“The guy is not a democrat with a small d,” the president told CNN's Erin Burnett.
“The guy is not a democrat with a small d,” the president told CNN's Erin Burnett.
President Joe Biden said in an interview Wednesday he is all but certain Donald Trump, his predecessor and presumptive 2024 rival, will reject the results of the November election and called Trump “dangerous” for the nation.
“The guy is not a democrat with a small d,” Biden told CNN’s Erin Burnett during a visit to Wisconsin this week.
“How many court cases do they have, Supreme Court cases? They’ve all said this is a totally legitimate election. ... He may not accept the outcome of the election? I promise you he won’t. Which is dangerous.”
The president went on to say other world leaders had expressed to him their fear of a second Trump presidency and pointed to Trump’s pledge to prosecute his political opponents if he enters the Oval Office once more.
I strongly encourage everyone to watch the embedded video in the article.
Because we don't get many opportunities to see/hear Biden speak.
A lot of the shit we give trump about with his speaking, Biden does it too. It's just trump does a hell of a lot more public speaking than Biden.
Biden used to be literally the best public speaker in the party, that's why he almost won the 88 primary till all the plagiarism and lying about law school stuff came out and he started screaming at reporters that he was smarter than them.
They're both two fucking old, and so is Bernie and every other politician in the late 70s or 80s.
We're not talking about if someone that age can be a Walmart greeter to keep busy, this is literally the toughest and most stressful job in the country, if the person is actually doing their job.
Ah, intentionally missing the point. Wouldn't be surprised if you're @givesomefucks@lemmy.world in an alt account. You two seem equally incapable of sound logic.
Oh, look, another white knight riding in for the guy who's pushing an agenda. Why are you so mad? Ad hominems are appropriate when dealing with bad faith actors because they aren't here for discourse. And I can give a rats ass what ya think, champ. But go ahead and side with the chucklefucks.
That doesn't seem like a productive way to carry on a conversation. I said I didn't get your point. Perhaps you could try to explain it to me in another way instead of devolving into insults and unfounded accusations.
By refusing to consider a user's post history and therefore blinding yourself to their obvious motivations, you are making a conscious choice to be ignorant.
I didn't refuse anything. I said I wasn't sure what their post history has to do with this one comment, and then immediately got accused of being an alt account.
lmao I'm always glad when I stumble upon a comment section like this where someone makes it abundantly clear that blocking them will be of no consequence whatsoever because they have absolutely no intention of approaching any discussion in good faith. It saves us all a little hassle, so thanks!
Ain't falling for the bait, champ. It's clear as day what my point is, and if you can't see it, then idk what to tell ya. Why is it everyone else gets my point and you're the only chucklefuck that doesn't?
I'll tell you what. You can sit online all day complaining about the average age of our elected "representatives" or you you can mobilize to do something about it. Be politically active. Vote.
Or even run yourself or encourage others of an acceptable age to you to run.
The reason they are so fucking old is for the exact reason you'd expect: voter participation of those 65+ is about 3x of those 18-29.
The reason they are so fucking old is for the exact reason you’d expect: voter participation of those 65+ is about 3x of those 18-29.
That's not entirely true. Committee membership and chairmanship is determined by seniority, so the longer someone stays in office the more political power they have.
Therefore it behooves both sides to keep people in office as long as possible, even if that person has one foot in the grave.
Of course. I'm just pointing out that there's reasons they keep the same people in office for a long time outside of old people voting more frequently.
So instead of party pursuing voters. Which is pretty much the entire point of the party, you think they should ignore a large voter block that is literally and inevitably going to be the future of the party in just a few decades?
But think about what you said. They pursue the voters that vote for them. When most of your voters are older then yeah, you cater to them. But I also think you grossly underestimate how much they DO actually do for younger voters.
Read Jacobin #40 for some perspective.
Because there’s now no viable option for president that will be held accountable for anything by their own party.
Sometimes it may seem this way but it really isn't. We get some of what we want. The equation is simple: Get some of what you want under a dem administration or most of what you don't want under a republican administration.
Our system is such that nobody gets 100% of what they want 100% of the time. So what you aim for is to get a party in with a platform that at least allows some of what you want to happen. By throwing up your hands and saying "well the dems are just as bad" and thus not voting you are essentially making it impossible for any of what you want to happen. If Trump wins you can kiss a supreme court majority goodbye. If Trump wins you can look forward to gutting any effort to promote renewables and hold the oil industry accountable. You can look forward to no woman being safe with her medical choices. The list here is enormous.
Meanwhile Biden has accomplished a lot. I don't like many of his policies, but I'm not blind to the good his administration has done. I think you are, so let me remind you of just a few:
OTC birth control pills & EOs on reproductive rights
Huge gains in renewable power
Loosening cannabis restrictions
Student loan forgiveness
Big support for domestic semiconductor production
Boosting cancer research
Huge support for unions and unionization (this is a really big deal!)
Take any one of these things and imagine the opposite. That's what will happen under any republican administration.
You may not like Biden and I totally get that, but NEVER EVER think your vote doesn't matter just because you don't get exactly what you want. We got a decent amount and we CAN get more. Get Biden elected and then (a) be politically active for local and state elections; (b) protest: it works.
If that was true, after Obama flipped a bunch of red states, the party would have moved to younger more progressive candidates. Hell, they'd have done it after Bill.
Instead they kept running the same candidates that lost to Obama. Even tho by then they were older and even more out of touch.
Meanwhile the DNC has consistently made changes that limit the chances of a popular candidate against the party's pre selected pick.
Like, I'd have to ignore the last 30 years of American political history.
Clinton and Obama were two of the youngest presidents we've had, and they ran the most progressive campaigns since FDR and killed it.
It took trump in office for an older moderate to win, but that's consistently the type of candidate the party props up.
And youre acting like those are things that are solved...
It took Bernie pulling Biden left for him to promise to solve some of those things, and he failed to meet his promise. Most are just crumbs that we recently got only because the election is coming up.
Voters want more, and more voters would come out for the candidate
If that was true, after Obama flipped a bunch of red states, the party would have moved to younger more progressive candidates.
Huh? That completely doesn't follow.
Maybe I wasn't clear. Let me try again: When you know that only a tiny fraction of 18-30 year olds are going to even vote, you don't bother putting forth policies that appeal to them. Instead, you put forth policies that appeal to the largest percentage of voters you can hope to get. So Obama and Hillary both balanced a more progressive agenda against the need to attract voters. They knew for example, that universal healthcare was popular among younger voters but not popular with boomers and even a large chunk of Gen X. So which did you think they went with?
It's not rocket surgery, it's basic math.
Meanwhile the DNC has consistently made changes that limit the chances of a popular candidate
This is true. But are you gonnna just throw up your hands or are you going to do something about it? Do you think not voting or not voting for Biden will make it more or less likely you will get a Dem candidate that appeals to you down the road? There's a decent possibility you will get NO Dem candidate at all.
I have to be honest. I think you are ignoring the power you have. That WE have. It was absolutely not Bernie that helped Biden do anything. It was Biden recognizing that folks like us want a more progressive agenda and using Bernie to help make the case that he was in fact leaning in that direction. He has to acknowledge some of the progressive agenda to win younger votes but at the same time he has to appeal to the far larger chunk of folks who will, you know, actually vote.
I also think you are expressing a point of view that is rather troubling to me. That you think you will get everything you want instantly out of our political system. Change is incremental and slow. It is built one piece at a time on a foundation of Democratic party wins that allow us to appoint judges and enact legislation that maybe doesn't get where we want to go in the first pass, but allows it to happen the next time. Younger folks have trouble conceptualizing this, and it's understandable - your time scale is smaller.
So if you want to see change you need to: 1. Vote EVERY TIME; 2. Protest and push for progressive policies; 3. Support younger candidates; 4. Acknowledge this is a long game.
When you know that only a tiny fraction of 18-30 year olds are going to even vote,
Except they do when they get a good candidate...
Biden coasted with them last year because he was only known as Obama's VP and his TV appearances back then.
But young people are idealistic, they have standards.
If we run a candidate that meets those standards, we don't lose any votes. We even gain some from older demographics because some people keep their ideals.
The only negative to running popular candidates is it upset donors. And instead of doing that, the DNC keeps making new loopholes so they can donate even more, because it's the only way to get the unpopular candidates.
This system is Ludacris like it's from St Louis, we've gone straight past plaid, and most people seem to be completely fine with it.
When it can be sooo much better if we just stopped accepting that politicians have to suck.
"We'll only vote if you give us our perfect ideal candidate" - ignoring that (a) you can't get everything you want in a candidate; (b) other people get a say too; (c) getting a directionally ok candidate is far better than getting a directionally bad candidate; (d) "good" candidate is a highly subjective assessment. Not all folks 18-whatever are all that progressive.
I gotta admit you come across as rather entitled or at least rather immature. You are demanding the system cater exactly to your specific needs and refuse to participate if it doesn't.
I wasn't trying to make it personal, but I do find the kind of attitude you display to be somewhat entitled. And it also displays an admirably idealistic but not very realistic view of the political system that we are stuck with.
The big ask right now is he stops funding a genocide and encouraging police actions against peaceful protestors
You are not going to get that. As far as I am concerned the entire system is corrupt. The military industrial complex is far far too powerful, as are the neocon capitalist forces that essentially call the shots. Guess what? That doesn't get changed by sitting out an election. It doesn't get changed except over the very very long haul. If this were a Romney or somebody we're facing I might be more inclined to say heck ya, let's blow up the election... but the consequences of a Trump administration are incredibly dire. We don't have a choice.
Why pick the unpopular one?
Unpopular with you. Popular with a lot of people. It comes down to who can win the election and since Biden is the only candidate that has won against Trump, that's a good start. You may like to assume that the Dem party just runs with whomever is up next, but while there may be a kernel of truth to that (witness Hillary vs Bernie) it's not how they've won elections (witness Obama).
Shouldn’t Dem primary voters vote for the candidate that will get the most votes in the general?
That's exactly what they are getting. And provably so. If the 18-39 demographic actually turned out to vote in the numbers that the 65+ group did, you can bet we'd be looking at a different candidate. But that's not what has happened, due in no small part to folks such as yourself holding out for the whatever your conception of a preferred candidate is.
Look, I completely agree with you about the candidates on offer. They suck. But if you withhold your vote you are not going to get better candidates... you will get worse because the Dems know you aren't going to vote so they may as well appeal to a demographic that will.
That's why you should vote blue no matter who, but support progressive candidates and protest policies you oppose.
And it also displays an admirably idealistic but not very realistic view of the political system that we are stuck with.
You're still trying to have this conversation about me, and not with me about a demographic that you yourself described as fickle...
What do you think is easier? A candidate that gives that demo attention and they like?
Or getting all of them to stop being who they are?
Because if we try to change them, it's a never ending battle, every year more people turn 18.
If we just run candidates they like, and let them get politically active at a young age. They'll likely become lifelong Dem voters.
And if the party keeps evolving to meet the more and more progressive views of the next generation, republicans will never have a president again.
All it takes is the "moderate" members sacrificing and supporting candidates that will fix problems a little faster than they want, and we'll fix our problems.
Bernie is old, but not in the way that Trump or Biden are old. Listen to Bernie speak and he is as sharp as ever. We really fucked up in the 2020 primary.
I still think Biden is solid enough to do the job. A modern president is really just a spokesperson for an entire administration, and Biden has an incredibly capable group of people supporting him. I have a lot of problems with his administration's positions on a multitude of issues, but they are certainly competent.
On the other hand, Trump is a lifelong idiot dictator. His last administration was a trash fire. He went through four chiefs of staff in one term, and most other key positions were just as bad. Running an administration like that puts a lot more stress on the executive and requires tons of competence. Trump is not competent and doesn't have a history of making great decisions under stress.
I like your comment. Also isnt it comical how simple truths (e.g. the system doesnt represent us, politicians too old etc) keep getting downvoted so hard, huh? Keep it up, you never know. Someone out there who reads more than writes may learn something and start pulling their head out of the cavern below their belt.
For the room:
Like, get a grip y'all. criticism is an important part of a free democracy, and the press has abdicated its position something must fill this gap. Honestly, you dumbasses actually need folks like us around to point things out that you guys would never ever come up with on your own (i think everyone is a dumbass at something btw, Even geniuses are dumbasses at at least one thing, and politics is a big one. Many otherwise intelligent people become spittin' simpletons when politics is le topic.)
Yes. Yes i am talking to you. You, the one already preparing to reply. Don't. You don't got nothing to say i haven't already heard. Those of you still reading, i respect you more for it. It's not like ill read the replies a comment like this generated.
So, listen up:
We're not russo-chinese spies lol. That is a stupid claim. Only stupid people believe this. We are your peers. This peer in particular is a little tired explaining how the world works, but ill keep going, because this is how i do democracy. This is how democracy is done in a free society.
How convenient (for those still not convinced) that the TV and news did a ad hominem! How great that you already know all your need to! How nice to know that all dissenting opinions are simply spies, bad actors or useful idiots! How very convenient that the easiest path forward, and the right thing to do is nothing.
Learn nothing, consider nothing, suspect nothing, do nothing.
I envy you believers.... What a lovely faith to have.
Engagement points are to your left. I appreciate your clicking either one of them
People said trump in 16 was the most dangerous thing because his party would excuse anything he did because Dems are worse...
And I agreed.
But now Dems are saying we have to excuse anything Dem politicians do. Because Republicans are worse.
It's true republicans are worse, but if our standards for our own party are non-existent, then we have an even worse problem.
Because there's now no viable option for president that will be held accountable for anything by their own party.
And since we can't even punish trump for trying to overthrow the government, because that requires super majorities. There's no way any president will ever be held accountable for anything.
We're watching the literal downfall of the American experiment and people just want to argue if trump or Biden plays the fiddle best.
Since i get called a spy and bad actor so often, it got me thinking about theories n such.
Now, I don't believe this, but if there were astroturfing i would think it would be done by both the DNC and RNC. I'm just screwing around, but it would make sense a lil bit.
The green party will get a larger percentage than normal this year, and while I don't think the DNC or RNC feel threatened by them, it is very important to them that Americans never feel a third party is possible.
Meh. There's no conspiracy, its just people getting whipped up into a today cuz it's an election year and truth is on hiatus.
The reality is it's really people that will now excuse any behavior if there's a D next to the president name. And other people have already been excusing anything from the other side of the aisle.
Too many people are now like that. A president won't be held accountable for anything, and most of the people voting won't even like who they're voting for.
This isn't democracy. The person who gets the most votes doesn't even always win.
It's going to suck, and it's going to be hard, but we desperately need to fix our political system. The longer we wait the harder it'll get