Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV. Double Standard.
July 8, 2024
The mainstream media continues its whisper campaign against President Biden, as they report that anonymous “senior leaders” talk “in private” about approaching Joe Biden to urge him to drop out. At least Adam Schiff had the guts to express his qualms in public respectfully, even though I strongly disagree with his views (on this subject).
One evolving narrative among the press is that the Biden administration “concealed” the truth of Biden’s cognitive state—which supposedly justifies their righteous anger. Bull****. This is another example of a double standard applied by a media that is intent on driving Joe Biden out of the race—damn the facts!
Joe Biden has been transparent with the American people about his health—which cannot be said about Trump. Remember Trump's unexplained visit to Walter Reed for a treatment that remains secret to this day? Or showing up to a debate in 2020 knowing he had tested positive for Covid but concealed that fact from Joe Biden, the debate moderators, and the American public? Or having a doctor release a statement about Trump's health that was dictated by Trump? Or when the White House physician provided false information about Trump's vital statistics—like his weight—and said that Trump might be the first president to live to be 200?
Amid all the calls for “cognitive tests” for Biden—but not Trump—journalists are committing malpractice by failing to note that President Biden released a detailed summary of his annual physical in February of this year. The full report is here: Health-Summary-2.28.pdf (whitehouse.gov). The examination included consultations with neurological experts at Walter Reed hospital. I urge you to read the entire report and consider how you would measure up to such a battery of tests!
On the issue of Biden’s neurological health, the report states the following:
An extremely detailed neurologic exam was again reassuring in that there were no findings which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis, nor are there any signs of cervical myelopathy. This exam did again support a finding of peripheral neuropathy in both feet. No motor weakness was detected. He exhibits no tremor, either at rest or with activity. He demonstrates excellent fine motor dexterity. But a subtle difference in heat/cold sensation could be elicited as it was last year. This heat/cold sensation deficit was detected a couple inches higher on his ankle/calf this year, which is not unexpected, There may, in fact, be day to day subjective variation of these findings, as during last year’s exam, this area of sensation deficit was actually found to be smaller than the year before.
So, Biden did have a “detailed neurological exam” four-and-half months ago. The widespread media demands that Biden “take a neurological exam” should be directed to Trump instead.
Predictably, this “proof” won’t be enough for the media. Just as the media refused to accept a certified copy of President Obama’s birth certificate, the goalposts will keep shifting.
The issue is not Joe Biden. It is Donald Trump—and the media’s arrogant refusal to apply the same scrutiny to Trump that it is applying to Biden. If they did, they would be demanding neurological exams of Trump and his withdrawal from the race. So far as we have been informed by Trump, his cognitive test consisted of recalling five objects: “Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.” Can you say, “double standard”?
Why isn’t the media making demands that Trump submit to “extremely detailed neurologic testing” by experts from a nationally recognized hospital?
The answer is simple. Trump has quashed dissent within his party. Anyone who dares raise a voice in dissent is the immediate recipient of anonymous death threats and public ridicule on Trump's vanity media platform. And Trump's para-military press surrogates leap into action, declaring that the dissidents are dead to MAGA.
So, the press's application of the same standards to Trump has no upside because it won’t incite the mass panic among Republicans that Democrats are willing to supply by the bucketful.
I accept at face value the good faith of readers who say they have lost confidence in Biden because of the debate or any other reason. That is a personal judgment only you can make. But I again remind everyone that “Biden should withdraw” is not a plan. If you believe a different path to victory is appropriate, then you must devote yourself to that path with all the vigor and financial resources you can muster.
Timothy Snyder (author of On Tyranny and Substack blog Thinking About), addressed the role that the press has been playing in whipping up “fascist froth” that helps Trump. See Timothy Snyder, Fascism and Fear (substack.com)
There are three tests of good faith for those who are proposing that President Biden step down. The first is recognition that Biden’s first term has been one of extraordinary achievement. The second is a plan for what the Democrats would do, should Biden withdraw, to select a nominee and win the election. The third is recognition that the threat of regime change is what might justify changing the nominee.
If I am right that much of the energy behind the Biden pile-on is displaced fear of a regime change, much of the media will continue to generate fascist froth for Trump, whether or not Biden is the Democratic nominee — unless, of course, journalists confront their fears, and keep the issue of regime change inside the story, and provide a constructive alternative alongside personal criticism.
[I inverted the order of Snyder’s two paragraphs above so they made more sense in a short quotation.]
And, finally, Rebecca Solnit wrote what I wish I had written. See her essay in The Guardian: Why is the pundit class so desperate to push Biden out of the race?
Solnit begins:
I am not usually one to offer diagnoses of people I’ve never met, but it does seem like the pundit class of the American media is suffering from severe memory loss. Because they’re doing exactly what they did in the 2016 presidential race – providing wildly asymmetrical and inflammatory coverage of the one candidate running against Donald J Trump.
They have become a stampeding herd producing an avalanche of stories suggesting Biden is unfit, will lose and should go away, at a point in the campaign in which replacing him would likely be somewhere between extremely difficult and utterly catastrophic.
They do this while ignoring something every scholar and critic of journalism knows well and every journalist should. As Nikole Hannah-Jones put it: “As media we consistently proclaim that we are just reporting the news when in fact we are driving it. What we cover, how we cover it, determines often what Americans think is important and how they perceive these issues yet we keep pretending it’s not so.” They are not reporting that he is a loser; they are making him one.
And so it goes with what appears to be a journalistic competition to outdo each other in the aggressiveness of the attacks and the unreality of the proposals. It’s a dogpile and a panic, and there is no one more unable to understand their own emotional life, biases and motives than people who are utterly convinced of their own ironclad rationality and objectivity, [also known as] pundits.
Here's my advice to everyone—regardless of what side of the issue you take regarding Joe Biden’s continued candidacy. The issue is Trump, not Biden. Whether Biden drops out is not something you or I have control over. (Readers frequently write to me and say, “Please tell Joe Biden . . . .” The only thing Joe Biden knows about me is my credit card number.)
Joe Biden has control over his choices; his close advisors and family have influence; some senior leaders in the Democratic Party have some influence. They are talking amongst themselves. Let them have a rational, private conversation not played out on the front pages of the NYTimes and WaPo minutes after the latest exchange of views.
However, the one institution that has demonstrated it cannot be trusted to deal with this question is the media. They have a perverse financial incentive: Chaos = profit. They are agents of chaos at this moment in pursuit of the mighty dollar.
I believe that Joe Biden is the best candidate to defeat Trump, that replacing him at this point poses unacknowledged and unknowable risks, and that those who advocate a different path have the burden of identifying and funding an alternative candidate.
Our task has not changed. It is our moral and patriotic duty to alert all Americans about the threat posed by Trump and his fascist plan to undermine democracy. We have plenty of work and precious little time left to accomplish our task.
Let us channel all our energy away from debating Joe Biden’s age and health into defeating Trump. In that task, we must speak with one voice.
Some positive signs from European elections
Reader Nicholas V.R. sent this note about recent elections in the UK and France:
I am sure you’ve been bombarded with emails considering the events of last week. Since we’re all in a feeling of despair and anxiety over the future of the U.S., it might raise morale to include some news from across the pond that gives us some hope.
Labour won in the UK, and it appears that the far-right National Rally in France severely underperformed. The media in France as well as around the world were predicting that the far right would win a majority in the legislature, instead it looks like they will finish third after record turnout.
This is great news, and it shows that the media narrative isn’t always correct. It’s ultimately up to us.
See generally, The Guardian, France election: surprise win for leftwing alliance keeps Le Pen’s far right from power.
Opportunities for reader engagement
As I noted in the Independence Day edition of the newsletter, we still have an election to win. On Wednesday of this week, I am sponsoring and appearing at back-to-back events designed to help Democrats win up and down the ballot.
Help Kari Lerner defeat Byron Donalds in Florida’s Congressional District 19
Kari Lerner is running to defeat incumbent Byron Donalds in Florida’s Congressional District 19. If you live in FL CD 19 or are interested in sending Byron Donalds packing, please join us for this event on Wednesday, July 10 at 4:00 pm Pacific / 7 pm Eastern.
Watch Kari Lerner’s campaign video here: Kari Lerner for Congress. Kari is committed to protecting healthcare access (including reproductive healthcare), protecting LGBTQ rights, protecting Social Security, and fixing southwest Florida’s environmental water crisis.
As documented on Kari’s website, Rep. Byron Donalds, was present at the rally that instigated the insurrection of January 6th, voted against certifying the 2020 election, and has refused to commit to certifying any future election results that do not go his way. Byron Donalds is also frequently mentioned as a running mate for Donald Trump.
Register for my interview with Kari Lerner here: Today's Edition event for Kari Lerner for Florida
If you can’t attend but would like to contribute to Kari’s campaign, you can do so where:
Join me and Jessica Craven as “A Rising Force for Good” supports Blue CD 2 in New Mexico!
Be part of “A Rising Force for Good” fundraiser for Blue CD2 New Mexico with Jessica Craven and Robert Hubbell - Wednesday, July 10, 5:00 pm Pacific/8;00 pm Eastern. We’ll hear from Jessica and Robert, whose newsletters inspire tens of thousands with their optimism, gumption and defiance in the face of authoritarianism, as they headline a presentation of BlueCD2 New Mexico’s work to save democracy, one reluctant voter at a time. We’ll drill down on the importance of reaching young, low-propensity voters in a rural swing district, and how Blue CD2 New Mexico brought 7000 of these voters to the polls in 2022.
Blue CD2 NM’s mission is to help Representative Gabe Vasquez hold this seat and to build Democratic infrastructure in an historically red district. Gabe is a progressive Democrat who won New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District from MAGA Yvette Herrell in 2022 by just 1,346 votes. We’ll share the methods we used to register new Democrats and motivate reluctant, disengaged voters. We’ll touch on how critical holding this seat is to flipping the house, why we need to double our impact this November, and how you can help by donating and volunteering for our postcard and texting teams. This is a free zoom event. Donations are encouraged.
Concluding Thoughts
No issue, not even the war in Gaza, has generated such passionate disagreement among readers of this newsletter. That passion is motivated on all sides by a desperate desire to defeat Trump and win up-and-down the ballot in 2024.
We are all on the same side. We seek to achieve the same outcome. On election day, we will all vote the same way. Between today and election day, we must all be allies in promoting the common good.
It is okay to have differences in strategy. But there is more than enough common ground to allow us to work together to defeat Trump and MAGA extremists everywhere they appear on the ballot. At the end of the day, if Biden remains the nominee, we need each other to help elect him. And if he withdraws, we need each other to elect his replacement.
So, let’s set aside the rancor and focus on the real threat to democracy: Trump. We can all agree on that. We have an election to win, and the window for doing so is narrowing as we speak. We remain in a strong position. Let’s begin acting like it!
Stay strong!
Talk to you tomorrow!
[P.S. For those interested in a glimpse of our Independence holiday with my granddaughters and their parents, see Jill’s blog, A Sierra 4th! (everydaywithjill.com)]
Biden is the best candidate, of which we have four years of proof, period. He got his physical, good. That's it. What more do you want to know? Thanks, Robert.
I read the post by Timothy Snyder, he makes the point that Democrats and the press are free to criticize Biden because they are not afraid of retaliation, but Republicans and the press don't criticize Trump because they are afraid of retaliation. That combined with the desire of journalists to generate the most clicks with sensational headlines explains a lot of what we read every day. So let's follow Robert Hubbell's advice and focus on the real threat to democracy, Trump.