Why the post-debate media coverage feels unfair to Biden
Some of it is contemporary, some of it institutional, but none of it is as simple as national reporters conspiring to bring the president down.
First Things First
With President Joe Biden in the fight of his political life to stave off an intraparty mutiny and preserve his grasp of the Democratic nomination, a familiar gripe has reemerged from the online left: National political reporters are ignoring the danger former President Donald Trump poses to US democracy to pile on the current commander-in-chief.
But the reason it may feel Biden’s coverage is more brutal is because the most influential Democrats care more about the president’s vulnerabilities than Trump’s powerful supporters care about his.
Republicans see Trump as the warm body that unlocks sustained tax cuts for rich people and big corporations, a deregulated administrative state and a further entrenched conservative Supreme Court supermajority.
They think so much of the former president that many probably believe he could end the war in Ukraine and negotiate the release of The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich—two outrageous claims Trump made last week.
It’s Democrats themselves who are lending credence to the notion that the party would be better off without the only person who’s ever beaten Donald Trump at the top of the ticket in an election that they say will determine the future of American democracy.
“Generally, Republicans are about outcomes. Democrats are about personalities and feelings toward their [elected leaders],” a Democratic strategist familiar with the situation told me this morning. “Republican donors donate to get something in return. Democrats donate because they feel connected to the elected.”
The strategist added that the crisis is due to a lack of party leadership.
“Congressional leaders are nowhere to be found and everybody knows the White House really controls the [Democratic National Committee],” they said. “Everybody’s waiting for orders from a White House run by staff who can’t or won’t provide the necessary leadership of the party at this crucial moment in time.”
Some of the current state of play is institutional. The permission structure differs within the Democratic Party, whose coalition comprises voters from diverse communities across race, gender and class. These voters may share common values but disagree on how to make change and which leaders are best suited to ensure it happens.
The irony of the past few days is that this has long been a selling point for Democrats, who say their party reflects the country's makeup. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) often described her caucus as a coalition, not a cult. Her successor, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), and his leadership team have adopted former number-three House Democrat Jim Clyburn’s maxim that unity isn’t unanimity as its own. Just yesterday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s (D-Texas) call for Biden to withdraw from the election by saluting the Democratic Party as a big tent where dissent is welcome. Meanwhile, the MAGA right would have recruited a 2026 primary challenger by dinner last night if the Austin congressman played on the other team.
Another element that shapes the coverage of the two parties is their divergent agendas. Republicans can fulfill more of their policy priorities without Democratic support.
The 2017 Trump tax cuts were passed through budget reconciliation, a wonky procedure that fast-tracks Senate passage of federal budget legislation related to spending, revenue and the debt limit. (Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act through reconciliation in 2022.)
Federal judges, another GOP prime concern, can be advanced and confirmed in the Senate with a simple majority.
And Republican presidencies can undo regulatory guardrails across federal agencies and departments without congressional input as long as the deregulation is within the boundaries of the enacted law it pertains to.
On the flip side, most major legislation—from voting rights to abortion rights to gun safety to bills to address economic inequality—is subject to the Senate filibuster, which requires 60 votes to end debate in a body where policy discussion is unlimited.
Republicans have to do nothing in the minority and most of the Democratic agenda's transformational planks will wither away. But Democrats always need electoral power to prevent the GOP from achieving legislative success.
Democratic voters unfamiliar with these nuances solely blame their elected leaders for their policy failures and threaten to withdraw their support in exasperation. Movements that once attracted national media attention and reporters move on to the newest shiny object.
To be clear, I’m not suggesting Democrats behave as Republicans. And my observations aren’t necessarily novel. Not to mention, it would be dishonest not to acknowledge that some of my colleagues in the corporate press probably have an axe to grind against an administration that seems to relish denying some news outlets the access they feel is their editorial birthright.
But the post-debate ire towards the media blurs the reality that this isn’t a manufactured crisis. It’s Biden’s performance and his braintrust’s lagging response that turned what could have been a two-day story into what could become a defining moment in American history. You may not believe every anonymous quote a reporter files in their story. But that doesn’t mean it’s not real.
The silver lining for Democrats is that this dynamic goes both ways.
Trump still has to announce his pick for vice president, which will kick off a news cycle of its own and enable Democrats to frame the nominee as just as extreme as Trump. The Republican convention is in less than two weeks and the policy platform that will emerge from a closed-door session will also offer the left fodder to campaign against. And if the economy remains on its current trajectory, the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates this fall—a move that could gin up some goodwill with cash-strapped consumers.
But ultimately, it will be Biden who will determine if the tide turns in favor. And he won’t be able to do it alone—a conclusion he conceded at a fundraiser in Virginia last night.
“I wouldn’t be doing this again if I didn’t think it was so important. I think it’s critical that he not win. It’s critical that he not win again,” Biden told a group of donors. “There’s a lot going on. There’s a lot we can do. You’re making it possible for me to continue to compete. And I think we’re going to win this thing.”
Programming note: I’m off for the holiday weekend. I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday. Take care of yourself.
In the Know
○ ● ● ● ● Rep. Raul Grijalva (Ariz.) became the second House Democrat to call on President Biden to withdraw his candidacy from the election. “If he’s the candidate, I’m going to support him, but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere,” Grijalva said in an interview. “What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat—and part of that responsibility is to get out of the race.” Grijalva, who was elected in 2002 and is the dean of Arizona’s congressional delegation, is just nearly six years younger than Biden. He announced in April that he would begin treatment for an unspecified cancer diagnosis. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (Texas) was the first member to publicly call for the president to step aside on Tuesday.
● ○ ● ● ● President Biden is about to meet with more than 20 Democratic governors in the White House Roosevelt Room to discuss the path ahead after last week’s debate performance. Gavin Newsom (Calif.), Wes Moore (Md.), JB Pritzker (Ill.), Gretchen Whitmer (Mich.), Andy Beshear (Ky.) and Chair of the Democratic Governors Association Tim Walz (Minn.) will be among the in-person attendees. Katie Hobbs (Ariz.), Michelle Luján Grisham (N.M.) and Josh Shapiro (Pa.) are set to attend virtually.
● ● ○ ● ● In addition to the calls to congressional Democrats I reported at the top and the governors meeting, Biden also dialed into a meeting with the vice president to reassure campaign staff that he could bounce back from the bad debate. “Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can, as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running,” Biden told the staffers. “No one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win.” Biden also received his daily intelligence briefing with Harris and the two had lunch this afternoon.
● ● ● ○ ● Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) sent a letter to Uber and Lyft to express concerns about the companies’ use of surge pricing to set fares. “Using algorithms to set prices, including dynamic pricing, abuses consumer data and suppresses competition, making prices unpredictable and taking away people’s ability to find the lowest price,” Brown wrote to Uber CEO Dana Khosroshahi and Lyft CEO David Risher. “Under these shifting conditions, fare rates are highly volatile, making it difficult for consumers to predict how much they will pay for a given ride.” Brown is in a tight reelection campaign in a state that could determine if Democrats maintain control of the Senate is November.
● ● ● ● ○ President Biden awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously to two soldiers who participated in one of the earliest special operations in US Army history in 1862. The covert military operation took place 200 miles behind Confederate lines when Union soldiers dressed as civilians infiltrated the Confederacy, hijacked a train in Georgia and drove it north for 87 miles, destroying enemy infrastructure along the way. The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded to a member of the armed forces for gallantry and bravery in combat at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.
Make me smarter. Did I miss something in this post? Is there something else I should know? Drop me a line at michael@onceuponahill.com or send me a message below to get in touch.
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