The 1600: Habemus Biden
The Insider's Track
Good morning,
🎶 Friday listening: Sufjan Stevens - Chicago in honor of Chi-town's own, Robert Prevost aka Father Bob aka Pope Leo XIV.
An American pope, a Villanova grad no less, how cool is that?! I've become a crank in my old age, but there are certain things that still make me watch with the wide-eyed awe of youth, and a papal conclave is one of them. The smoke, the bells ringing in unison across Rome. The people streaming into St. Peter's. The new pope being introduced to the entire world at the same time, using his first words to call for peace. I also just love that some version of the following phone call probably took place multiple times around the US yesterday:
"Hey! Remember Bobby from sophomore calculus? Did you hear about his new job? Yeah, he's the pope now."
The whole spectacle yesterday at the Vatican was really special, and particularly well-timed for a certain Catholic former president whose first TV interview since the election was, thankfully for him, immediately followed by the white smoke and thus buried by the news that would follow. I speak of course of Joe Biden, who went on The View yesterday, looking and sounding worse than ever, where he delivered one of the most shameful, delusion, insulting and all-around sad public displays from an ex-president I can remember.
Some of you get mad when I am hard on Joe, but I really have no—zero—compunction about it given his behavior throughout 2024 and now continuing into 2025. He is personally responsible for Trump's return. And yet, I do feel sorry for him at the same time, and direct my real disgust at the people around him, like Jill Biden. This man should be sitting on his favorite rocking chair on his porch in Rehoboth, regaling his grandkids with stories from his 50 years in politics and working on his memoirs. Why is he being wheeled out on a media tour?
If you didn't catch The View appearance, Biden managed to do the following: take responsibility for Trump's win, while also saying he "wasn't surprised" that Kamala Harris lost, while also claiming he would have won, while also blaming her loss on—wait for it—sexism.
Where to even begin with that. Harris lost because she was both a bad candidate and handed a total shit sandwich by Biden, who waited too long to drop out and then had the gall to demand she remain loyal to him while his own approval was -20 by the time he left office. Not even a politician as talented as Bill Clinton could have threaded that needle, while also fending off attacks from Trump. And Kamala Harris ain't exactly Slick Willie.
Also, can the Dems please dispense with blaming everything on sexism or racism? Michelle Obama would have crushed Trump in a head-to-head matchup. It also absolves them for ignoring the proximate causes of Trump's return, which is their dereliction of duty on the core issues of inflation, immigration and crime. And it begs the question, if Kamala could never have won because of sexism, why the hell did Biden endorse her to succeed him?!
Matt Yglesias, the center-left pundit, is calling for Dems to "throw Biden under the bus" after what he said on The View, and I agree. His post-election gracelessness, and the behavior of the people around him—specifically Jill—is grotesque. Harris should hold a presser today where she answers every question about just how much her boss had deteriorated, when, and who specifically was covering for him. We deserve at least that. And please, Democrats, I am begging you: stop defaulting to the sexism thing. It's so insulting to the American people and it comes across as you just shifting the blame for your own failures.
On that lovely note, have a great weekend. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms reading, including my own. May your ungrateful children honor you for all the hard and overlooked work you put in every day. And LGK!!!
The Rundown
President Donald Trump's hardline clampdown on immigration has exacerbated fears over a labor shortage, according to a new survey. Employment law firm Littler polling found that a majority of U.S. business executives view immigration policy as a key area of concern. Seventy-five percent of respondents identified the current administration's immigration policies as one of their top concerns, second only to DEI. Read more.
Also happening:
US-China trade talks: President Donald Trump said that an 80 percent tariff on China—currently 145 percent—"seems right," but is leaving it up to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ahead of this weekend's trade talks in Switzerland. Read more.
President Donald Trump said that an 80 percent tariff on China—currently 145 percent—"seems right," but is leaving it up to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ahead of this weekend's trade talks in Switzerland. Read more. Exclusive: Rep. Haley Stevens, a Democrat from Michigan's 11th District, believes she is the best "champion" to fight back against Trump's "chaos" in the Senate, citing her track record of serving the state in Congress and the Obama administration. "It's a frustrating time... but nothing's gonna stop Michigan," Stevens told Newsweek. Read the story.
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