result in Georgia

• Currently under investigation for his retention of classified documents after leaving the White House

Now, Biden:

• Currently under investigation for his retention of classified documents after leaving the White House

• Accused during the 2020 campaign of sexual assault of a Senate staffer in 1993

• Forced to drop out of 1988 presidential race under allegations of plagiarism

So, yeah.

This is not to excuse Biden’s retention of classified documents. Nor is it to downplay the allegations of Tara Reade about Biden’s actions toward her. (Biden has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in the Reade situation.) Or the plagiarism allegations.

What it is to say is that it’s laughable to suggest that the conduct of Biden and Trump over their time in public life is even close to comparable. It’s just not.

And here’s the reality: Even if you crossed off every other thing Trump has done — in and out of office — on that list above other than “attempted to overturn a free and fair election,” it would still not be fair to make the comparison that Epstein is trying to make.

Let me say it once more for the people in the back: Donald Trump, as the sitting president of the United States, tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

He did so based on a series of flim-flam allegations and conspiracy theories. He lost virtually every lawsuit — frivolous and not — that he and his legal team brought in the wake of the election.

His actions led directly to the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, 2021. In a speech to the protesters gathered that day in Washington, Trump said that “we fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.”

Many of those protesters then marched to and stormed the U.S. Capitol — the first time it had been breached since 1814 — when the British did it.

There is no equivalent action in Biden’s long time in public service. Hell, we haven’t ever had a previous president who actively sought to overturn an election!

Dig deeper into both men’s records and the comparison between the two continues to break down.

Biden has never been arrested. Trump was arrested earlier this year — and could well face indictments in two other cases that are currently under investigation.

And, while we’re here let’s look at the classified documents issue that both men are facing.

Biden has, to date, completely complied with requests to search his various places of business for classified documents. As of January, roughly 20 classified documents had been recovered.

Trump repeatedly ignored attempts to recover classified documents — a stonewalling that eventually led to the FBI’s decision to collect the docs in question from Mar-a-Lago. Trump has wrongly insisted that as a former president, he has unchallenged authority to keep some classified documents. He has vilified the National Archives (I did NOT see that one coming!). He h as reportedly retained roughly 300 classified documents, including some with top secret markings.

Look. Politicians shouldn’t keep classified documents after they leave office. Period. But it is overly facile to say that what Biden and Trump did — and how they have reacted to the discovery of classified documents — is the same. Again, it’s just not.

And what’s worse about the Epstein piece is that it’s simply lazy. I don’t know how else to explain lines like these: “Each has been ethically challenged and found wanting: Mr. Trump by his long experience in the New York real-estate world, Mr. Biden by his 36 years in the Senate.”

None of this is to say Joe Biden is an angel! He’s not! He’s quite clearly made mistakes! One of them — plagiarism — led him to drop out of a presidential race!

But, there is simply no comparison between the conduct of Trump and Biden in public life. None. And trying to make such comparisons elides over important, known facts and misinforms the public.