Biden goes on offense.
March 11, 2024
If the campaigning over the weekend is a portent of things to come, Democrats should be feeling good. As Joe Biden continued the momentum gained from a commanding State of the Union address, Trump partied with the anti-democratic strongman of Hungary, Viktor Orbán. Biden and Trump gave dueling speeches in Georgia: Joe Biden delivered a fiery but traditional campaign speech. Trump rambled in a stream-of-consciousness manner that would have made James Joyce scratch his head in puzzlement.
The difference in tone and comprehensibility of their respective campaign speeches in Georgia was palpable. In this clip, President Bident thanks his Black supporters for their key role in his 2020 victory and asks for their support in 2024. He also praises the bravery of the civil rights marchers—including the late John Lewis—who were beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge fifty-nine years ago on Bloody Sunday.
President Biden said:
Thursday marked fifty-nine years since hundreds of foot soldiers for justice marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge named after the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan to claim the fundamental right to vote. They were beaten, they were bloody, they were left for dead—but they were unbowed. Our late friend, son of Georgia, John Lewis, was there. Five months later, what happened? We passed the Voting Rights Act [and it was] signed into law.
But in the nearly six decades after that, the same forces are back, led by Donald Trump, taking us back in time, suppressing the vote, subvert[ing] elections. That’s why we have to stand up again. We know what to do.
And my message to Georgia voters—and the voters all across the country—is to send me a Congress that will pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
The new toughness in Biden’s speech is welcome. He is making a direct connection between the brutal voter suppression of the Jim Crow era and the reactionary tactics of MAGA extremists. And he is calling out Trump's submissive courting of foreign dictators. See The Guardian, Biden hits out at Trump in Georgia rally: ‘He’s been sucking up to dictators all over the world’.
Trump, on the other hand, attacked supporters of Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley—because nothing invites party unity like rubbing salt in the wound! He spewed venom and ugliness about immigrants, the media, judges, rigged elections, and Joe Biden’s State of the Union address—but heaped copious praise on the enemy of democracy in Hungary, Viktor Orbán.
Trump flitted from grievance to grievance, speaking in an opaque code that was comprehensible to few members of the audience. In the snippet below, Trump complains that people are saying Joe Biden appears to be more fit than Trump:
Somebody said he [Biden] looks great in a bathing suit, right? And you know, when he was in the sand, having a hard time lifting his foot through the sand, because, you know, sand is heavy, three solid ounces per foot, but sand is a little heavy, and he is sitting in a bathing suit. At 81, do you remember Cary Grant? How good was he, right? I don't know what happened to movie stars today. We used to have Cary Grant, Glark Gable, and today – I will not say names because we don't need enemies. I get enough enemies. Cary Grant was like Michael Jackson once told me, the most handsome man in the world, Cary Grant, and we don't have that anymore. The Cary Grant at 81 or 82, going on 100, this guy, he is 81 going on 100, Cary Grant would not look too good in a bathing suit either, and he was pretty good-looking, right?
Huh??
Of course, Trump's most reprehensible conduct was imitating President Biden’s stutter. In this post, you can see Trump mocking Biden’s stutter and a moving video of Joe Biden comforting and inspiring a young boy with a stutter. Watch the video of Joe Biden until the end. It will remind you (again) why he is admired and liked by all who have worked with him.
One man is a monster and a criminal, and the other is a decent, kind person who can empathize with the challenges faced by others.
This pattern will continue for the next eight months. Trump's hate-filled, rambling rallies will continue to alienate persuadable voters, while Joe Biden’s humanity will shine through. Of course, there is no guarantee of success in anything in life. But as between the two candidates, we should be encouraged and proud to have Joe Biden as our standard bearer.
Additional legal complications for Trump as he campaigns.
Trump defames E.J. Carroll again.
Trump has secured a bond for the E.J. Carroll judgment and applied for approval by Judge Kaplan. Carroll can file an objection by Monday. But before the bond has been approved by Judge Kaplan, Trump defamed E.J. Carroll again in his campaign speech in Georgia over the weekend. Legal observers say that Carroll could file another defamation suit against Trump. Perhaps she will do so on Monday when she files her objection to Trump's application for approval of his bond. We can only hope!
Bad news for Trump in the release of more Jeffrey Epstein documents?
The fact that Trump has resumed attacking Ron DeSantis has puzzled some observers. But as Peter Henlein observed, Ron DeSantis just signed a bill to release all grand jury documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein’s prosecution in Florida—which was hurriedly dismissed without required notice to Epstein’s victims. DeSantis said the following when he signed the bill:
Justice has not been served in this case, and all perpetrators should be held accountable.
Hmm. DeSantis wants to ensure that “all perpetrators” are brought to justice?
As Henlein notes,
The most famous of [Epstein’s] victims was a child employee of Trump. She worked at the 'spa' at Mar-a-Lago.
The District Attorney that gave Epstein a ludicrously soft deal was Alex Acosta. Trump inexplicably gave him a senior cabinet position in his administration.
Trump's criminal trial in New York begins on March 25, 2024.
And don’t forget that Trump's criminal trial in New York for concealing payments to Stormy Daniels will begin on March 25, 2024 (with jury selection). See Bloomberg, Trump Trial Dates Put Legal Cases in Way of White House Run: Timeline.
The judge has ruled that the jurors’s names and addresses must remain confidential, although Trump will be privy to that information. What could go wrong?
Opportunity for reader engagement.
Join me as I moderate a discussion with North Carolina Democratic nominee for Attorney General Jeff Jackson
Please join me Tuesday, March 12 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern / 3:00 p.m. Pacific, as I moderate a conversation with North Carolina Democratic nominee for Attorney General Jeff Jackson, who if elected will defend the right to vote. Jeff’s a Congressman, veteran, former prosecutor, and major in the Army National Guard.
Jeff is also a top Democratic communicator on social media and Substack. He writes his own weekly emails, which many enjoy to learn what’s happening in Washington. He also does his own videos, such as his launch video here:
https://twitter.com/JeffJacksonNC/status/1717541579404038249
His opponent is MAGA Congressman Dan Bishop, infamous for authoring the anti-LGBTQ North Carolina bathroom bill.
On the Zoom conversation, bring your questions about what to expect in the general election: the polling, strategy, opponent, and the North Carolina political landscape. We will also discuss Substack and other newer ways to reach voters and build community.
Please donate any amount to register for the Zoom at 6pm ET/5pm CT/4pm MT/3pm PT. REGISTER HERE.
Concluding Thoughts.
The dynamic shifted between President Biden and Trump over the weekend. Both were on the campaign trail and fully engaged one another in aggressive speeches. For many months, Biden has been in the Oval Office managing national crises, while Trump has engaged in freewheeling character assassination. In that scenario, coverage of Trump dominated the headlines, while Biden appeared passive (but only because he was attending to the people’s business).
But on Sunday, there were two storylines encapsulated in three competing headlines in the NYTimes political coverage:
In a combative speech filled with insults, Trump mocks Biden’s stutter and vilifies migrants and others.
At a rally in Atlanta, Biden attacks Trump — this time by name.
In general-election mode, Trump and Biden escalate attacks in Georgia.
Those headlines (and related stories) fairly describe what happened over the weekend and capture the new dynamic. Biden has the high ground. Trump will continue to spew hate as he is knocked on his heels with the New York criminal trial, battles reminders of the Mar-a-Lago connection to Jeffrey Epstein, and struggles with his increasing cash crises.
After a long spell of playing defense, it feels good to have Joe Biden go on offense.
Talk to you on Monday!
Thank you for publishing the verbatim incomprehensible gibberish that Trump actually said. Too often, the media publish a quote of few words and/pr they paraphrase and describe what they think he was trying to say. The public needs to see and hear what actually comes out of that mount of trump’s.
Biden can box and hit a knockout punch with the best of ‘em! You’re right, Robert, Trump is a monster and he defies all of the laws we have in this country and gets away with it. My question is why? Is it because he’s lily white and supposedly wealthy? Is it because people are afraid of him or what servants he has will sic on them? Women aren’t afraid of him: E Jean, Letitia, Fani, and even Liz (Cheney).
We are all caught up in his craziness and sycophants denying us our freedoms that we must also focus heavily on Ukraine and Gaza. Any Democrat who might be on the fence about Biden-Harris is truly bothersome. Joe hit home runs in his speech yet MSM said he had a few “mishaps”. JFC! Those were his stuttering moments and they should be completely overlooked! After the speech, his campaign raked in $10 million within the hours of 9-10pm. That means people were watching and paying attention. He ruled over the channels for one solid hour and it was fabulous.