When the New York Times famously covered its entire front page in 2016 with reports about the FBI's last minute investigation of the "existence of emails," you could at least argue that this really was news. The Times overdid things, that's all.
Behold the front page of Politico today:
This is all about fake Republican outrage over some remarks by Joe Biden yesterday. Responding to a comic saying that Puerto Rico was a floating island of garbage, he said "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters."
But wait. What Biden almost certainly said was "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s...demonization of Latinos." See? There's an apostrophe there that was obviously silent when he spoke. Plus he mangled his words in typical Biden fashion and made it hard to parse what he was saying.
This is so plainly a case of fake outrage over a nothingburger that I'm surprised it has any legs at all, let alone massive front-page coverage in Politico. I know, I know: I shouldn't be surprised by anything any more. I just can't help myself. By now we all know the press treats every outrage by conservatives as genuine and every outrage by liberals as calculated for political effect. It's just the way things are.
They cannot help it. At first it was alignment with ideals, then orders, now reflex.
Yeah, they're the real victims here.
Republican voters - the new Third Rail of politics.
(hat tip, David Weigel)
And they are the ones who say fu(k your feelings.
Politico and NYT used to be neck and neck in the Pump Trump and Dump (on Harris) race. Politico clearly took the lead about a month ago. I now only go there when I feel the need to be angry.
An apostrophe? That is far too subtle a distinction for the RWNM.
Right? Their whole Who Won the Day thing is disgusting. Who cares?
Who cares, indeed. I agree. I check into Politico regularly, largely because they do provide some real balance, covering items that the other non-Fox sites overlook. But this "who won the day" thing is just dumb.
We saw this before with the "deplorables." The right-wing press, social media, and pols speaking as sources will take you out of context, totally misrepresent you, and get duly and uncritically disseminated by the mainstream media. Obviously the alternative for Democrats, to say nothing at all, isn't a formula for victory either. Just depressing.
+1
This.
Let’s be honest. At this point, anyone voting for Trump is trash. And a Nazi, too.
Yeah, Biden was clearly just talking about the comedian, but it would be perfectly correct to say it is Trump supporters.
That is over the top.
There is a difference between "racist and/or misogynist" and "a Nazi".
Also some of them are just plain idiots.
The point is that anyone who votes for Hitler is a Nazi in my book and I don’t see how any Trump supporter could be fairly described as anything but trash. These are not good people.
You're too kind.
I will remember to thank Harris supporters like you in three months as I watch Trump's inauguration.
Dude, you support bigotry and violence, so you don't have a leg to stand on re tone policing.
It seems to me that two things are true:
First, that no-one is genuinely offended by Biden's comment.
Second, that the only people offended by being called Nazi or garbage people are very obviously Trump supporters (such as yourself) who won't be voting for Harris in any case.
It also seems to me that over the years we've developed a super-sensitivity to the delicate feeling of GOP snowflakes and that's a huge mistake. Win, lose or draw on Tuesday, I say no more mister nice guy—we start calling people what they are regardless of their tender feelings and we need to start pushing back on garbage people and Nazis.
This comment probably will not change anyone's mind. (Does anyone here understand how someone can be undecided in this election?!?)
But it will help us get out the vote. The key to victory is mobilizing low propensity voters.
It could conceivably affect some Rep/con who hasn't voted yet, dislikes Trump and was leaning toward Harris, but will be moved to vote for Trump just because of Biden's comment (and I am not sure if I buy the "apostrophe" story).
No idea how few or many such people there are.
I hope you are right, but I think most of the impact will be on getting people to vote.
I don’t understand how anyone could genuinely be undecided about an election featuring Donald Trump. But I do understand that there are many right wing people who profess to be undecided because they are ashamed that they’re voting for Trump and don’t want to endure the looks that family and friends will give them if they learn of your intent.
Similarly, I doubt if there’s anyone who would vote for Trump but just can’t get it together to cast a ballot but who is somehow energized by being rightfully called trash and that’s why he finally decides to vote for the American Hitler.
Yeah, there are no excuses for voting for Trump now. If you do, you're garbage.
Most voters don't read Politico, thankfully.
no, but some other random reporter asked Harris today if she could 'Sympathize' With Trump Fans" because of Biden's mean words.
they can't help themselves with this nonsense
Saw a great cartoon,
Republicans: Fuck Biden
Biden: Fuck you back
Republicans: Hey, quit being uncivil
+1!
Didn't Kevin say a couple weeks ago we don't need apostrophes? Looks like they matter.
The White House has said yes, one was intended, and it reads right in context.
If the internet is any indicator, half the people in this country wouldn't know what to do with an apostrophe if it bit 'em. I see so many extra ones every day that I'm sure there are enough left over to take care of this.
To be honest, it reads right both ways. At this point, anyone voting for Trump is garbage. And I don’t see what’s wrong with saying so. Neither do I accept the protestations of those Republicans or Republican sympathizers who claim that it’s terrible that President Biden accurately described them as they really are.
It is long past time for speaking candidly about how the Republican Party has devolved into something to the right of the Nazi Party.
This is why he isn't the candidate any more. Yes I know he didn't mean it like it sounded, but If you can't speak clearly and concisely please don't say anything at all. I read the transcript. It even reads badly. FFS Biden just gave Trump a very good cudgel to beat Harris over the head with. This close to the election and we still have to do damage control over a Biden gaffe. Democrats sure know how to screw themselves over. I think I need to stop reading anything political.
I agree. For God's sake Joe, just shut up. Calling him a gaffe machine doesn't do justice to the damage he just inflicted on the Harris campaign. He can't even clean it up right. Just tell us you didn't intend to call any American voter a name. That Democrats don't do that. Keep it simple, and stop talking.
If I recall correctly, Harris already said she doesn't judge people by who they vote for before this incident. I'm glad she repeated it. I hope it's enough to distinguish herself from Foot in Mouth disease Biden.
I was afraid I was the only one to feel this way about Bidens comment. It made me genuinely angry. I know he didn't mean it like they are portraying it to be, but that's of little consolation.
Can you imagine how bad things would be if Biden was still in the race? Defeat would be a sure thing and Democrats would be filled with despair. Remember, it took a lot of pressure to get him out. Democrats were denied a robust primary where the best candidate could emerge. Harris is doing very well given her compressed-schedule handicap, but she has advocated progressive policies in the past that are a problem for her now... especially in Michigan.
I want Trump to lose and think we should throw anyone, any group, under the bus if that's what it takes. This is not a time for "doing the right thing" or compassion for whomever. Gotta be ruthless.
No, we weren't.
Why are you lying about this?
Does it have to do with your bigotry against trans people? Women?
For fucks sake, why are you lying about this?
This has to be the most ridiculous "story" in the history of American politics.
It says nothing about Biden but so much about the state of political journalism.
A couple of other stories that are under the radar but I've seen popping up:
- Kamala Harris yawned. Yes, she yawned! On her campaign plane. There's even a photo.
- Tim Walz had an "affair" years ago. It was years before he entered politics. In fact, years before he met his wife. But that's a story kicking around.
An apostrophe, a yawn, and a dash of sex. There's a cloud of suspicion over the Democratic ticket.
Meanwhile, there's Donald Trump....
The Democrats have to speak with the assumption that anything they say can be misconstrued precisely because the state of political journalism in this country. The goal is to make it as difficult as possible. Bidens comment was very easy to be misconstrued. It's fucked up but it's our reality now. And has been for a long time. Donald Trump gets a pass on everything, meanwhile everything a Democrat says or does gets put under the microscope.
While it's always good to be careful when choosing words, bad-faith journalism needs to be rebutted, refuted, and ridiculed, because that's what it deserves. Otherwise, the double standard only gets worse.
I know. It seems the press is incapable of treating the candidates and their surrogates equally. It's extremely frustrating how lopsided the coverage and treatment is.
"Tim Walz had an "affair" years ago. It was years before he entered politics. In fact, years before he met his wife. But that's a story kicking around."
Well, it wasn't just an affair a la Bill Clinton. It was a relationship with a woman in Communist China, around the time Walz claimed to be where he wasn't. That's the gist of it anyhow.
I am not sure why people would be surprised about Politico and Axios fanning this.
It is what they do.
Trump is literally saying that people supporting Harris are traitors and he is going to sic the US Army on them. Good lord.
But that's Trump. You aren't supposed to take him seriously... or litterally... one of the two, or both!
I'm not running for office and using language carefully to win favor with the press or with voters. But anyone voting for that bastard deserves the presumption of being garbage, and if not, let them explain themselves.
You're right. They are hateful garbage people. Some of them I'm related to. Unfortunately the Democrat politicians can't get away with calling their opponents or their supporters accurate names. Trump and the Republicans are free to call theirs whatever the fuck they want. I've heard it myself. Seen the disgusting bumper stickers. Nobody does hypocracy like Trump, his cult and the GOP.
But no Democratic politicians did.
If being called "the enemy within" doesn't make Democrats take umbrage, why should being called garbage offend Republicans? It is the tired old meme of Republicans being real Americans and therefore entitled to kid glove treatment.
The double standard is so egregious.
Because "the enemy within" are politicians and people with power, while "garbage" (as Biden supposedly said) are the voters. That's why it's more like the HC "deplorables" comment.
Republican Playbook, page 17
I remember the 1984 vice-presidential debate, when Geraldine Ferraro stated, quite accurately, that the Americans who died in the Viet Nam War died in vain.
Dear old George Bush immediately claimed that she said they died in shame.
So, where does the apostrophe go in this from 3 weeks back?
"And then all of a sudden, you hear that they’re leaving Milwaukee or they’re leaving wherever they may be located. It’s very sad to see it. And it’s so simple. I mean, you know, this isn’t like Elon with his rocket ships that land within 12 inches on the moon where they wanted to land. Or he gets the engines back. That was the first I realized. I said, “Who the hell did that?” I saw engines about three, four years ago. These things were coming. Cylinders, no wings, no nothing. And they’re coming down very slowly, landing on a raft in the middle of the ocean someplace with a circle. Boom.
Reminded me of the Biden circles that he used to have, right? He’d have eight circles and he couldn’t fill ’em up. But then I heard he beat us with the popular vote. I don’t know. I don’t know. Couldn’t fill up the eight circles. I always loved those circles. They were so beautiful. They were so beautiful to look at. In fact, the person that did them, that was the best thing about his, the level of that circle was great. But they couldn’t get people, so they used to have the press stand in those circles because they couldn’t get the people. Then I heard we lost. Oh, we lost. No, we’re never gonna let that happen again. But we’ve been abused by other countries. We’ve been abused by our own politicians, really, more than other countries."
Odd that your comment about Ferraro is incorrect.
Biden fucked up and should keep his gaffe-prone stuttering mouth shut in the final weeks of a campaign. He eliminated the MSG Puerto Rico cudgel that was effective, but only for one day, AND smothered Harris' great speech as well. FJB
CNN:
... in private, both inside and around the campaign, plenty of Democrats were quietly buzzing with frustration and concern about the president’s remarks.
Senior campaign officials were fielding messages of exasperation from supporters – some of whom suggested that perhaps the president should find a way to disappear from public view altogether in the final six days leading up to Election Day, sources said.
“The Biden gaffe yesterday is just so infuriating,” one former administration official said. “Nobody wants him out there.”
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Kevin is wrong about the silent apostrophe. Biden spoke two sentences, and given how discombobulated he was in the June debate, are you really sure he doesn't think Trump's supporters are garbage? Give me a break, man. Watch the video.
NBC: The White House updated its transcript after a conversation with Biden about his remarks — changing the word "supporters" to "supporter's"
Kevin: "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s ... demonization of Latinos."
The ellipsis gives the wrong impression, and the final two words are omitted.
"demonization of Latinos is unconscionable"
This is not hard to parse.
And TrumpCo is supposed to ignore this political manna from heaven? Get real.
Not TrumpCo, but journalists. Trump Republicans have spent the last five years isolating a few seconds of Biden audio or video and lying about what it means. They did the same with Obama and Hillary. In most cases, the media declines to take the bait and the snippet just gets added to the Big MAGA Book of Lies and Legends to keep the base agitated. But occasionally, the clicks potentially on offer - "basket of deplorables", "you didn't build that" - are too enticing to resist.
Journalists and their editors should have said to each other "For God's sake, Biden was obviously talking about the performance at the rally," and ignored the non-story. But the hive mind decided this was too juicy a "gaffe" not to make it a headline story.
It's not just Politico and it's not just the Republicans. It's all of the media. Tonight on the NBC evening news, the lead story was the "firestorm" ignited by Biden calling Trump's supporters "garbage," Kamala Harris trying to "clean it up," and then a video clip of Trump's reaction.
1. It's only a "firestorm" because the media makes it one. They know damn well that Biden just garbled his words, but it's way too juicy not to distort it into a "firestorm."
2. Why does Harris have to "clean it up"? She didn't say it!
3. Why do they have to run and get a Trump reaction? What do you expect it to be?
Harris was still hanging onto a tiny lead. That couldn't be tolerated.
It is the biggest "story" by far in Memeorandum today. According to the fucking useless clowns in the American media, Republicans lying about something Biden said was far more important than these stories:
- The Trump campaign admitted/bragged that it is going to destroy the economy in order to save it.
- Speaker Johnson promised to take an axe to Obamacare.
- The Kennedy maniac bragged Trump has promised to give him "control of the public health agencies".
- Making a mockery of the MAGA narrative, the economy grew strongly again in the third quarter while inflation has been back to normal for months and unemployment remains low.
Only the small number of voters who take a close interest in politics would be aware of any of them.
Wait till you see the New York Times tomorrow.
For 4 years these chuds have been screeching F*ck Joe Biden and when he claps back they get their feelings hurt.
Can someone explain what has happened to the conservative, mostly white, men in America? Soft as fuck!
The American media loves, loves, loves their reality TV star President.
The drama, the clicks, the tax cuts.
What can we expect from Politico - can we still call it tiger beat on the Potomac?
So many looking for a Democratic misstep (stating the truth), while the faux outrage of both trump & Vance - no one writes as many columns about their verbal savagery.
The next time that Vance refers to his own kids as "her" children, or tells the. country to just accept murders of their children in schools, with Alex Jones poised to torment the parents with lies, I hope that Usha packs her bags, takes the r kids & leaves him.