Glenn Loury
The Glenn Show
John McWhorter – Biden's Disastrous Debate
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Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -50:24
-50:24

John McWhorter – Biden's Disastrous Debate

John and I finally had a chance to sit down and talk about the biggest news story of the last couple weeks: Joe Biden’s worryingly bad debate performance. Though even calling it “bad” is an understatement bordering on a category error, as prominent Democratic politicians and donors are now issuing calls for Biden to drop out. Over the course of 90 minutes, Biden appeared to confirm years of speculation regarding his mental and physical decline. He was inarticulate, his speech was halting, and he occasionally appeared to be confused. By comparison, Trump appeared relaxed and focused, though he lied and demagogued his way through the debate.

In this episode, John and I take up the big questions. We both think Biden should drop out of the race, for the good of the country and his party. What happens after that? Kamala Harris is the logical successor to Biden at the top of the ticket, but she comes with her own baggage, including an undistinguished performance as VP. There’s no question that, with Biden’s decline confirmed and no slam-dunk Democratic candidate waiting in the wings, a second Trump presidency looks more probable than it did a couple weeks ago. But will that make another four years of Trump any easier to swallow for Democrats? In the event that Biden does drop out, how will Democrats generate consensus around a new candidate this late in the race? And is this presidential race evidence that the US is in a severe state of decline?

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1:18 John: Biden probably should not be running for president

7:47 Who’s running the country?

11:17 Presidential bullshit

13:35 Ground News ad

15:56 Is Kamala up to the big job?

22:44 Kamala’s questionable climb to the top

27:53 The NYT Editorial Board’s surprising call for Biden to drop out

33:50 Trump at Gettysburg

35:45 Trump’s victory is now more probable. But is it more defensible?

40:42 Interrogating the “elitist backlash” interpretation of Trumpism

45:43 How should Dems proceed in a post-Biden election?

Recorded July 4, 2024


Links and Readings

Full video of the Trump-Biden debate

Harry G. Frankfurter’s book, On Bullshit

Clip from Adam McKay’s film, Vice

Kamala Harris attacks Biden during a 2019 primary debate

Kamala Harris defends Biden’s recent debate performance

NYT Editorial Board calls on Biden to leave the race

Jill Biden’s Vogue cover


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Glenn Loury
The Glenn Show
Race, inequality, and economics in the US and throughout the world from Glenn Loury, Professor of Economics at Brown University and Paulson Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute