The Democratic nomination should be in the bag, but Joe Biden continues to try to self-destruct.
He’s done this before on the campaign trail this year, saying, for example, that he met with the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting victims as vice president (the tragedy took place after he left office). Now, the latest example comes by virtue of a Washington Post story highlighting yet another example of Democrat’s attempting to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory, and yet another example of Biden simply making shit up.
In what they describe as a moving but false war story, the Post notes that “In the space of three minutes, Biden got the time period, the location, the heroic act, the type of medal, the military branch and the rank of the recipient wrong, as well as his own role in the ceremony.”
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Otherwise, he nailed it.
It’s worth examining what we should call this development, for it is not a “gaffe.” Gaffes can be damaging, to be sure, but most are benign.
Confusing El Paso and Dayton, calling Theresa May Margaret Thatcher—those are gaffes. But this is more troubling, because it raises questions about Biden’s fundamental honesty, authenticity, and—perhaps most importantly—his judgment.
Coming on the heels of two reliable polls showing Biden continuing to hold a commanding lead in the Democratic race, his momentum might be once again stunted. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Donald Trump is a uniquely problematic president whose re-election prospects, based on a spate of recent polling, look to be in serious electoral jeopardy. Biden should be dispatching with his Democratic rivals, and gearing up to make the case that Trump is the one who is unfit. It’s not like there isn’t ample evidence.
Consider this: In recent weeks, Donald Trump has told Democratic congresswomen to “go back home.” He bashed Baltimore and publicly celebrated the burglary of Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings’ house in the city. He got into a high-profile spat with the prime minister of Denmark, after she refused to sell him Greenland. Oh yeah, and he “hereby ordered” private American companies to quit doing business with China.
And yet, Joe Biden is raising questions this about…his own veracity and stability?
Now, some will suggest that none of this matters—that Trump has lowered the bar in terms of expectations about character and honesty. To which I say, that doesn’t mean that Democrats should forfeit the chance to draw a favorable contrast. Biden is an innocent fabulist, certainly compared to Trump. But is a fabulist really the best person to put against a liar? There’s a saying that it takes a bullshitter to beat a bullshitter, but I suspect that’s a theory that was propagated by a bullshitter.
All a Democrat has to do is not be stupid, corrupt, or crazy. Is that too much to ask?
You had one job, Joe!
Biden is still deemed the best positioned Democrat to win the Electoral College, because he hails from Pennsylvania, because of his unmatched experience as Barack Obama’s vice president, and because of the folksy image as a moderate.
But he has failed to lock down the Democratic nomination. And his latest spate of gaffes (if that’s what we’re going to call this) should both call into question his fitness and remind everyone—again—of his failed past attempts at the presidency, as well as his potential vulnerabilities against Trump in a General Election.
In recent days, Biden has confused Iowa and New Hampshire with Vermont, said “poor kids are just as bright… as white kids,” and reminded us that he’s not good with names. As if that wasn’t bad enough, we are now reminded that he hasn’t gotten over his penchant for telling tall tales.
Is history repeating itself? Is Joe Biden snake bitten? Is he subconsciously sabotaging his campaign?
Donald Trump might be the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
