Joe Biden’s Fact-Check-Free Interview on The View
President Joe Biden finally sat down for a grueling interview about the rapidly escalating tensions in the Middle East, the security failures that have resulted in multiple assassination attempts against his rival former President Donald Trump, and whether he is cognitively fit to serve out the rest of his term.
Just kidding: In reality, he made an appearance Wednesday on The View, alongside his personal cheering squad—the show’s hosts.
Whoopi Goldberg was particularly effusive in her praise for the president, describing her support for him as “ride or die.” Joy Behar joked with him about age being just a number—they are both 81—and lovingly nuzzled his shoulder.
The ladies did ask him about his decision to exit the presidential race, which drew this reply:
Biden to The View: “I never fully believed the assertions that somehow there was this overwhelming reluctance of my running again…my polling was about…always within range of beating this guy I didn’t sense that….I was confident. I would beat Trump.” pic.twitter.com/zutdHVOM3M
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) September 25, 2024
“I never fully believed the assertions that somehow there was this overwhelming reluctance, my running again, I didn’t sense that,” said Biden. “And although the polling, the Biden polling was different, my polling was always within range of beating this guy.”
That was the most coherent part of his answer. It is also not accurate. Over the course of 2024, Biden polled steadily worse against Trump. In the immediate aftermath of his disastrous June debate performance, Biden dropped to six points behind Trump in national polling.
But even before the dreaded debate, the polls showed Trump pulling away from Biden. As far back as November 2023, some polls showed Trump edging out Biden in the key swing states; importantly, these polls also showed Biden underperforming Trump relative to other Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris. His favorability ratings had also collapsed since the 2022 midterms.
A year ago, Biden could credibly claim that the polls showed him “within range,” given significant uncertainties. By the time Biden’s campaign was hurtling toward its ignoble end, this was no longer true. Biden was going to lose.
Later during the conservation on The View, Goldberg remarked that while she supported the outcome, she did not approve of the messy, public manner in which Democratic elites ejected Biden. But the messy exit was made necessary due to Biden’s own actions: his stubborn refusal to admit that he had no path to reelection.
It’s fine for the ladies of The View to treat the president with kindness and respect. But as with the ABC presidential debate between Trump and Harris, it’s telling that prominent Democrats can get away much more easily with statements that are simply untrue.
Drew Your Own Conclusions
I am frequently critical of The New York Times, though I am also grateful that its editors let me write for the Opinion section on oc
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