2024 US Presidential Elections Megathread

[HVC]

It's not about you Joe. It is about the country. A true leader would drop out now.

Countries fucked anyway, might as well enjoy the ride.

That last Supreme Court ruling kinda knocked the wind out of my sails.  If Trump had better organized his fake electors plot, and it had gone the SC, I suspect they would have backed him.  Hell, if Trump decides he is owed a third term I imagine they will back him.

Who would have thought giving doomsday-ists political power would be a bad idea. But hey, they almost stopped a black guy from being president. That's something I guess.

[Legbiter]

@POTUS mistakenly refers to President Zelenskiy as "President Putin" before correcting himself at NATO event. (The room gasped.)

https://x.com/jeffmason1/status/1811517625467367831

You guys are fucked.

[Valmy]

You guys are fucked.

[Grey Fox]

We are all fucked.

[Sheilbh]

From the other leaders. Not great:

Josh Wingrove
@josh_wingrove
Fellow leaders are shrugging off Biden's Putin/Zelenskiy misspeak.

Macron 🇫🇷 told reporters that we all make lapses.

Scholz 🇩🇪:  "Slips of tongue do happen."

Starmer 🇬🇧 urged people to "look at the substance of what's been achieved" and said Biden "deserves credit" as host.

[grumbler]

@POTUS mistakenly refers to President Zelenskiy as "President Putin" before correcting himself at NATO event. (The room gasped.)

https://x.com/jeffmason1/status/1811517625467367831

You guys are fucked.

Is that less bad, as bad, or worse than Trump claiming that he beat Barack Obama in the 2016 election?

[Sheilbh]

Far worse.

Because it's clear from all the polling that this is something that's a concern for voters and Biden's party is divided. I'm also not sure they have covered themselves in glory letting it get to this stage.

My own feeling is that it's very, very sad for Biden on an individual but pretty grim that senior Democrats, White House aides, his inner circle let it get to this stage. Because - tragically - I don't think there's a dignified way out any more.

Biden talks about his record and feels he is entitled to run because of that - and it is impressive and would be remembered. But ultimately voters can't get past these gaffes and the questions of competence (in all senses) to listen to the stuff about the record. And I think that'll also be the historic memory - not the impressive first term, but this ending.

[Tamas]

Yeah Trump has long been accepted as insane and dumb, even and perhaps especially by his fans, I think.

Speaking of Trump another gaffe from the same event was Biden calling Harris vice president Trump - because he was talking about the two in the same sentence, yes, but still a sorry state of affairs.

[Valmy]

Biden talks about his record and feels he is entitled to run because of that - and it is impressive and would be remembered. But ultimately voters can't get past these gaffes and the questions of competence (in all senses) to listen to the stuff about the record. And I think that'll also be the historic memory - not the impressive first term, but this ending.

It would be tragic if it wasn't so obvious that this would be a problem. My Party saw the cliff and instead of making a turn at some point just decided to drive right off it and are eager to take the country with them. For no reason.

It is just political suicide, a unforced error, unforgiveable stupidity. Supposedly we all need to fight hard for our country and its future but our political leaders will not even do the most obvious and easiest things.

Whatever. I will show up in November and vote for whomever the Democrats have up there. But after it took a damn miracle to get Trump out of the White House in 2020, the Democrats just seem so amazingly complacent and chill about just letting him walk back in.

[HVC]

How long can someone have laryngitis?

[grumbler]

Far worse.

Because it's clear from all the polling that this is something that's a concern for voters and Biden's party is divided. I'm also not sure they have covered themselves in glory letting it get to this stage.

My own feeling is that it's very, very sad for Biden on an individual but pretty grim that senior Democrats, White House aides, his inner circle let it get to this stage. Because - tragically - I don't think there's a dignified way out any more.

Biden talks about his record and feels he is entitled to run because of that - and it is impressive and would be remembered. But ultimately voters can't get past these gaffes and the questions of competence (in all senses) to listen to the stuff about the record. And I think that'll also be the historic memory - not the impressive first term, but this ending.

I quite agree that it is a disaster that Biden's campaign was allowed to come to this, but what the media seems to be ignoring is that we have two candidates cognitively impaired to about the same degree.  The choice the voters have is which administration will be better for them given that the president (no matter who is elected) will be enfeebled.

Trump certainly has an immovable base that actually likes the fact that he's a felon, rapist, thief, and would-be dictator.  The way he can claim in consecutive sentences that he's never heard of something but likes parts of it should be a clue to the rest of the country, though.  But the press largely doesn't care about that.

[Tamas]

Again, Trump being a senile idiot has been priced in, back in 2016.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah if I was American I'd vote for Biden regardless.

But I don't think the media's ignored all of Trump's various issues, scandals, investigations or convictions (including mental impairment - which was also covered during his presidency). I think there are many criticisms of the way the media has reported on Trump - I'm not sure under-coverage is one of them.

Biden's condition is salient for voters, including Biden supporters. I'm not sure a lot of those issues etc have been particularly relevant to Trump's support - however much we might wish they were and think they should be and I don't think just covering them even more would make people care any more (I actually half suspect the opposite is the case).

[garbon]

He needs to go. He isn't going to be able to turn this perception around.

Oddly, yesterday before this happened, I was wondering why I need to see daily a new article that he was facing pressure to resign.

[Solmyr]

We are all fuckedPutin.