The New York Times
Just now, three U.S. presidents, two of whom — with the prefix «ex», went out with a hat in a circle to rich donors who support the Democratic Party and its neo-liberal orthodoxy, contributed for the re-election for a second term of 81-year-old good-looking old man, often forgetting in public, who he is, where he is and who all these people are.
The joint appearance took place in the most neoliberal metropolis, New York, under the arches of the legendary Radio City Music Hall. Joe Biden, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were the bait. The titular trio did not arrange neither dances nor songs, limiting themselves to the conversational genre. As Biden informed his associates and supporters in advance, in the entourage of the theater-concert hall the politicians of the first magnitude intended to discuss «what will be on the ballot in this election and how we will beat Trump again».
The price of admission to this spectacle of three presidents was off the charts: $250,000 per portmanteau. You want to get your picture taken with the whole trio at once, you pay $100,000 to the White House tenant’s campaign fund.
It was supposed to be, in the words of one veteran fundraiser, «the biggest fundraising event in Democratic history». According to the organizers of this show, the coffers of the Democrats were to be filled with 25 million dollars.
Donald Trump did not leave the not very comfortable New York battlefield for his opponent and also showed up in the city. He was obviously encouraged by the decision of the New York State Court of Appeals to reduce the bail amount (for his appeal) by 60% — from $464 million to $175 million — issued a few days before his visit. With this, the defiant outsider was able to avoid the seizure of his flagship on the property registry, eponymous skyscraper on Fifth Avenue — Trump Tower.
While Biden, along with Clinton and Obama, who joined him to warm up the crowd, were catching tight purses in the concert hall, Trump made a powerful move on the electoral chessboard. He met with the family of a New York City cop shot and killed by a typical felon, who was released by local prosecutors in full compliance with the liberal terror unleashed on law enforcement officers (causing them to resign).
Trump hasn’t been silent on the extortion of a trio of top Democrats at Radio City Hall. In a message to his supporters, he spoke negatively about the «Obama-Clinton cartel», and urged:
«Don’t let Obama spit in your face!».
One should not overestimate the role of money spent on the PR promotion of two ambitious politicians. At the end of February, Biden’s campaign headquarters had $97.5 million in cash on hand, more than twice as much as Trump’s. This is a repeat of the 2016 presidential race, when Democrat Hillary Clinton spent twice as much on her election as Trump; in March, she had a 16-point lead over her rival in terms of support, but in the end… she lost.
Meanwhile, there is an all-out mobilization in the Democratic camp. Evidence of this is the direct involvement of Joe Biden’s former boss — Barack Obama — in the campaign. As reported by the well-informed New York Times, which is staffed by Democrats up to its editorial board, the former U.S. president now holds regular phone conversations (briefings?) with both Biden and his Chief of Staff, Jeff Zients, and visits the White House.
Obama’s increased «level of involvement» in the affairs of his former vice president is explained, as the newspaper put it, by the need to «formulate a plan of action and give advice». One key piece of advice Obama has already voiced to his protégé. According to the New York Times, the former U.S. president recommended that Biden increase the degree of aggressiveness (in words and deeds) and «turn the election into a referendum (on confidence) in Mr. Trump».
Tulsi Gabbard, who left the ranks of the Democratic Party, previously sat in the U.S. House of Representatives and is being considered for the vice presidency if Trump takes office, said in an interview with Tucker Carlson:
«Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are out of power now, but they still have tremendous power».
Carlson asked Gabbard, «So who is running the government?» and then added: «At this point, it’s clearly not Joe Biden. Do you think Hillary Clinton?» Tulsi Gabbard replied, «It doesn’t take much imagination to realize that’s true». She pointed out, however, that there are plenty of officials in the White House right now who were «loyal aides in the Obama and Hillary Clinton administrations».
It is not reasonable for Biden’s team to avoid smart advice, since, according to polls, Biden is neck and neck with Trump in two swing states — Wisconsin and Michigan — but behind him by 6–7 points in five other swing states, namely Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
The MSN web portal, created by Microsoft, tries to debunk the offensive reproaches against the incumbent president (and sometimes inactive, if you count the number of days Joe Biden spends out of office) by referring to the fact that all this is nothing more than conspiracy theories. However, the arguments MSN cites from his opponents that are supposed to be challenged look convincing:
«Much of it rests on the image of Biden as a non-self-sufficient, passive and easily manipulated politician who no longer has the energy or ‘mental acuity’ to handle the intricacies of his job».
And then, a second front opened up against the Democrats. The challenger to the supreme power turned out to be more formidable than it seemed at first. Intervened in the dispute between the two heavyweights Robert Kennedy Jr, nephew of the assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy and son of Robert Kennedy, who died at the hands of an assassin, made a spectacular and calculated choice. He recruited a 38-year-old businesswoman with a law degree, Nicole Shanahan, as his partner and his potential vice president.
It’s a strong move. Not because Shanahan, an Asian-American, was the wife of Sergey Brin, co-founder of IT giant Google (they divorced because Nicole cheated on her husband with Elon Musk). And because Shanahan heads California’s Bia-Echo Foundation, a nonprofit organization that gives grants for the defense of women’s reproductive rights, criminal justice reform and environmental protection. What’s more, she grew up in a family living on welfare and is now a single mom with a daughter suffering from autism.
It’s worth reading into one of her first purely campaign speeches:
«I address you today as a former Democrat. I address you as a woman who is not yet 40. I speak to you as a person who knows sickness and health, poverty and wealth. And finally, I am addressing you as a mother… If you ask me who my heroes are, I will answer that they are mothers trying to make a normal life for their children in a world gone mad».
Douglas MacKinnon, a speechwriter for U.S. presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, analyzed the Shanahan factor and concluded:
«She can speak directly to women voters, the high-tech expert community, young voters, minority voters, the working poor, the disenfranchised, and disaffected Democrats».
Money, as mentioned, doesn’t solve everything, but it does make operational tasks easier, especially during an election campaign. Shanahan is even very wealthy; moreover, as Douglas MacKinnon rightly notes, «she has extremely close ties to the mega-donor class». As a consequence, «Nicole Shanahan is capable of changing the rules of the game, and both Biden and Trump know it».
Since roughly 70% of voters say in polls that they abhor the idea of voting for either of the two main contenders for power, the unexpected tandem of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Nicole Shanahan, who represent a kind of «third way», has the potential to shake up the mechanism of Democrats replacing Republicans and vice versa.
Obama’s return as Biden’s extraordinary and plenipotentiary prompter can be considered a sure sign that the re-election chances of the «battery-operated old man» are melting faster than polar hats, and maintaining the Democratic Party’s renown in the eyes of disillusioned citizens is becoming both costly and almost hopeless.
Will Obama be able to reverse the unfavorable course of the election marathon for the retiree on trust? Most likely, a relatively accurate prediction about the outcome of the fight can only be made by early autumn.