DeepSummary
The podcast episode starts with a discussion of the $5 meal deal at McDonald's and a humorous introduction for the Pod Save America podcast. The main segment begins with Tim Miller, JVL, and Sarah discussing their reactions to President Joe Biden's performance in the presidential debate against Donald Trump the previous night. They describe Biden's performance as disastrous, incoherent, and the worst debate performance by a presidential candidate ever.
The group analyzes the potential impact of Biden's poor showing, with Sarah recounting feedback from focus groups of Trump voters who found Biden's performance embarrassing and unconvincing. They debate whether Biden should step aside and allow another Democratic candidate to take his place on the ticket, with Sarah strongly advocating for this option. The feasibility and process of such a move are discussed, including the potential for Kamala Harris or other candidates like Gretchen Whitmer or Josh Shapiro to replace Biden.
If Biden remains the nominee, the group examines strategies for his campaign moving forward, such as relying more heavily on surrogates to attack Trump and emphasize the team around Biden. Jonathan Martin of Politico joins the conversation and provides insight into how Democratic leaders and elected officials are reacting to Biden's performance and the potential for them to publicly call for Biden to step aside.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- President Joe Biden's performance in the presidential debate against Donald Trump was widely criticized as incoherent, disastrous, and potentially the worst ever by a presidential candidate.
- There is debate among Democrats and political analysts over whether Biden should step aside and allow another candidate to replace him on the ticket, with some strongly advocating for this option.
- If Biden remains the nominee, his campaign may need to rely more heavily on surrogates to attack Trump and emphasize the team around Biden.
- Democratic leaders and elected officials have privately expressed concerns about Biden's age and fitness for office, but have been hesitant to voice those concerns publicly on the record.
- The poor debate performance has exacerbated concerns about Biden's ability to effectively take on Trump and potentially opened discussions about alternative candidates like Kamala Harris, Gretchen Whitmer, or Josh Shapiro.
- Focus group feedback from Trump voters indicates that Biden's performance was seen as embarrassing and unconvincing, raising doubts about his capability to serve as president.
- There are challenges for any Democratic candidate in effectively countering Trump's unconventional behavior, which is often graded on a different curve by voters.
- Ignoring the reality of Biden's poor performance and potential unfitness for office is seen by some as irresponsible, and a decision needs to be made in the best interests of the country and defeating Trump.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “If you're not prepared to grapple with that, then I don't know. Again, I don't know what to say because I don't understand.“ by Jonathan V. Last
- “Look, I mean, again, it's not me attempting to defend Joe Biden. I don't know how anybody counters that. Look, let's pretend Pete Buttigieg is up there, right? I mean, it just, oh, my God, there's just Trump doing his Trump thing. And people are okay, right? Like, people are just, people are basically okay with the Trump thing because he just gets graded on a different curve than any other figure in politics.“ by Jonathan V. Last
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Episode Information
The Bulwark Podcast
The Bulwark Podcast
6/28/24
show notes:
Claire McCaskill on Biden's performance
David Frum on the debate
Tim's playlist