During President Joe Biden’s first official campaign speech of 2024, he was upstaged by his irony. From accusing the beleaguered GOP frontrunner Donald Trump of “seeking revenge and retribution” to blaming January 6, 2021, on Trump’s nonliteral advice to supporters to “fight like Hell” just before the protest, every word he spoke was an exaggeration or an outright lie.
A central theme emerged once viewers could unravel the President’s incoherent ramblings. Democracy, it seems, is on the ballot, and only Biden can ensure it.
The President repeatedly called Trump a threat to democracy, even as Biden supporters coordinated to remove the former president from ballots, weaponized the legal system against him, held numerous protestors hostage for years without a trial, and targeted MAGA supporters through censorship.
Throughout his speech, he continued to call thousands of rioters “insurrectionists.” It was a tough sell when no rioter was charged with being an “insurrectionist.” He further condemns Trump for calling the alleged “insurrectionists” patriots and political prisoners, even though some participants are still jailed awaiting trial. And the Department of Justice has announced it is still actively seeking additional participants.
Biden neglected to mention the hundreds of black-clad rioters protesting Trump’s inauguration in 2017. The violence was deemed “civil disorder.” During the civil disorder, Capitol police officers were injured, bottles and rocks were hurled at law enforcement and thrown through windows near Pennsylvania Avenue, and cars were set ablaze.
Over two hundred people were arrested, held overnight, and released after court appearances the following day.
The general theme of Biden’s 2024 kick-off speech was that MAGA supporters are the existential threat to democracy, and those who didn’t vote for him were dangerous.
And no Democrat criticism of Trump would be complete without a comparison to Hitler, which Biden graciously incorporated into the speech.
As Biden railed against Trump for trying to “steal the election” he had already stolen, he had this to say: “As America was attacked from within, Donald Trump watched on TV in a private, small dining room of my oval, off the Oval Office.”
His Oval Office.
Biden appeared lost and confused after what his supporters would call a masterful speech. First lady Jill Biden rushed on stage to steer him away from the podium, whispering something unintelligible to the President and trying to lead him to safety.
It’s become an almost laughable theme of Biden appearances. Biden has never met a set of steps he couldn’t fall on, and his staffers have had to strategically prepare egress and exit pathways for Biden to move around stages. Some refer to it as putting him in bubble wrap for his appearances.
Others perplexingly think Biden should lean into his age and embrace the “experience” he brings to the role. Others feel he needs protection so voters don’t see how lost and clumsy he has become.
Political strategist John Judis notes that Joe Biden no longer appears presidential, an ironic observation when Democrats criticized Trump for being unpresidential throughout his term. He feels that Biden’s legislative “success” falls flat for young voters, who don’t see the President as a commanding presence.
Judis observed that voters are discouraged by Biden’s “utter failure as a regal persona.” But they should be more discouraged by Biden’s chilling and inexplicable parting statement before the first lady could lead him off stage.
After a speech condemning Trump as a tyrannical overlord, Biden pulled away from his rescuer, leaned over the microphone, and spoke above his exit music. “I understand power,” he said.
It was a simple statement that went unchallenged by mainstream media, who also ignored his claim to the Oval Office. But the unexpected parting comment, with no context whatsoever, left critics scratching their heads.
It was an interesting comment, especially when Biden introduced an unfamiliar word into his vocabulary. No longer does the President seek “unity.” He now seeks “solidarity.”
The term “solidarity” invokes utopian socialist movements from the 19th century. It has since evolved into a progressive rallying cry, often used in opposition to political adversaries. It is the pet term of massive new-world-order organizations like the United Nations and the World Economic Forum.
Biden’s call for “solidarity” while noting that he “understands power” should give every American voter pause. Biden is right; democracy is on the ballot. But for Biden and his progressive allies, it’s not a democracy America would recognize.
