The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Biden 2024: It Is What It Is? | The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart

Episode Date: July 12, 2024

Jon Stewart returns with another episode of The Weekly Show, his podcast featuring in-depth conversations with special guests that explore the biggest threats to our democracy. In this episode, Jon addresses President Biden’s insistence on running for re-election. Guests Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor, Founders of Crooked Media, hosts of Pod Save America and Authors of Democracy or else: How to Save America in 10 Easy Steps, as well as Bakari Sellers, CNN political commentator and Author of The Moment, join to hash out the best path forward for Democrats to defeat Trump this election and save democracy. Catch new episodes of The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart every Thursday, wherever you get your podcasts. Follow The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart on social media for more:  > YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@weeklyshowpodcast > Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weeklyshowpodcast> TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@weeklyshowpodcast  > X: https://x.com/weeklyshowpod  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever been watching the news and thought to yourself, wow, the Supreme Court sure does suck. We made a podcast about that. We sure did. There is a supermajority of conservative maniacs on the Supreme Court right now, really doing some damage. I'm Michael. I'm Riannan.

And I'm Peter. Our podcast, 5 to 4 is about all of this. Every week we dissect and analyze a different ruling that has thiaeeeeeeaaeaeaeaeae, thiiiiii, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. thi. thi. to thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. We thi. We thi. We thi. th country a little worse, a little more cruel. And you would not believe how many of them there are. Check out 5-4. That's the number 5-4, wherever you listen to podcast. Hey, it's John Stewart here. Daily shows off today means we're going to drop an episode of the weekly show right here for you to enjoy. Every Thursday, we have, I don't want to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to call the to call their to call to call to call their to call to call to call the weekly show right here for you to enjoy. Every Thursday, we have, I don't want to call them in-depth conversations, but they are conversations.

They are mid-depth, mid-to-low-depth, it's around up to your knees. I'd say, you could, you don't even need to tread water. But it's special guests, big issues, threats to democracy, it's all. We're covering the two-party system, reproductive rights, military industrial complex. This episode today explores a young fellow by the name of Joseph Robinette Biden. And what should be the plan moving forward? And I think it's going to be a good episode, so enjoy. Hey everybody, welcome to the weekly show, John Stewart. I am John Stewart.

We were off last week. It was July 4th. It was, it was, we celebrated America. We celebrated the holiday of America with good cheer, with barbecues, with explosions, which in some ways feels prescient, where America appears to be heading in the present moment. Oh, my God, was that an explosion? What the, oh, the house is shaking?

Now we're here, of course, with our superproducer, Brittany Memenevick and Lauren Walker. Guys, we were going to do taxes. We're breaking down the tax bill that every American page we're going to show show where it goes to, how it might be disconnected from the urgent needs of the people. And then there was a... Something happened? Wait, Lauren, that's exact. It is?

Yeah. Brittany, yes. Yes. You are both. We watched it. And since then there's been an explosion of conversation amongst people online and within the Belway. Apparently only elitists, by the way. Apparently average people are not having this conversation. It's only elitists, where there is a concern that the confidence in the current commander-in-chief may be, may be waning somewhat. And so, we thought, well, shit. We should probably talk about that the confidence in the current commander-in-chief may be waning somewhat. And so we thought, well shit, we should probably talk about that. Have you had, have either of you had conversations with family, colleagues, co-workers, was this in terms of triaging your conversations? Top of the list, bottom of the list, middle of the list, where was it?

I was doing what I watched my dad do during Mets games growing up, which was like lots of pacing and screaming, and I didn't really look at my phone. So you're suggesting that this debate was the Mets game of political entry. Yes. Have people been, you know, in terms of post-debate, what's been the general tenor of the conversations? This is the first time I've come out from under my covers. No.

I feel like I doomskroll on Twitter, which makes me sad. And then, you know, conversations are split. Honestly, there are people that are very much like, like, tha. tha. tha. tha. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thoomom. thoom. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thei. they. they. they. they. they. they. they. they. they. they. they. I. I. I. I. I. I's. I's. I's. the the the the the the thi. the thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the. theeee. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. th. th. th. th. th. th.there are people that are very much like, stop talking about it, stop asking questions, just get in line, support, you know, we're voting for an administration, not a single person, is what I get told a lot. It is interesting though, they keep saying, you know, I keep hearing back when they were only talking about Trump, they were like, stop talking about Trump. And now that we're talking about tru. And now, their, they're like, fucking shut up. Yeah. Talk about Trump. But we do have a good conversation today. We got some guys for it. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna jump in there and let's see where we go.

So let's jump right in with our guests for the week. John Favreau and Tommy Veter, their founders, their founders, their founders of Crooket. America authors of Democracy or Else, How to Save America in 10 Easy Stabs, and Bacari Sellers, CNN Political Commentator, an author of the moment. Hello, everybody. Hello. Hello. It is so nice to see all of you.

Thank you so much for joining us. I think we should discuss maybe, obviously the kind of the elephant in the room that's been occurring, SkyDance has bought Paramount. Why would they do something like that? Let me Google. I know, we're going to discuss the fallout from Joe Biden's debate performance. And the general sense of the Twitter commentary that I should shut the fuck up, Tommy and John should shut the fuck up, and Bacari's a very nice man who should

continue talking. Were that about summarized the fallout from these situations. So Tommy and John I'm gonna start with you. I think that the fallout from these situations. So Tommy and John, I'm gonna start with you. I think that the debate so shocked my conscience on what my expectation was, that it felt to not speak out would be malpractice at some level. Is that what you were feeling as you watched it? What was your sense?

Yeah, I mean, I think we all watched it together. I think five minutes in, we were all watching from, you know, hands over our face between our fingers. It was so much worse than I ever imagined it could have been. And it wasn't just bad, like a one-off performance bad. It was bad in the way that highlighted, I think, Joe Biden's single biggest vulnerability, which is his age and concerns about his ability to complete four more years.

You know, it would have been like Mitt Romney driving onto the 2012 debate stage in a Ferrari, and just like chuck and cash out of people, right? That would have been so... It would have been cool. Awesome, if you just walked down and like, making a rain, bitches! I know, was that the first debate when he kicked you guys ass or not? Which debate are we talked about? Kicked our ass, but that was a, that was a good point, Bacar because that was an a that was an a that was an asshawk........ the the the the their. their. their. their. It was, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, to to to to to th. Was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was.... Was. Was. Was. Was. Was. Was. Was. Was. Was. Was. Was. Was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, was, he didn't seem like he came ready to fight

and make a case against Romney. This was bad in that, you know, Biden struggled to speak coherently and get sentences out and make an argument, and that to me was chilling. It would have been like if in that first debate with Romney, Barack Obama went out and said, look, I wasn't born here, but let me tell you something. That's, you know, I'm just, you know, I'm not from here. I'm not from this country. It wasn't a gap. I'm not from this country, everyone who's been wondering.

But Corey, I imagine you didn't watch the debate and think to yourself, he's killing it. But you had a very different response to what you were seeing. Do you want to talk about that? Yeah, no, I think he got his ass kicked up down, left, right and sideways. I also don't think elections are one in June. I think that there is a great deal of just over excitement by a lot of my friends on the left or over concern. I mean, it is what it is. I mean, people are talking about, I mean, people are engaging in this fantasy fiction of this off-ramp, thapapapap-theap-the. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-o-o-o-o-in-o-o-o-in. th-in. th-is-is. th-in. th-in. I'm-in. I'm-in. I'm-in. I th-in. I th-in. I th-in. I th-i-i-i-i-i-is, th. I th. I th. I th. I is th. I is th. th. th. th. th. th-in. th-in. th-in. th-in. th-is-is-is-is-is-is-is-is-is-is-is-is-is-a-is-a-is-a-a-I-a-a-li-a-li-a-a-li-wi-I-I-a-I-I-I think-I think-I thi-I-I-I-I-is this proverbial off-ramp, whether it's not one. People are talking about this open convention, whether it's not going to be one. If, in fact, there is an opportunity for someone else to replace Joe Biden, the only person who has the infrastructure to cash in order to do that or at least give us a chance to last four months, but I'm just very soberly saying, we got our ass kick in the debate, first and foremost. You know, we can have all of these conversations about Joe Biden needs to do this and Joe Biden needs to do that.

But after July 22nd, if I'm not mistaken, or 25th, whenever we have the roll call, he is our nominee, so then what are you going to do? I'm resolved to the fact that we have three choices. We have Donald Trump. We have we have we have we have we have we have we have we have we have we have we have we have th. We have th. We have th. We have. We have. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thr. thr. thr. thr. thr. thr. thr. the. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to to to to to th. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to thr. to the the the. th couch. And whether or not I was at Essence Fest or whether or not I was fishing with my good friend Jared Lodhold off a dock in Orangeburg County last week, the people I talked to are all saying the same thing like, let's just get on with it. I mean, we know what we're going to do, we know who we're going to choose and it is what it is. I mean, we have bigger things that we candidate is 81 years old, probably eats at Denny's goes to bed at 4 o'clock and changes tennis balls on his walker. You just described my perfect weekend. Thank you, Bacar. So I want to talk about because I think, Baccar, you bring up a really interesting mindset.

And I want to talk about that because I am of the opinion that democracy is not just under threat by authoritarians or by a Supreme Court that has decided maybe we shouldn't have left England in the first place and a monarchy is actually slightly preferable, but I want to talk about the phrase, it is what it is, because I think that that is a complacency that I've seen in the Democratic Party for a very long time. That includes Ruth Bader-Giddensburg not retiring on time. That includes Merritt Garland not going after Donald Trump for January 6 on time. That includes not being able to get Merrick Garland onto the Supreme Court. That includes allowing Amy Coney Barrett to get on to the Supreme Court.

That includes not being responsive to urgency and to new information and just saying it is what it is, guys, and shrugging. And I think my point is there is opportunity here. It may not be open convention. It may not be a new person to take on to the ticket. But there is a vibrant and I think ultimately positive at least conversation and acknowledgement to be had. That is not being had because it is what it is and what are you going to do. So I want you to respond to that if you can. Yeah, I don't actually mind the conversation. I'm not somebody who wants to put you and Axe and Tommy and John and the guys and the guys and Tim put you guys on. White guy summer. White guy summer. White boy summer you and Chet Hanks. I know. So I'm not somebody like I appreciate the the the the the the the the the the thor the the thoror thor the thor the thor thor the thor thorororor the thororororororororor the the thororough thorough thorough thorough thorough thorough. I thorough. I don't thor. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. the the th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the judiciary as he should have in Barack Obama not doing what it should have done at the judiciary or codifying Roe v. Wade or whatever he could have done when we

actually had the House and a Senate in 2008. Those type of things, we can go back and re-litigate those things under that mantra of it is what it is. What I'm talking about right now is make sure that the things that we're talking about, the Chevron ruling, which I mean, I know that people are caught up on presidential immunity, but the Chevron ruling, in my opinion, was more devastating to the fabric of democracy than anything we've seen in recent history. He's talking about the ruling from the Supreme Court, which made it much more difficult for federal agencies to regulate to regulate to regulate to regulate to regulate to regulate, to regulate, the federal, the federal, the federal, the federal, the federal, the federal, the federal, to regulate, the federal, th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I, I, I thi, I that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that, I that, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I, I thi, I, I, I, I, I, I'm, I'm thi, I'm thi, I'm thi, I'm thi, I'm thi, I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I thi. I'm thi, I'm thi, I'm thi EPA or SEC or any of those agencies to regulate the people that they're charged with regulating, that they undercut those decisions from the Supreme Court. And they did what they did similar in Dobbs. They overthrew decades worth of precedent,

which the Supreme Court is not necessarily known to do unless you're like Clarence Thomas and you're getting flowed out by your billionaire donors all over the country. And so yeah, I am just, I think, I think there are a lot of people who sit in my seat and they have a very sober look at where we are practically and say, I cannot afford in November to go back any further. We felt like 2020 we were on the precipice of a third reconstruction and we missed that mark and since that time we've actually been going backwards. And I know that people just don't want to backslide anymore and I feel like having conversation Biden is the president if we're backsliding under Biden. Well about you're saying we're. No, but I can go through his list list of achievements but what we're talking about are the attacks on DEI. We're talking about how in Arizona they passed an abortion bill from the 1800s, how they passed Dobbs, how they, we just went through presidential immunity. I mean, there are cultural and, and legend and policy initiatives that firmly make me believe

that we've gone backwards. I mean, look at black homeownership. No, I'm not, I'm not disagreeing with you. the administration is the administration right. But John and Tommy, I want I want to you to you to you to you to you to you to you to you to you to you to you to you to you to you to you to you to to to you to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the administration, I want the administration, I want the administration, I want the administration, I want the administration, I want the administration, I'm the administration, I'm the administration, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I the administration, I the administration, I the administration, I the administration, I the administration, I want, I want, I want the administration, I want the the the to the the to the to to the to the to the the the to, I want to, I want to, I want to to to to the to to the a to to the a tell, the a th. the. the a the. to the a the. the. And, the a the. I want you to address this, because what Bacari is suggesting is that he's being strategic, that this isn't about noticing that the president may no longer be up to the job. This is about staying with the status quo, because strategically, I guess, and Bacari, tell me if I'm misrepresenting this, that gives us our best opportunity to win. And I think my point is, I don't know that that's the case. I think I would disagree that that's the best strategy, but what's your thought? I mean, you would disagree, and literally all of the polling and data available

would also agree with this position as well. It's not fiction at all that that Joe Biden could step down tomorrow. He could announce that I am you know what I have a important job to finish. There's right I'm doing two jobs right now I'm president United States and I'm running for president and President United States is too important and I want to focus on that and I can pass it off to Kamala Harris or we can have an open whatever he wants to do. He could easily do that tomorrow and the idea. the idea. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. that. th. th. th. th. thi. that. that. thi. thi. to th. to to to to to be th. to be th. thi. thi. thi. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm to to to to th. I'm to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be th. I I I I I I I I. I. I. I th. I th. I thi. I thi. I thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th whatever he wants to do. He could easily do that tomorrow and the idea that we cannot influence. Bacari, just got very sad. It just, it should be sad. That's not a real thing. That's not a real thing.

It is a real thing. It is a real thing. Why is it not real thin. Let me ask you this, Bacar, is it not, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is a, is a. the, is a. the, is a. the, is a. thr. thr. thr. thr. thr. tho. tho. tho. tho. th. thi. tho. tho. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. that, is not, is not a tho, is not a tho, is not a thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It's. It. It's. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that's not, it's not. It's not. It's not. It's not a real thing. I think technically emotionally, first of all, I mean, the way this works is, and I love the kind of land that we're living in where one can assume that Joe Biden can say that I don't have the ability to run for re-election after I've already announced that I am, after I've done all of these things, raised all of these monies, have the infrastructure around infrastructure, have the infrastructure, have the infrastructure, have the infrastructure, have the country, but yet I don't have it in me to finish this campaign. No, he can say I can't win. I can't win because all the polling says he can't win. Yet I can still be president of the United States. So those things are not, those things don't want.

One's a multi-month job and one is auditioning for a four-year job. I think I'm going to also jump in and say like, look, look, look, look, look, look, look in, look, look, look in, look, look in, look, look, look in, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, to, to, th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, to to to to to to to the the the the the the the the the the the to, to, to to, to, to, to to to to to to to to to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi, thi, thi, that, that, that, that, yet, that, yet, yet, yet, yet, yet, yet, yet, yet, yet, yet, yet, yet, yet, yet, the the the the that, th Now, things are looking dire for the president, but four months, I think any of us would agree in a modern media timeline is four fucking ever. It really is. I think we confuse this idea. We just saw France lose terribly in the parliamentary elections. Macron jumps out with a snap election. He jumps in there weeks later. They've stemmed the tide of Le Pen. I mean, it can be done.

All right, we'll be right back. Have you ever been watching the news and thought to yourself, wow, the Supreme Court sure does suck? We made a podcast about that. We sure did. There is a supermajority of conservative maniacs, the Supreme Court sure does suck. We made a podcast about that. We sure did. There is a super majority of conservative maniacs on the Supreme Court right now, really doing some damage. I'm Michael. I'm Riannan. And I'm Peter. Our podcast, 5-4, is about all of this. Every week we dissect and analyze a different ruling that has made our country a little worse, a little more cruel. And you would not believe how many of them there are.

Check out five to four. That's the number five, dash the number four, wherever you listen to podcast. Okay, we're back. And that's my point, Bacari. We are complacent. And that complacency sets in a cynicism with the American public. And I think you're giving us a binary choice that's not real. I don't necessarily agree, Oh, Biden can't win, or Kamala can't win. We just don't know.

And the world changes so quickly, and we don't know about those things. But here's what I do know. it. It it. It it. It it. It's th, it. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's that it's that it's that it's that it's that. It's that's that's that quickly and we don't know about those things. But here's what I do know. It's not a binary choice. President Biden's defiance, I don't think, is the right strategy. I think the idea of not acknowledging the progressive and degenerative nature of what he's dealing with is gas lighting anybody who supports him. And this I of him going out there with bromides about Joey, my dad said to me, Joey, it's not about how you get knocked down, it's about how you get up and you're like, I don't know that you can get up sir. I think that's really not the metaphor you want to go with. And there's no shame in that.

We all get there. Right. So I don't understand. There is an opportunity here to have a more honest, adult, sophisticated, fuck the media. Fuck whatever they're going to say. You are in control of how this goes down down and I don't, I think they're bungling even the response, Bikari. No, and so I don't, I've never said this choice has been binary.

In fact, I think people who analyze this race as being binary, and I may have missed your point, have it wrong, because I've always said that, and where I am right now, today, the choices are Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and the couch. But that those are the three choices that people have in this race. And so I think I disagree with that. And I'm trying to figure out why you feel that that is that it is all etched in stone. Joe Biden. thrown thrown. thrown. thii. thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho th. I don't th. I don't th. I don't th. I don't know if you. I don't know if you. I th. I don't know if you th. I don't know if you th. I don't know. I don't know. I the their. I don't know if you their their their their their their their their their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't th that. And two, I disagree with the political climate where anybody says that you cannot run for president but you can still be president. Now all of that's conjecture. None of that is technical, but I have a, I know in the field, but isn't that anybody who's already served two terms? I mean, they're president but they're not running if you're not quitting.

that's a given. that that that that that's a turn. But they're not quitting. That's a given. Like you'll be quitting the campaign. John, you mentioned the French beating fascism. You know how they beat fascism? 210 candidates stepped down in various district races so they wouldn't split the vote against the far right. That is how the French be. They put country over party. And when Joe Biden is the official nominee, I will shut the fuck up, and I will march, and I will fight for him, and I will knock on doors, and I'll donate and do whatever it takes. But this is an extraordinary situation, and it is time for courageous action.

And we have a window between now and the official nomination of Joe Biden, where we can do something that's never been done before in our history. And I just don't agree that a mini primary is fan. I think you could find ways to compete for 4,000 or so delegates. Let me finish it. Let me finish it. Oh. Yeah. I'm not saying you're saying that. I'm think that's what's out there. Like you could find a way to compete for those delegates. They will all get together at the convention in Chicago and nominate. But if Biden doesn't to theee. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. Let the. Let me me the. Let me the. Let me the. Let me the. Let me me the. Let me to let me to let me let me let me let me let me let me let me let me let me let me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me the. Let me the. Let me the. Let me the. Let me the. Let me the. Let me the. Let me the. Let me the. Let me to bea. Let me to bea. Let me to bea. I to to to. to to to to to to to to the. Let me. Let me. waiting in the wings. And I think the subtext you hear from a lot of Biden supporters, I'm not saying you, Bukari, is they're like, look, if Joe steps down, it's got to be Kamala and she's not good at running. And I'm not saying bad. Oh, I'm not saying bad.

Oh, I'm not saying bad. Yeah. They're criticizing. in these stories being like, commas numbers are terrible, she can't win. And I just agree with that. Wait, the Biden is doing that? People in the Biden in the Biden? Supporters of Joe Biden are absolutely backrounding the press. Yeah, certainly. Yeah, they are. But I mean, they did it publicly. They put out a member where she was doing worse than

him against Trump. That was the first memo they put they put they put they put they put they put they put they put they put they put they put they put they vice president. But here's all that matters. Yeah. Donald Trump is leading by more than he has ever led in a race for president right now. He is leading by more than any Republican has led at this point in a race in a general election in 20 years. Okay? Since George Bush. Perhaps all the polling is wrong, but then you'd also have to explain why the same polls that have Joe Biden down, all these Senate Democrats in tough races are competitive. So then you say, okay, well we got a couple months to turn it around. Could he turn around? Yes.

It's not that he can't win. It's the question is, is Joe Biden the best candidate to give us the chance? Does he give us the best chance to defeat Donald Trump, knowing that he has not been formally nominated yet? And he could make the decision himself to step down, and you know what? Joe Biden, who is an 80-one-year-old white guy, Catholic who became president, has moderated-and-and-and-and-and-in-a-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-a-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-in-s. the-s, th-s. thi-s. thi-s. thi-s. th-in-s. threaty-s. the-s. the-s. th. the-s. Hea-s. Hea-s. Hea-s. Hea-s. Hea-s. Hea-s. Hea-s. Hea-n.. He. He. He-n. He-n. He. He-n. He-n. He-n. He-n. He-n. He-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-s. th-s. th-s. th-s-s-s-s-s-s-s. the-s. thease-s. thease-s. thease-s. thease-s. thease-s. thease-s. thease-s. th-s-s-s white guy Catholic who became president has moderated his views a lot and listen to people a lot in the last several years. And when progressives push him on something or moderates push on something, Joe Biden listens and he takes his advice and then he makes decisions based on what people are telling him. So the idea that we, and I know that you said this is okay, O' hurry, but like in the next couple weeks, the idea that we all don't have influence on this decision

when we're talking to members of Congress and then members of Congress are talking to the president, like, I think it's worth making a run at asking him to reconsider this, because they haven't shown us a plan, because they haven't shown us a planned, they, too, too, too, too, too, too, to, to, to, too, the, to, the, too, too, the, too, the, the, too, th, the, too, the, the, their, the, the, their, their, the, the, the, the, the, the, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, and, their, and, their, and, their, their, and, their, their, too, their, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, they... their.. their. their. their data. They haven't shown us a path. They haven't made, they haven't talked about how he's gonna turn it around. There's just been nothing. And like, I think it's weird that they think that the Joe Biden we saw on stage has a better, has a better shot of beating Donald Trump than Kamla Harris, the first black woman vice

that he chose for the job, who is a fantastic communicator? Like I just don't understand. So let me, there are a lot of thing, a lot of nuggets, I just want to jump. I, look, if, if Joe Biden decides one morning he wakes up after Catholic Mass, I think the most important day is actually, you know, Thursday, after Thursday, if he's able if he, if he goes out there and falls down literally, then, okay, but is that really where we're at? Is that the bar? Bacari? No, I'm saying, then he may be like, I'm not doing it. Okay, I don't know, but, but if he decides, then I want to push back on the fact that it's an open primary, it's not an open primary. It's the common, it's the nominee. And the fact States to make her stronger going into that. I mean, that's just, just as we're talking about. But doesn't that undercut somewhat your, it is what it is? Like, you're now laying out, I think, a scenario that's plausible.

But I'm just also, and maybe even stronger. My complete thought is this, while we are, why you guys are launching a pressure campaign, which is effectively what it is. But I want to th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why th. th. th. that that th. that that that that th. that that that that that that that that that's, that's, that's that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, why, why, why, why, why, why you something, because, so this is what I would object to. This idea that this is a pressure campaign. What it is is a visceral response emotionally to something shocking that was seen. Joe Biden has run on this idea of honesty and decency, but they have not been honest about the condition and

the difficulties that he has been facing. And so it undercuts one of the foundational arguments that they even have made. So this is not a campaign. I am not working in coordination with various people. I have a platform and I have been stunned and disappointed and angered by what I saw and how I've been talked to that I didn't see what I saw. That's all. My point is you saw what you saw. You're outraged by what you saw.

You have every right, all three of you all, to be as visceral and have whatever reaction you want to have to have to it. My only point is that the point in time in the next the next the next th, the next two weeks to try to get Joe Biden reelected, right? That's my goal because he's the nominee. He's a presumptive nominee. If that changes, which I really do not believe it is going to change? But do you want it to change? their question? that do. Do you to to to if it does change, Bacari? I'm not sure. I really don't know the answer to that question. So it's so it isn't what it is is my point. But my point is that I think a lot of people have backup quarterback syndrome. They really do. I agree with that. I'm a big trace and we have a hot ass backup quarterback. I was going to say, you don't know. I'm the big a hot a hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot. I the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. I's is. I's is. I's is. I's. I's. I's. It is. It's. It's th. It's th. th. t t tas. t tas. tas. t today is. t t today is. th th th. It you got Tommy Cutlitz. You don't know until you throw him in there. Drew Bledso got a wrong deal, by the way.

I know, I love Drew Bledso. Is Drew Bledso the Joe Biden of this metaphor? Is that what we're? My point is, everybody, everybody loves the metaphor. Let me change the metaphor. And I'll throw this to John and Tommy. So we talked earlier about the French, you know, putting down fascism on the thing. I'm going to give you another metaphor about the French. In the 1930s as Germany was building up their armaments, the French decided on a strategy to defeat fascism. It was called the Maginot Wall. And they built it, and they built it, and the the, and the the the the the their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their. I. I. I. I. I. I. their, their, their, their, th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. thean. th. th. th. toea. th. th. th. thea. thea. they were a series of giant concrete bunkers stationary with guns all pointing in one direction and the Germans came through the area and went I think we can just go around this and they went around it and then just fought and destroyed it and that can't that also be a

metaphor that this idea of no this isthis is our plan, it's rigid, it's status quo, it's all facing in one direction, and it's utterly incapable of holding off that onslaught. And that was the last time they tried to defeat fascism, and guess what? They didn't. Yeah, I mean, I think my part of why I'm so concerned, Bacari is because I watched the debate, and I was like, man, the the th. th. th. the thi thi thi thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th. th. th. th. th. th. th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, that, th, that, that, th, th. that, that, that's, that's that's that's that's that, that's that's that's that's that's that, that's that, that's that, that's that, that, that, that, that, of why I'm so concerned, Bacari is because I watched the debate and I was like, man, that was really bad, but let's give him a little time to do some more things. Then I watched the ABC News interview, and frankly, it made me more concerned because it was at times incoherent.

Again, during some of the radio interviews, those didn't go particularly smoothly. Morning Joe wasn't great, and you could hear him reading papers. And so I'm like, I'm not trying to be a dick. Like, I love a lot of love and affection for Joe Biden and people in that White House, but the guy's not been doing things off teleprompter and he has not shown us that he can run the kind of campaignthink, we can't articulate what the grassroots is saying, because we'll get punished by the Democratic Party, and we'll get robbed of resources. So that, to me, is kind of the worrisome omer that's happening.

And I'm sure, Bicar, you're probably seeing these, and it's freaking people out. It's like Biden down 10 in Pennsylvania, Biden down 6 in Wisconsin, even as Bob Casey's up two and Tammy Baldwin's up three, and a lot of these house members are seeing it in their districts, safe Biden districts, are starting to look bad. So I don't even, like New York State.

Where do you guys see all this stuff? How come I don't get to see any of this? I mean, I also think that this is kind of siloed. Like, this is kind of silo. This is what happens when you genet, this type of, you know, visceral, maybe right? Rightfully so, rightfully so, so, rightfully so, the tail wagging the dog, Bacari? People are panicked, right? People are panicked for a reason. Rightfully so, because they saw it. I'm not disagree. Oh, okay. I'm not disagreeing with that. Benenson had a poll out.

They did a post-debate poll. And voters who watched the entire debate prefer Trump over Biden by 51 to 46. Voters who didn't watch the debate are split. So you actually, Biden did better with people who didn't watch the debate or heard about the debate than he did with people who actually watched the debate, which always it's not the hysteria or the reaction to the debate. Yeah, I mean, look, it's not the last time a debate, dictated who was going to be president of the United States. And by the way, well, this is a question, the question of the question. I do, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, the, the, the, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's, it's, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's not. they. they. they. It's not. It's not. It's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's looking at all these, I was looking at all these, all these polls come out about Senate candidates and I saw one poll in particular where Tammy Baldwin was up five points or six points and and Joe Biden was down five points or six points, which would mean in the

state of Wisconsin there are, the math is like 200 or 300,000 split ticket voters, which is something that's never happened in the history of mankind. Why do we think that the fundamentals of this race will be that vastly different? When, to John's point, like, I hear you, John, like the under the undergirding foundation of who Joe Biden is is honesty and decency, right? But you don't look at that in a vacuum. The question is tertert, is three things. Do you think that he's more honest and decent than Donald Trump, or do you want to stay home? That's the scenario we're in after the Democratic convention, if Joe Biden's the nominee. I completely agree with that.

But I hear you. That's before the right. I'm sorry, whenever he, whenever they do the roll call thin. I think it's the the the, until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until until, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I the, I the, I the, I thi, I the, I the, I thi, I th, I the, I th, I, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, is, I, is, is, is, is, is, is, the, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. th. th. the, I think that's the idea that like, hey, it's the it's the Almighty or the alternative or whatever the pro-mide. Don't compare me, don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative. To the alternative. Look. Which is what I use with my wife and her ex-boyfriend all of them. Oh my God. Are you getting married? No, no. What I've done is I've eliminated the opposition.

I am selling to the government. Uh, all right, we'll be right back. Have you ever been watching the news and thought to yourself, wow, the Supreme Court sure does suck? We made a podcast about that. We sure did. There is a super majority of conservative maniacs on the Supreme Court right now, really doing some damage. I'm Michael. I'm Riannan. And I'm Peter. Our podcast, 5-4 is about all of this. Every week we dissect and analyze a different ruling that has made our country a little worse, a little more cruel. And you would not believe how many of them there are. Check out five to four. That's the number five, dash the number four, wherever you listen to podcast.

Okay, we're back. So, you know, when there's a large threat, there's two things that you define, you define the threat and then you define your defenses. All I'm saying is, if we are taking an honest look at what our best chance to defend ourselves against a perceived threat, I think we are selling ourselves short. And in a lot of ways, using, as Tommy put it, Omerita, to stifle what could be an incredibly productive, at least conversation, even if Joe Biden came out and said, look, I understand where I'm at in my lifespan and cycle and what I do.

Here's how this government works. Rather than coming out and becoming Trumpian and saying, you think someone else could hold NATO together? They could never. Only God can tell me to get out of the race. Like, if you were to come out and say, here's my team, here's how we hold the line. But we're not seeing any of that.

Nothing that's been done inspires inspires inspires inspires inspires inspires inspires inspires inspires inspires hold the line, but we're not seeing any of that. Nothing that's been done inspires any confidence, other than the fatalism of it is what it is. And this is what we're stuck with. And that's the part that I think has degraded people's trust in institutions and the government from the get-go. That's a problem. I'm a blend of both. So I'm, it is what it is, and I'm, and I'm, and I'm, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to be, inspires, inspires, to be, inspires, inspires, to, to be, inspires, inspires, inspires, inspires, inspires, inspires, to to to, inspires, inspires, inspires, to, inspires, to, to, to, inspires, to to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the, the the, the the, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi, the thiolioliolioli.s, thioli.s, thiolioliolioli. in, inspires, inspires, thi. I thgo. That's a problem. I'm a blend of both. So I'm it is what it is, and I'm working towards what I believe to be the ultimate goal, which is to defeat Donald Trump, while others are having discussions about the visceral reaction they add to the debate and alternatives. But I also think those discussions are decently healthy.

Again, I'm not trying to excommunicate the pod boys. I'm mad they were listed in a email, a blast email, right? I'm not, that's not. Pod damn, them. I actually have a sticker that says pricks for pricks for Biden. I got to get me one of those two. So like, I'm not, I think the discussion is healthy because I'm going to need all of you all if I'm going to win this race. And I'm going to need all of you all to want to put every ounce of your being in. Although we disagree on who the nominee is or who we believe the nominee will be, I am still working towards that same goal, which is to rid ourselves of fascism because I believe after November if Donald Trump is re-elected, it can go really bad really quickly. Guys, let me th ask th th, when you talk about, kind of ridding ourselves that, what do I do with my anger at a Democratic Party that honestly has put us in this rock and a hard place position that

wasn't honest over this past year about what was happening internally at the White House, was not in any way preparing the public for Kamala Harris. Wasn't doing any of that. There was a, I don't know if it's complacency or deceit or whatever it was, but a Democratic party that missed all of the threats that were coming their way and has left us vulnerable here. I just think, you know, I hear you there. I th-I think Bacari is right. I th th th th th th th th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, threats that were coming their way and has left us vulnerable here. I just think, you know, I hear you there. I think Bacari's right that normally, incumbent president's run again. And I think President Biden...

I know, let's be fair. He said he was a suggestion that he would not run for re-election, that he would be the bridge the next generation. I believe that at the time. He made it by the way. Not a suggestion. He said yes, but he never said I will not run again. Anyway, step that aside. I think President Biden, uh, in his advisors took the wrong message from the 2022 midterms that this was somehow about support for the White House when in reality it was Donald Trump helping elevate some really terrible candidates like Dr. Oz who's who. the the to. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. I thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. th. th. th. th. I th. I th. I th. I'm. I'm. I'm th. I'm th. I'm to. to. th. to. to. to. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I th. I th. I th. Oz who got their clocks cleaned, right? And then he made his decision to run again. And it sounds, look, I don't know, I'm not around Joe Biden ever. I've seen two or three times in the last six months, but it sounds like the. Wait, that's a lot, that's humble. Humble, humble, humble.

Well, listen, we saw him in person at a fundraiser and then I watched them on the debate. And the in-person fundraiser I saw in Los Angeles a couple weeks before the debate was as bad as the debate. Everyone I walked out of the debate with, John was there. We were talking to people the people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people who the the fund, the fund, the fund, and the the the their, and their, and the the the their, their, their, their, tho, their, their, and their, and their, and their, and their, their, their, their, their, I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, their, tho, tho, the, thea, tho, tho, thooooooooooooo, thooan, thoan, thoan, thoan, thoooooooooo, I th fundraiser and we were like, that was chilling. In fact, George Clooney just wrote an op-ed about how we need a new nominee and he hosted the fundraiser and he just said the same thing in the New York Times, which is what everyone at the fundraiser thought. Like, everyone was there like, what happened? He had just flown back from Italy, right?

So, like, everyone was like, to be like't think it was some, it's not some conspiracy. Like I saw him, I was at the White House and I saw him in December of 22 and I thought he was fine. He like remember, he recognized my mother-in-law from meeting her in 2018. Like I was like, oh he's not, he's not, I mean he looks older and he sounds older, and he's fine. And then I the next the next the next the next the next the next the next the next the night before the correspondence dinner and he looked like he did at this LA fundraiser and at the debate and I was very worried and then the next night at the correspondence dinner he gave a good speech and I was like okay maybe he was just tired so I do think people were

wrestling with this like maybe he's tired maybe but like to your point question about the Democratic Party this is a decision that Joe Biden and his closest advisors have made and no one else. Like Joe Biden could have stepped aside, like no Democrat wanted to challenge a sitting president during a primary because they usually you don't beat a sitting president, right? Joe Biden made the decision to run. He and his advisors made the decision to run again, even though he said he'd be a bridge,

even though he selected Kamala Harris, who they could have built up and said, okay, now I'm going to pass the baton to you. He made the decision to run, and so we were all left to say, okay, the rest of the Democratic Party was like, all right, you guys are telling us, you're the best chance, you're our best chance to beat Donald Trump again, to stave off fascism, we all the interviews afterwards. So it's like, I'm only interested in beating Donald Trump too. Like, we are all are.

That's like that's a number. I'm terrified of what will happen if Donald Trump win. I just don't know that Joe Biden is our best shot to do that anymore. When have we put points on the board? What was the last time Joe Biden put on the State of the union, I mean, I don't know. I mean, I try not to just stay tuned into the Washington Post in New York Times. Yeah, listen, it's, you know, the needle's gonna move here and there and small. I think this is more macro view. But this is what drives me crazy about Democrats though, the bottom fell out. Poles were showing that Donald

Trump was getting his behind kick, that all the Senate candidates were like, oh my God, like this man cannot be at the top of the ticket. Rance Prebis actually walked up to the top of Trump tower to try to convince him to drop out the race. Rance at the time was the chair of the Ranc. Ranc. R. R. R. R. R. R. R. R. R. R. R. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the tha the the tha tha tha tha tha tha tha, th. th. th. th. tha the, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. th. th. th. th. thin. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. pouncing. Right. But what we saw after that, after he was resolved to stay in the race, we saw everyone then, I mean, and Republicans do this so well. They just fall in line. They don't fall in love. They gathered around. They got behind this guy who is a narcissistic sociopath. the Access Hollywood tape come out a month

before the Republican convention back in 2016? And Rans Prubis and all those Republicans, Ted Cruz, who spoke at that convention and was like spoke out against Trump at the convention, even though he later fell online. Like this is a different scenario. I was like, where are youthis was the third week in October, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now, right? Like we wouldn't be having the conversation. And Bacari, I would also suggest, you know, Bill Clinton on the eve of it all,

it came out, he had had an affair. I can't remember, Jennifer Flowers, I think it was, and the Paula th was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I'm, I'm, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the the the the the the the the, the, the the, the, the, th th th th th th th th th th th thin, the, the, the, the was the Monica Lewinsky situation. And Democrats did fall in line. I mean, people made, oh, this is terrible, and I'm disappointed with the president. But ultimately, the Democrats did fall in line. I think that you are soft-selling the more fundamental aspect of people viewing somebody who, I'll be perfectly honest with you. I don't know of a job interview that you could have gone on and delivered the performance that was delivered by Joe Biden and gotten a job.

And I'm not talking about the presidency. I'm talking about like cashier at home deep, like a job that you would not think, okay, that is the hardest job in the entire world. The only problem with that, John, and the only problem with framing it as such is the fact that you discount everything that he's accomplished in the first three and a half year. Why though? I don't. But he's not running for what he did three and a half year. But nothing happens in a vacuum. What we we what we have to do is people just want to, my friends on the left, we want to only magnify what we saw on at the debate, which is fine. I get it. We're talking about age, but I'm also talking about the accomplishments prior

to and the threat that is right down the road. And I think, I mean, we do ourselves a disservice by saying our guy is old. We know that. He shuffles. We know that. It's not old. It's not. Bacari, I think. What is it? It is cognitive decline. It's not just age. It's cognitive decline. At very least, it's an inability to communicate, right? Like, I'm not a doctor, but he can't, we need the candidate that we run for president needs to be able to communicate effectively. That's just the most basic part of the job. It's the most basic part of the job of being a candidate for president is you need to communicate effectively. And if you can't do that, or reassure us that here's how we operate in that environment, but to suggest that this discounts three and a half years, it doesn't, but it does give you a window into the next four. And if you look at his performance in 2020 versus his performance in 2024, there is inexorable decline. It's just, it's undeniable. So what I don't understand is, okay, fine, he stays,

but deal with it head on. Stop pretending, stop gaslighting like. That's fine. Deal with it head on. That's fine. I don't want to silence the debate. I think it's fine. I think it's healthy. Talk about it. Don't gas light poke. That's fine. Like, I'm cool with that.

But I'm also saying that there is a fucking monster. That's itthe part. That's what we're worried about. We're worried about the monster. Listen, polls are reflection in time. And I do think that a lot of the hysteria that we are self-inflicting upon ourselves causes a lot of the reflection that we're seeing in these polls. And I would also argue that in 30, 45 days, you're going to see a race, that that that that that that that that that race, that, that, that, that is a close race, and it's been a close race, right? But I have seen, and I've sat in these focus groups,

you've sat in these focus groups for like the last several years, and people just, they are concerned, swing voters, undecided voters, young black voters, young people, their people, they say over and over again, they're worried that Joe Biden's too old too too too too too too too too too to to to to to to thiiiiiiiiiiii, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th.. thi, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th.... th, th... th, th, th..... th, th, th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thiiii thiii thii. I is that Joe Biden's too old to be president. And they respect him, they don't like Donald Trump very much, they think Donald Trump's a liar. Some of them think Donald Trump's quite dangerous, but they're like, I don't think Joe Biden's up for it. And they've been telling us this for three years now. I can tell you, anecdotally, the individuals, like like, like, friends who were all in, responded to that debate with tears and with fears and with reality.

And the administration's inability to deal with that, honestly and forthrightly, to me, is almost more damaging than the actual debate itself. And it shows a disconnect with or an inability to be agile and honest. And that's more troublesome to me than almost anything else. Don't disagree with anything you said. My only, my only point would be that my mommy and her friends, who usually are the ones who determine who the Democratic Party nominee is, like the black women in her chat group, they refer to themselves as the quote unquote, posy. They were, they were hurt. They were saddened. They said he got his ass kick. They said he was old as hell. But at the end of the day, they were more resolved than ever to call their girlfriends and say, we're going to vote for them. And then one thing they admonished us or modest me about was we don't need any more chaos.

They don't want any more chaos. They're going to ride with Joe Biden. And they don't want to throw. They don't want any of that. But you don't thin you don't their the chaos we know. I mean, I think that's a fair argument. That is a fair. That's fair. That's fair.

But one thing you mentioned, though, you mentioned, like, you mentioned, you mentioned, you mentioned, you mentioned, like, we're not talking about Joe Biden's accomplishments. And like, oh, look, we do a show a couple times a week. We've today, throwne tho tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's. That's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. That's. that's. that's. that's. that's. that's. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. that's. th. th. th. the change, the infrastructure bill, Ukraine, right? All the things he's done, great. But what is really glaring about this White House, and Joe Biden himself is he does not have a message about the next four years. They are not talking about what he's going to do, why he's the only person he's going to do it. He is just like pointing to things he's done kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind kind, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, and, to, to, to, and, and, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the they.i. the they. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th th toooo. too, the th th th too. to things he's done kind of angrily and being like, why am I not getting credit for holding NATO together?

And Aukis, which no one knows what that is, by the way. It's a nuclear submarine deal with the Australians. How the fuck is that coming up in these conversations? Like, that's not you're talking. I have voted in every election the caucus caucus. The ship is sailed on getting credit from these things. Voters are like we don't care. I wholeheartedly agree with you. And so prior to the debate, my main line was that I very rarely talk about Donald Trump and Joe Biden in the same sentence per se as I characterize them other than the fact that I felt both of them were prisoners of yesterday. I felt both of them just like. their too. their the the the the the the the the their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their their to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to to to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. the the the try. the try. try. try. try. try. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to., but they was for a different reason. Like Joe Biden has this weird nostalgia for like swimming and pools with pop pop right. It's kind of freaky. And then, and then Donald Trump has this, he's like, he's like the king of white grievance

from yesterday. Yes. But, and I think that both of them have a fundamentally project twenty five is what it is, but you take that away both Both of them have a hard time articulating a vision for the future. And that's when I think age matters. Because one is 78 and the other is 81. And it's very difficult when you're 81 or 78 to talk about a future to talk about a future, to tauke a today. And that is the prisoner of age. And so I agree thi tho tho thi thi tho tho th is thi the the the the the the the the the the the the the, I the, I the, I the, I the, the, the, the, thi, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the is the is the is the is the is the is the, the is the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the an thooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. the've been pushing them to lay out a vision for the future and I don't know when they're going to start doing that other than our, you know, because right now they're kind of fighting from back side to side. I mean, it's so busy beating up on y'all and John Stewart that they don't have time in the day. But hopefully, and I'll be optimistic, by the way I'll wrap it up with thi th. I th. I th. I th. th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th. I th. I th. I th. I th th th th thi thi thi they they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kind they're they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I'm thi. I'm kind of thi. I'm kind of theeeeeee. I'm kind of theeee. I'm kind of they're kind they're kind they're kind they're kindari, you can have the last word. With all the headwinds and obstacles in front of us, I remain incredibly optimistic about

the resilience of the system that we're fighting over. I do believe that the challenges that are in front of us are some of them intractable, but also, you know, I never, there's never despair in any of this. It is always, all right, I guess it's buckling down. So I would ask you guys to maybe answer the question. What about the resilience of this system still gives you a hope in that? I mean, I do think you make an important point that it's, we can't all speak in apocalyptic terms.

In the left and the right does this. The country. The country. The country. The country, the country, the country, the country, thi thi thi thii, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. I, th. I, th. It, th. It, th. It, to, th. It, too. It, too. It's, too. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. It's, too. It's, too. It's, too. It's, too. It's, too. It's, too. too. the. too. the. th right does this. The country will exist the day after the election if Donald Trump is president. I do think he might change core things about our democracy that we can't undo and just fundamentally change the character of this country. And so that's why I am happy to be the stupid Podbrow Cracker talking about this now, because I do think the risk is real. And it's, if Barack Obama lost to Mitt Romney, there would have been a different policy agenda implemented. I think Donald Trump could change the character of the country in a fundamental and dangerous way.

Right. I think we have, there's two choices, right? You quit and then bad shit happens or you try and fight, and I think that's that's we're all trying to do right now and trying to stave off the threat of Donald Trump again. And I think what makes me optimistic is like when you talk to voters, right, voters, I know it drives everyone crazy, they're complicated, they don't follow politics very closely or than news, but they're sensible and smart and know what they see. And when you make a persuasive case that is rooted in honesty and reality to voters, you do have a chance to change minds, and change minds, meaning get people off the couch to the polls,

or get people to change who they're going to vote for, and so I never want to give up on that, and that makes me hopeful, but I do think you have to make an argument to voters that meets them where they are and is based in reality of what they saw, which is why the Biden maintaining Biden as a nominee worries me. That said, if he makes the decision, if he refuses to step down and he makes the decision, then we will make an honest case to voters, which is like, yeah, Joe Biden's too old to run for president, but Donald Trump is too dangerous to be president. Bacari. Yeah, I feel like I'm kind of there. But I think what gives me hope, and I think what we underestimate sometimes

is we are evaluating this is King used to talk about, and he talked about it and I have a dream speech, and everybody remembers like that the rhythmic cadence about the most important part of that speech when he talks about the fierce urgency of now. And I think a lot of times we discount the urgency that many people in the electorate, voters have. As we talked about, as you talked about your mama and her friends or your parents and their friends, and my mama and her friends, the sense of urgency that people have. And my hope comes from the fact that I believe that there are more people who want to see this country move forward than take it back to a place that is is dangerous for us all. It's dangerous because of who you love. It's dangerous because you're Jewish, it's dangerous because you're black, is dangerous because you're a woman.

And I think that there are enough people who have that fierce urgency of now that after we get through this little inter-squad squabble that we're going through right now, you know, whoever comes out the tent on the other side, his name would be Joe Biden. We'll rally around him, we'll carry him, we'll carry him to the finish line, like, you know, you know, like the old great man that he is. Right. It always, it always reminds me, you know, it always reminds, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it the, it, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it always, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the, it, it, it, it, it, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it the, it t. t. t. t. t. to, to, te, today, te. te. te. te. te. today, today, te. today, today, today, tthat what's the quote, the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice, and what we all have to remember is, and there's a good percentage of people trying to bend it back the other way, and it's a lunch pale job to keep it bent, and no matter what happens, I don't think that job goes away. And I think that's probably where we end. But gentlemen, I want to thank to to to to th you th you to th you th you th you to to th you th you to to th. to to the to the. to to to to to the. to the. to the. to to the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their the. the. the. thean. tean. try. tean. try. tean. try. tean. try. tean. try. try. tea. try. try. te. try. all very much for joining us. Of course, we have Bacari Sellers from CNN and Political Commentator and Author of the Moment and John Favreau and Tommy Vieter founders of Crooket Media, host of Pod Save America and Authors of Democracy or Else. How to Save America in 10 Easy Steps.

So thank you guys very much. Thank you. Thank you guys. Oh, man. Thanks for having us. Thank you guys. Oh man, that's feisty. Yeah. There was a good amount of feisty. That was hot. Bacari wasn't, he wasn't having it.

We're lucky that we were in separate studios. I was afraid one of the pod guys was going to get wedgy. I think he was going heavy on the, listen, you nerds. You pod boys. Then he was coming after the the, listen, you nerds. You pod boys. You pod boys. Then he was coming after me. The administration is so angry with the pod boys and John Stewart. Bacari.

But I actually thought it was a good articulation of kind of the positions there. And I think the, it really is that the, it is what it is, is the part that I think I find so difficult, like that idea that if you're not, it is what it is, then you are somehow fantasy, fan fic, West Wing, Toadie. I don't know how else to put it. Well, when you do go down to the, like, logistics of actually, you know, switching the candidate, you start wondering, would this happen? Right. But it can.

And you remember, oh, right, conventions, they used to not actually have a candidate sometimes until after the convention. There is this idea that I think they are discounting just how much in a modern media environment, how long four months actually is. And if the technical goes up. And by the way, Republicans wouldn't throw up their hands. They would just fucking bear down and get done the thing they wanted to get done and

apologize later. Easier to ask for forgiveness and permission. And they would get it done and somehow end up at the Supreme Court with it being fine. Like that, it's the complacency and that's the part that just buries my soul. Yeah, it makes me very sad. I just, we've stopped being able to have conversations at teams or even just like raise our hand to be like, this feels uncomfortable uncomfortable. It just very much like shut the fuck up and get in line. Right. And which by the way is there's interesting they brought up he said you know there's a pressure campaign to get Biden to drop out. I would say

the opposite I think the pressure campaign is way boys more like a power washer coming the other way like hey I don't know if this guy can't th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I th. I th. th. th. I th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to. to. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to thi. thi. th way. Like, hey, I don't know if this guy can... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a bad scene. But I would, I think it would be a healthier outcome for democracy if it showed some ability and flexibility and did not continue around this feeling that it's very rigid and disconnected from real concerns.

But yeah, we will get to all the topics though. Oh, go ahead. Oh, yeah. I was just going to say the campaign recognized reality and, you know, addressed it. Exactly. We would be in a different place. But to all the people that are concerned about some of those issues that we had raised that are going to be coming up on the podcast. They will. We do this every week, every fucking week. Yeah, baby. Out here. Day in and day or day one a week or day one we're going to get to all those great topics. And thank you once again for listening. As always thanks to lead producer Lauren Walker, producer Brittany Mamedevick, video editor and engineer behind the glass, Rob Vatola, researcher Jillian Spear, oh audio editing and engineering, Nicole Boyce and the EP's Chris McShane and Katie Gray. As always, Brittany, you got the socials on there that we do? I do, John. Twitter, we are weekly show pod, Instagram and

threads. We are weekly show podcast, and on YouTube, weekly show with John Stewart. I'm on all of those, including MySpace. All right, Kitties. To next week. Next week. And beyond. And thank you for listening to the episode. If you like it, please follow the weekly show with John Stewart on your favorite podcast app and tune in every Thursday for new episodes because it just fills our heart with gratitude.

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