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All eyes were on President Joe Biden at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner., Although very few people came to joke. (Which is a good thing, considering how few he actually cracked.) The issue goes far beyond whether his cognitive abilities have declined—any honest evaluator would agree that he I understand that his ability has diminished dramatically since he became vice president – or rather, his presentation style. Will he be able to make cuts and jabs like he did during the State of the Union? Or will he mutter into the microphone, mixing continents and delivering the latest information about a long-dead leader?
Let me tell you, the annual glitzy DC party weekend has very little to do with reality. It’s a performance, as has been this whole White House.
The president’s January State of the Union address succeeded in quelling a growing chorus of pro-Democrats calling for a new candidate, and the White House hopes to cement that victory in front of courtiers this weekend. (just like the people there).
He toasted them, they toasted him, and he continued speaking slurred, drawing the kind of forced laughter that older relatives receive from polite grandchildren.
The president praised their courage, and reporters and celebrity guests applauded. “I’m literally risking my life to do my job,” he assured the champagne-drunk crowd.
But the audience became nervous when Biden told them to “stand up to the seriousness of this moment.” It’s fine that America’s corporate media has to effectively run Biden’s campaign and carry out his re-election efforts, but they shouldn’t talk about it too loudly.
Outside, anti-Israel and pro-Hamas protesters are letting the elites in Washington, D.C., know that their kind of liberalism is not enough.hurled curses and threw fake blood at dazzled attendees who had to wade through the crowd to get inside.
Violent extremist protests have been a fixture of left-wing elections since 2016, but the Democratic Party’s rally was largely comprised of masked and black-clad extremists who attacked grandparents at Trump’s rally. It wasn’t a concern for me. Now that the cosplay revolution has arrived in the Democratic Party, pitting elite liberal Israel supporters against black-clad, masked Hamas supporters, it’s finally become an electoral liability — one the White House is having a hard time getting rid of. It’s a painful thorn.
Politics are often linked Biden’s down-to-earth instincts. Like Gulliver, he is a creature out of touch with his true nature, alien and stumbling even within the latest New Left.
“I condemn the anti-Semitic protests,” Biden told reporters on April 15. “I condemn the people who don’t understand what’s happening to the Palestinians.” Stated.
“People who don’t understand”? This is the kind of ambivalence that White House officials, whose classmates and colleagues are in the mob, feel politically necessary, but which pleases no one. And this is not the first time we have heard vague statements that trample on the political momentum of this administration.
For example, the White House pressured the president to rescind one of the best moments of his State of the Union address, when he apologized for calling Laken Riley’s murderer of undocumented immigrants “illegal.” His off-the-cuff audacity in passionately responding to Republican hecklers with righteous anger made his critique of the Republican Party shine brightly on a national audience. However, White House internal politics did not allow him to enjoy the victory for fear of insulting the illegal immigrant killer and his many supporters.
Of course, a prime example of White House elitism is the response to the East Palestine train disaster. A moment to appeal to white working-class voters with a pro-environmental, pro-regulatory message was squandered by a White House that disrespected Palestine. In the past, they were so representative of voters that they did not even have the power to address their suffering.
And now the White House is tripping over itself trying to avoid a year-end turmoil engulfing America’s most prestigious universities. Even the politically tone-deaf Republican Party chairman was able to travel to Columbia University in Manhattan to denounce violent and threatening anti-Semitism, but many of his masked radical friends and colleagues The administration with its staff is missing the moment.
But back in D.C., NBC Comedians were busy telling jokes about Donald Trump, so it’s time to laugh and mingle. Later, the guests tried to attend NBC’s party at the French ambassador’s residence. Earlier in the weekend, quite a few of them partied with Washington Magazine and the Qatari government at the Four Seasons, where they were sure to toast even more.
telegraph paper: Israel could become Biden’s Vietnam: The Gaza war is hurting the president’s domestic support and could lead to a ’68-style convention collapse.
In other news
they already Preparing the next supplementary draft for Ukraine
Just days after passing $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, news broke that additional aid was already in the works for the fall. Did you really think this was the end?
“Republican Congressional Aide” The Hill report“Pentagon officials and European allies said they will begin compiling a new funding request for Ukraine in September and submit it to Congress in a lame duck session.”
Tuesday’s vote was a political victory for outgoing Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). He took the unusual step of voting in favor of a Democratic bill that was deeply unpopular with voters in his own party, just to garner more Republican votes for his legacy. project.
The effort also served as a reversal for Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who, as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, had repeatedly warned against sending money overseas before tackling border security in earnest. Daines noted how difficult the move would be for candidates to defend in their home states.
Taxpayers have already sent at least $174 billion to Ukraine. Meanwhile, even the war’s staunchest defenders voice skepticism that money and equipment can significantly change the outcome of a war.
In DC, none of that matters. There, “consensus” exists outside, separate from reality.
Now TikTok, next Big Tech?
The TikTok news was drowned out by the $95 billion foreign aid package the country passed, giving the United States its first blow against Chinese-owned technology companies.
The president praised the success of the TikTok bill, even as the White House has put the brakes on other projects, such as a menthol cigarette ban, that officials fear will sway voters in an election year.
TikTok’s expensive and amateurish lobbying effort also led the Chinese government to lobby Congress, but failed to convince lawmakers that forced foreign sales were an attack on free speech.
So far, all indications are that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has chosen to shut down the hugely popular and addictive app rather than sell its algorithm to a company outside China. is showing.
“Our hitting record in Big Tech is zero,” said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.). Said Punch Bowl News. “We’re not doing anything about privacy, we’re not doing anything about children’s online safety, we’re not doing anything about low-hanging fruit.” [bills]. …It’s really important to take this first step. ”
Reuters: ByteDance is prioritizing shutting down TikTok in the US if legal measures fail, sources say
punch bowl: Will there be more Big Tech hits after TikTok?
The Supreme Court appears poised to grant Donald Trump an unusual reprieve as litigation intensifies
The Supreme Court on Thursday heard arguments over whether former presidents have immunity for actions they committed while in office.
Most of the judges seemed prepared to establish at least some degree of immunity for official acts.
The ruling will most directly impact the former president’s D.C. trial on January 6, but it could have implications far beyond that.
federalist: Last week in Lawfareland: Witness testimony, another SCOTUS case, and new indictments dropped. Here’s the latest information you need to know about each case.
federalist: SCOTUS agrees that the president is immune from criminal prosecution, but To what extent?
Will Biden debate Trump?
Joe Biden hinted at that possibility in an interview with aging pervert Howard Stern on Thursday, saying he’s planning on it but “I don’t know when” and adding, “I’d be happy to debate him.” ” he added.
The announcement could come as unwelcome news for a White House keen to hide the age of its octogenarian boss, whose staffers have recently taken short walks to Marine One to distract attention from their unsteady gait. I decided to have an aide accompany me.
However, don’t expect a discussion to arise right away. The White House and corporate media have long established that their political opponents fall short of their own dignity, and there is a good chance they will make that claim again to avoid discussion of Trump altogether.
The fire will rise. ”Inside NPR’s Crisis,” New York Times
The nonprofit organization faces more than just illiberal bigotry, intolerable egoism, and Republican calls to defund National Public Radio.
“Internal documents and interviews with more than 20 current and former public radio executives reviewed by the Times show how the nonprofit organization is struggling to succeed in a rapidly changing media industry. We’re grappling with declining viewership, declining revenue, and internal conflict over how to resolve it.”
