The tragedy of Joe Biden is that he was poisoned by power
The denouement of
Joe Biden
is unbearably sad.
The Irishman who could spend 45 minutes answering one question lost his gift of gab. The father who saw two of his children die and two spin into addiction wilted under the ongoing stress, especially when
Hunter Biden
– 'my only living son,' as Joe called him – got tangled in the legal system.
The gregarious pol, who loved chatting up lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, ended up barricaded in his Rehoboth, Delaware, house with Covid, furious at everyone, proclaiming his oldest friends disloyal naysayers. He was fuming at nearly everyone except his wife Jill, Hunter and the cordon sanitaire of aides who had fuelled his delusions that he could be re-elected despite his feeble and often incoherent state at 81.
And, saddest of all, the man known for his decency, empathy, humility and patriotic spirit was poisoned by power, losing the ability to see that in clinging to his office, he was hurting the party and country he had served for over half a century. And hurting himself, ensuring a shellacking in the history books.
READ MORE
It is the oldest story in tragedy: hubris.
If presidents get reduced to their essence, Biden's is a chip on his shoulder.
He did not want to hear from former president Barack Obama that he should pass the torch to someone younger, so Obama tried to work obliquely through others to ease him out. Biden saw Obama as the one who pushed him aside in 2015 for Hillary Clinton, a fellow member of the elite world of Ivy Leaguers, a world Biden always felt was sniffy toward him.
Obama gave Biden a consolation prize in 2017, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, when Biden wanted a different piece of metal: Excalibur. Biden's chip grew larger.
By the end, when he was bubble-wrapped in 2024, he trusted only his family and his closest aides. And they protected him with a damaging chimera. Sugarcoated interpretations of polls that were not reflected elsewhere. Extreme efforts to redesign the presidency to adapt to his ever more fragile state. Trashing Robert Hur for telling the truth. Refusing to do the cognitive testing that might have established a diagnosis.
'The public should be informed of the whole truth. Not selective truth,' Dr Jonathan Reiner, an internist and cardiologist at George Washington University Hospital who has been a White House medical consultant for the last four administrations, told Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson for their compelling new book about Biden's Shakespearean fall, Original Sin.
'Selective truth' sounds disturbingly like 'alternative facts,' as Kellyanne Conway called
Donald Trump
's modus vivendi. Tapper and Thompson show how Biden and his inner circle created an alternate universe that they tried to sell to the media and the public – the sort of corrosive mirage of unreality that Trump excels at building.
It was painful and infuriating to watch, and it's painful and infuriating to read about. The nadir, of course, was Biden's cascade of caesurae at the debate. It was not, as his advisers insisted, merely a bad night. It was a stunning display of a steep mental decline.
Witnesses behind the scenes said they were dismayed from the start, when Biden showed up less than a half hour before the debate started. He didn't want to do a walk-through and test the equipment. He already seemed out of it, even though his large staff contingent seemed – to some CNN folks – oddly sanguine.
It was not just Joe and Jill Biden who wanted to hang on to power, with all the perks and trips and, for the former first lady, glamorous Vogue covers. It was also their advisers Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, Anita Dunn, Anthony Bernal, Ron Klain and Annie Tomasini. The 'palace guard,' as Chuck Schumer derisively dubbed top Biden advisers, slid from sycophancy to solipsism.
The more Biden was out of it, the more his hours and responsibilities were curtailed, the more of a vacuum there was at the top, the more power the advisers had. They treated his alarming deterioration like a political vulnerability, something to be concealed, not a matter of concern to all Americans, something we had a right to know.
It took the Democrats far too long to acknowledge and push back against what Americans could see with their own eyes. Democratic pooh-bahs and lawmakers were silent when they should have been screaming – as the Republicans are now with Trump's egregious assaults on the Constitution, his cringey grifting, his crazed revenge moves against anyone who has crossed him and his loony Truth Social screeds attacking Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift.
The Bidens and their allies still try to prove Joe Biden is all there. He has done interviews on The View with his wife, and on the BBC on his own, acting as if what happened was not a shocking tableau of duplicity.
'President Joe Biden got out of bed the day after the 2024 election convinced that he had been wronged,' Tapper and Thompson write. 'The elites, the Democratic officials, the media, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama – they shouldn't have pushed him out of the race.'
The polls said he could have beaten Trump, Biden felt, and his team had always doubted Kamala Harris's abilities.
But the polls Biden kept counting on never existed – except in Bidenworld's gauzy alternate universe.
This article originally appeared in
The New York Times
.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
These five factors are how Zohran Mamdani took New York by storm
Zohran Mamdani's victory in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary is the outcome of a campaign that will be pored over, with elements replicated not just in America but anywhere left-wing politicians and movements are looking to break through. His surprise success vindicates the politics, message and strategies of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders , offering a blueprint for the Democratic Party on how to win. In a city seemingly allergic to progressive mayors, how did he do it? You can't spell campaigns without Camps, an acronym I use when describing effective contemporary political campaigning. Camps stands for consistent, authentic, motivational, positive and simple. [ This man could be just what the American left needs Opens in new window ] Consistent: Mamdani's political record may be short but it is consistent. His consistency is linked to his values. If you don't actually hold values, if they shift with the wind, if they're at the whim of market research and polling, then you are exposed as disingenuous. Mamdani didn't win despite his solidarity with Palestine , he won because of it. He has shown up for undocumented immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community when many Democrats are attempting to park progressive values because they're scared of the right or because – as is the case with Keir Starmer 's leadership in the UK – when you scratch centrism, right-wing positions emerge, betraying both substance and voter bases. Mamdani did not need to change who he was or dilute his message, because his consistency demonstrated his values and integrity. READ MORE Authentic: Mamdani did not seem fake, generic, awkward or detached. He came across as real. 'Outsiders', or just newcomers, are refreshing because they're novel. Voters want people they can relate to, who aren't focus-grouped into blandness, and who don't talk like ChatGPT. In contrast, the attacks against Mamdani were inauthentic, especially accusations of anti-Semitism, which he dismantled with patience and clarity. He also didn't shirk authentic emotion when expressing how upsetting the Islamophobic attacks on him were. Motivational: Mamdani's campaign was a masterclass in creativity, messaging, design, connection and energy. Above all, it was motivational. Motivational campaigning is about generating a sense of enthusiasm that tips over into inspiring people into active participation. In practical terms, he motivated tens of thousands of canvassers to knock on more than a million doors. Contemporary campaigning must nail both digital and old-school strategies. Mamdani's communication on social media was natural, and not forced or cringeworthy. But what was phenomenal was his campaign's capacity to build a highly-organised grassroots movement that was documented and broadcast online. This feedback loop built a motivational story. When you're seeing a compelling story unfold through your phone, when you're feeling momentum grow in a way that feels inspiring, you're more likely to get involved. When campaigns become movements, they take on an energy of their own. Everyone who participated in this grassroots movement can rightly claim to be part of the story. Positive: Positive campaigning isn't just about channelling a vibe or a message, it must be a demonstration. Mamdani didn't attack competitors with shared values. In fact, he moved to endorse them. This was mature, pragmatic and refreshing. A standout demonstration of positivity was collaborating with his competitor, Brad Lander. Left-wing unity over left-wing purity tests wins every time. Andrew Cuomo ran a negative, low-energy, entitled and fear-based campaign, gifting Mamdani the contrast of positivity. Mamdani constantly foregrounded people power. Simple: Simplicity is about policy. Mamdani's policies were easy to understand and memorable. He campaigned on affordability and the cost of living. His platform was simple: New York is too expensive; here are some policies that will lower costs and make life easier. His policies were tangible: city-owned stores to lower the cost of groceries; free buses (the majority of New Yorkers don't own cars); rent freezes for up to one million people; tripling the number of affordable housing units; free childcare. To fund much of this, he plans to raise corporate tax to 11.5 per cent, along with a millionaire tax of 2 per cent on the wealthiest 1 per cent. The latter drives many rich people crazy of course, but that doesn't matter in campaigning terms when you're drawing votes from the unaffected 99 per cent. [ 'The capital of capitalism': New York's old brigade plot how to stop the rise of Zohran Mamdani Opens in new window ] Ultimately, the so-called conventional wisdom collapsed. He has shown that money doesn't necessarily win campaigns; the billionaire class can be beaten; young people will get involved and vote when they're inspired; name recognition and dynastic power doesn't always matter, and scare tactics can fail. Traditional media narratives urging the status quo be maintained were ineffective because traditional media is no longer hegemonic, and most people under 40 get their information and analysis from ideologically partisan alternative media, which has become the new mainstream. [ Finn McRedmond: Ireland needs its own Joe Rogan, someone to question liberal orthodoxies Opens in new window ] The Democratic Party now has a choice. It can continue to double down on failed strategy, or take notes. Meek centrism cannot movement-build, coalition-build or counter right-wing authoritarianism. It can't engage working-class people and young people. That's just not a compelling story to tell or sell. What can be a compelling story is left-wing populism rooted in economic justice and communicated by interesting candidates.
Irish Times
16 hours ago
- Irish Times
US Congress races to meet Trump's ‘big beautiful Bill' deadline
The Republican-controlled US Senate advanced President Donald Trump's package of tax breaks, spending cuts and increased deportation money on Saturday, with more work ahead as the US Congress races to meet his July 4th deadline for passage. By a 51-49 tally, and with vice-president JD Vance at Capitol Hill to break a potential tie, the senate cleared a key procedural step on Saturday as midnight approached. Voting had come to a standstill, dragging on for more than three hours, with holdout senators huddling for negotiations and taking private meetings off the Senate floor. In the end, two Republicans opposed the motion to move ahead on Mr Trump's signature domestic policy plan, joining all 47 Democrats. READ MORE 'Tonight we saw a GREAT VICTORY in the Senate,' said Mr Trump in a social media post afterwards. Republicans are using their majorities in congress to push aside Democratic opposition, but they have run into several political and policy setbacks. Not all Republicans are on board with proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programmes as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks. Mr Trump had threatened to campaign against one Republican, Senator Thom Tillis, who had announced he could not support the Bill because of Medicaid cuts that he worried would leave many without healthcare in his state. 'Daddy' Trump meets Nato, while defence, trade and Gaza dominate EU summit Listen | 44:28 A fresh analysis from the non-partisan congressional budget office indicated that the senate version of the Bill would increase by 11.8 million the number of people without health insurance in 2034. Mr Tillis and Senator Rand Paul voted no. Renewed pressure to oppose the 940-page Bill came from billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who called it 'utterly insane and destructive'. If senators can pass the Bill, it would return to the House for a final round of votes before it could reach the White House. With the narrow Republican majorities in congress and the senate, leaders need almost every politician on board. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Republicans released the Bill 'in the dead of night' on Friday and were rushing through before the public knew fully what was in it. [ Trump 'terminating' US-Canada trade talks over 'egregious' tax on tech firms Opens in new window ] He forced a full reading of the text that began late on Saturday and continued into the following morning. At its core, the legislation would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Mr Trump's first term that would otherwise expire by year's end if congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The Bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion (€300 billion) to national security, including for Mr Trump's mass deportation agenda. But the cutbacks to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy investments are also causing dissent within Republican ranks. Senator Ron Wyden said the environmental rollbacks would amount to a 'death sentence' for America's wind and solar industries. – AP
Irish Times
20 hours ago
- Irish Times
Donald Trump has discovered that Iran's supreme leader lies just as boldly as he does
Donald Trump has finally met his match. The Iranian supreme leader lies just as boldly, with just as much bombast, as the American supreme leader. On Thursday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei put out a video hailing Iran's victory over Israel and the United States. Trump was shocked, shocked at this blatant lie. READ MORE 'As a man of great faith, he is not supposed to lie,' the president marvelled on Truth Social. Then Trump went on to his usual authoritarian etiquette lesson, complaining that the proper response by Khamenei to getting hit with 14 30,000-pound bombs should have been: 'THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!' Trump said that he deserved gratitude because he knew where the ayatollah was hiding and stopped Israeli and US forces from killing him. He said that he made Israel recall a group of planes headed for Tehran that were, perhaps, looking for 'the final knockout!' 'I wish the leadership of Iran would realise,' he tut-tutted, 'that you often get more with HONEY than you do with VINEGAR. PEACE!!!' Half an hour later, Mr Honey put out a typically vinegary post abruptly cutting off 'ALL' trade talks with Canada. Before Trump did it, with an assist from the supreme court on Friday, it was Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld who worked to erode checks and balances and Hoover all the power into the executive branch. With the malleable George W Bush in the Oval Office, Cheney and Rumsfeld were able to create an alternate universe where they were never wrong – because they conjured up information to prove they were right. The two malevolent regents had a fever about getting rid of Saddam, so they hyped up intelligence, redirecting Americans' vengeful emotions about Osama bin Laden and 9/11 into that pet project. Tony Blair scaremongered that it would take only 45 minutes for Saddam to send his WMDs westward. But there were no WMDs. When it comes to the Middle East, presidents can't resist indulging in a gasconade. Unlike Iraq, Iran was actually making progress on its nuclear programme. Trump did not need to warp intelligence to justify his decision. But he did anyway, to satisfy his unquenchable ego. He bragged that the strikes had 'OBLITERATED' Iran's nuclear capabilities. 'I just don't think the president was telling the truth,' Connecticut Democratic senator Chris Murphy told reporters. He believes Iran still has 'significant remaining capability'. When CNN's Natasha Bertrand and her colleagues broke the story that a preliminary classified US report suggested that the strikes had set back Iran by only a few months, Trump, Pete Hegseth and Karoline Leavitt smeared her and the New York Times, which confirmed her scoop, as inaccurate, unpatriotic and disrespectful to our military. On Friday afternoon, CNN revealed that the military did not even use bunker-buster bombs on one of Iran's largest nuclear targets because it was too deep. Though Trump likes to hug the flag – and just raised two huge ones on the White House North and South Lawns – he ignores a basic tenet of patriotism: It is patriotic to tell the public the truth on life-or-death matters, and for the press to challenge power. It is unpatriotic to mislead the public in order to control it and suppress dissent, or as a way of puffing up your own ego. Although he was dubbed the 'Daddy' of Nato in The Hague on Wednesday, Trump clearly has daddy issues. (Pass the tissues!) He did not get the affirmation from his father that could have prevented this vainglorious vamping. For Trump, it was not enough for the strikes to damage Iran's nuclear capabilities; they had to 'obliterate' them. It could not simply be an impressive mission; it had to be, as Hegseth said, 'the most complex and secretive military operation in history.' (Move over, D-Day and crossing the Delaware.) The president was so eager to magnify the mission that he eerily compared it to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Trump has always believed in 'truthful hyperbole,' as he called it in The Art of the Deal. But now it's untruthful hyperbole. He has falsely claimed that an election was stolen and falsely claimed that $1.7 trillion in cuts to the social safety net in his Big, Unpopular Bill 'won't affect anybody; it is just fraud, waste and abuse'. He's getting help on his alternate universe from all the new partisan reporters in the White House briefing room who are eager to shill for him. 'So many Americans still have questions about the 2020 election,' a reporter told Trump at the news conference on Friday, wondering if he would appoint someone at the Justice Department to investigate judges 'for the political persecution of you, your family and your supporters during the Biden administration?' Trump beamed. 'I love you,' he said to the young woman. 'Who are you?' She was, as it turned out, the reporter for Mike Lindell of MyPillow fame, who has his own 'news' network. Talk about fluffing your pillows. This article originally appeared in The New York Times .
