Joe Biden has bowed out of the 2024 presidential race. At 81 years old, the decision is arguably a retreat, but could charitably be considered an act of self-awareness rarely witnessed on the rambunctious stage of U.S. politics.
Unlike a certain orange-hued man-child who still can’t accept defeat, Biden recognizes that sometimes the best thing a leader can do is step aside gracefully. By endorsing Harris, he’s following in the footsteps of past presidents who prioritized the peaceful transfer of power and the principles of democracy. During his time in office, he’s tackled some of the most pressing issues facing our nation. His Inflation Reduction Act represents the largest investment in climate change action in U.S. history, while his expansion of the Affordable Care Act has led to the lowest uninsured rate on record.
On the economic front, Biden has worked to attract major manufacturing investments, like Microsoft’s $3.3 billion data center in Racine and TSMC’s $65 billion commitment to build semiconductor facilities in Arizona. It’s a far cry from the Foxconn debacle under the Donald Trump administration, which left Wisconsin taxpayers holding the bag for a bunch of empty promises.
Perhaps the most striking difference between Biden and his predecessor is their treatment of their respective vice presidents.
While Biden has graciously endorsed Harris as his successor, Trump actively encouraged a bloodthirsty mob of MAGA maniacs to hunt down and hang Mike Pence on January 6th like some kind of deranged safari hunt. Let that sink in for a moment: the sitting President of the United States stood by and did nothing while his supporters chanted “Hang Mike Pence!” and erected a makeshift gallows on the Capitol grounds. The chants referred to Pence’s refusal to reject the Electoral College votes, which Trump had falsely claimed were fraudulent.
While Trump didn’t physically try to strangle Pence with his own two hands (though let’s be real he probably would), he outsourced that job to the camo-clad cosplayers who stormed the Capitol in his name. But his refusal to intervene or call off the mob speaks volumes about his character, or lack thereof. As Pence and his family huddled in a secure location, fearing for their lives, Trump was busy tweeting about how his VP didn’t have the “courage” to overturn the election results.
Even after the severity of the situation became clear, Trump was slow to respond. It took him several hours to release a video message telling his supporters to “go home,” and even then, he repeated his baseless claims of election fraud and told the rioters “we love you, you’re very special.” Both Democrats and Republicans have widely condemned Trump’s inaction during the Capitol riot. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) said that Trump “delighted” in the violence and was “confused about why other people on his team weren’t as excited.” Let’s not mince words here: Trump is a soulless, narcissistic abomination who would gladly watch our democracy burn to the ground.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer: one president endorses his VP as the future of the party, while the other throws his to the wolves (or in this case, the Q-Anon shaman and his merry band of insurrectionists). History will remember the latter as the skid mark on America’s underpants — a stubborn, foul-smelling stain that no amount of bleach (or bogus “voter fraud” lawsuits) can ever fully erase.
Published: Jul 22, 2024 03:57 am