No wonder the NYTimes is so upset. For months they had been begging the White House for an exclusive interview and were rebuffed, only for Biden to pitch up on the Howard Stern Show. That must have been a big jolt as Biden went on for over an hour. Granted, Stern talked for much of that time, but Biden was in full control of himself, even cracking a few jokes as he covered a wide range of subjects including his low grades in law school.
When he first ran for President in 1988 this had been a big issue, as he was accused of plagiarism and subsequently dropped out of the race. Now he laughs it off, saying he didn't take law school as seriously as he should have. Not that it really mattered in the end, as he had a successful career in Congress just the same. But, Howard didn't dig too deep, much to the chagrin of the NYTimes, who felt Stern should have been ... well more stern.
Instead, Howard gave Biden his enthusiastic endorsement, recalling the chaos and uncertainty that preceded him without mentioning his predecessor's name. This must have been a big blow for Trump as well, who loved to appear on the Howard Stern in his pre-White House days and relish juicy stories. It is hard to reconcile the Howard Stern of today with the one of 20 years ago, much less 30 years ago when he was even more raunchy. I guess we all tame with age, but not the Donald. He's got "blood coming out of his eyes" to borrow one of his more infamous catch phrases.
While Biden is enjoying talk shows, Trump is forced to spend his days in court. Even Fox News has become worried that this may be too much for a 77 year-old man. Jesse Watters called it "cruel and unusual punishment." Meanwhile, the conservative Supreme Court is mulling over whether Trump should be treated like a king or one of the proletariat. It leads one to ponder what Biden could do in the remaining months before the election if the Supreme Court were to grant the ex-president "absolute immunity." What's good for one king is good for another, right?
It all adds to the grist mill, which the mainstream media loves turning over each day. They are determined to make this a "horse race," if they have to fabricate the numbers themselves. Mainstream polls continue to show Trump ahead in many battleground states, including Pennsylvania. 538 gives Orange Julius a one-point edge in the Keystone State.
More and more these polls look like outliers after the Pennsylvania primary, which largely went unreported. It was a rather robust turnout for two presumptive nominees that already had secured their delegate majorities. What was interesting to me is that Biden outpolled Trump by more than 150,000 votes, with over 940,000 compared to Trump's 790,000 in separate primaries. Not bad for an "old man" political pundits continue to regard as out of touch, while they focus on Trump's court cases. Nikki Haley, who long ago dropped out, polled 16% of the Republican vote. Exit polls indicated that those who voted for her have no intention of voting for Trump in November. Unless Trump can somehow win Nikki over, that's a big chunk of the vote he is losing, especially in a state Biden only won by 80,000 votes in 2020.
So, where is all this support for Trump coming from? The New York Times/ Siena Poll has been kind of quiet as of late. It suffered quite a bit of criticism over its strange polling last month that gave Trump the edge among Latinos and women, when there is nothing to indicate that either is the case. A recent Quinnipiac poll showed women far more supportive of Biden than Trump, given that abortion has once again become a major issue. Latinos may be wary of Biden but they aren't sold on Trump. Polls are inconclusive at best, yet the media continues to run with the story that Latinos are turning toward Trump.
Mostly it seems voters are disgruntled. They don't like the match up, so they offer differing opinions depending on who is taking the polls. A large part of this frustration comes from the way the media is reporting the election. A combination of "bothsidesism" and the endless fascination with the human hair piece, who seems to outdo himself at every public appearance. Trump is being covered far more greatly than is Biden, who has to resort to talk shows like Howard Stern to get noticed, and is then criticized for doing so.
Biden really hasn't gotten a fair shake since his election. The media has treated him like a one-term president. Many thought he wouldn't run for a second term and when he announced his candidacy they went after him even more. It doesn't matter his exemplary record, which Stern noted in his introduction, the media continues to insist he is too old, despite the all too obvious signs of cognitive decline we see in Donald Trump. The guy can't even keep awake at his own trial. Yet, we are too believe most Americans would prefer Trump over Biden.
I think Biden made a wise move by going on the Howard Stern show. It allows him to address skeptical voters who tune into Stern and other social media celebrities. The political dynamic has changed considerably over the last 16 years when Obama first turned to social media to reach a broader audience. The traditional news sources are all suffering and use social media more and more to be seen. I get constant NYTimes stories on my facebook feed. When I do show interest, I'm hit with a "welcome offer" in order to read the story. No thanks.
I can turn to NPR, BBC or The Guardian for the same story for free. I think most people view their news through the prism of social media these days, whether it is through facebook, youtube, X or some other platform. Few subscribe to these traditional news sources even with the greatly reduced subscription fees that are only good for six months. Besides, I long ago lost interest in The NYTimes as it became increasingly conservative in its viewpoint. It is hard to differentiate it from the Wall Street Journal these days.
Meanwhile, Howard Stern has gone from being agent provocateur to a pretty mellow dude who appreciates Biden's sense of fatherhood and the stability he has brought the country. That's quite a shift in 20 years and the amazing part is he continues to reach pretty much the same audience, which Biden would dearly love to channel.
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