With headlines in the news about a potential civil war in France, looks like we’ve got the makings of a political civil war breaking out right here at home — among Democrats and their media allies.
In one camp, those calling on Biden to step aside in the wake of his debate debacle. In the other, those rallying around good ol’ Joe. That split was on display on Saturday’s edition of MSNBC’s The Weekend. Co-host Michael Steele called the New York Times, and others calling on Biden to quit, “ignorant.” Former Kamala Harris spokesperson Symone Sanders-Townsend then said that: “If I was the Biden people, I’d be keeping a list, honey, because it was way too many people ready to jump.” Wait! we thought it was only those ee-vil Republicans, like Richard Nixon, who kept enemies lists! Like many others, Sanders-Townsend repeatedly used the word “panic” to describe Democrats calling on Biden to step aside. “Panic” suggests an irrationally fearful reaction to an event. But with post-debate reactions like these, showing swing voters flooding to Trump, and Trump leading in . . . New Jersey [!], is it panic—or clear-eyed realism—on the part of Dems calling on Biden to exit ASAP?
The show later brought on Democrat Congressman Robert Garcia of California to proclaim his continued support for Biden. Easy for him to say! He’s running in a Dem district that he and Newsom carried by a margin of over 35% last time around. But imagine you’re a Dem in a swing district: do you really want to carry the Biden millstone around your neck to the polls in November? Most Republicans and conservatives reacted with glee to Biden’s disastrous debate. But they need to be careful what they wish for. A damaged Biden remaining on the ballot could be ideal for them. But what if he is forced off, and replaced by a more viable candidate? Trump clearly understands this. As this article “Trump Campaign Hopes Biden Stays in the Race,” reports, Trump is building up Biden as the Dems’ strongest candidate, and is knocking down alternatives like Newsom. Note: Steele is a frequent guest on Morning Joe, where Joe Scarborough has been one of Biden’s most abject media boosters, frequently bragging about his close relationship with him. But as we noted, after Biden’s meltdown in Atlanta, Scarborough wasted no time, calling on Biden to quit the race the very next morning. Next time he’s on the show, will Steele call Scarborough “ignorant” to his face, and accuse him of “running his mouth,” as Steele said of those calling on Biden to quit? Here’s the transcript. MSNBC The Weekend 6/29/24 8:03 am EDT MICHAEL STEELE: The New York Times and other editorial headlines are screaming for the president to bow out of the race. I think that’s a little bit ignorant at this point. Because the political realities will not dictate that scenario. And if it did, it’s not going to be a good one for the Democrats. . . . SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND: To Michael’s point about how the Democrats panic. I do think it is worth noting that what we saw were elected officials, party individuals, you know, strategists, not people that work for the president, but people outside the apparatus. And the elected officials are on the ballot this cycle. And so I think their panic is a little, and I know we have Congressman Garcia that’s coming up later. But I think that their panic is related to what this means for the ballot. Because you’ve got Senate candidates and congressional candidates running five, 10 points ahead of the president in their states, and they wanted to see him talk more about the future. Now, I think that rally in North Carolina hit that mark. And if that is the Joe Biden folks see going forward, I think that the panic will subside. But if I was the Biden people, I’d be keeping a list, honey. Because it was IIway too many people ready, ready to jump. Ready to [inaudible.] STEELE: I mean, just instantly running their mouths. There wasn’t even, let’s take a pause or a beat and figure out what’s going on.
