President Joe Biden took over an hour of the American citizens' time last night and reassured them. As much as many on the right would have liked President Biden to drool on his bib or call for a diaper change, he did not. He was boisterous; as a matter of fact, a CNN contributor complained he was too loud. He was quick on his feet and once again led more than one Republican into the trap of their own words. Marjorie Taylor Greene yelled from the gallery to say Laken Riley's name. Ms. Riley was tragically murdered, seemingly at the hands of an undocumented immigrant. Not only did Mr. Biden say her name, but he also held up a pin allegedly given to him by the Georgia rep. and used the incendiary language of the right, saying she was “killed by an illegal.” The encounter again proved that Republicans are not interested in taking yes for an answer as much as they exist spoiling for a fight.
Although the president brought up the man, whose name we dare not mention, at least thirteen times, he only referred to him as his “predecessor.” Instead of reliving the literal rise and fall of the Democrats in the chamber last night, whose applause punctuated Mr. Biden’s points and the constant sway of Republicans' heads as if they were at a tennis match, substance over style hopefully guides the election in November. Joe Biden defended his economic wins last night, but his predecessor would have you believe he had the best economy ever. Of course, one might argue that the predecessor saying his economy was the best ever is reminiscent of George W. Bush, who touted how he kept us safe from terrorism (except for that one time).
The ‘Predecessor’ is defended by supporters who blame COVID-19 for his downfall. There may be some validity to that argument, but is it not the job of the man we elect as president to steward the ship during a crisis? The death of Laken Riley and the deaths of service members during the withdrawal from Afghanistan was horrid. As crass as it is to start playing a game of one-upmanship with lives, over 400,000 Americans died as a result of the Predecessor's reaction to COVID-19. The Predecessor was neither ignorant nor helpless during the pandemic, as proven by his interviews and audio tapes from the Bob Woodward book Rage. “You just breathe the air, and that’s how it’s passed,”Trump told Woodward, “And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flu.”
Despite all the scientific evidence, the former president stood on podiums, telling us to introduce bleach internally. It only got worse. As the daily death tolls rose, instead of relying on science and doctors, he endorsed a medication for parasitic worms—primarily used to treat horses—and hydroxychloroquine, whose main uses are for lupus and malaria. I will break the no-name policy because his name appears on four indictments, including ninety-one counts. Donald Trump never claims he is innocent. He blames racist prosecutors, Trump haters, and unhinged opponents. One CNN Republican contributor, with no sense of irony, said he was disappointed that Mr. Biden never takes the blame for his policies. Thankfully, President Biden did not normalize his predecessor by giving the boilerplate speech the GOP had hoped for. He went after him with truths and facts, something the GOP has trouble grasping.
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