Last night President Biden gave a speech in Detroit, Michigan. The image above is a screenshot from MSNBC via Youtube. The MSNBC blurb is:
Watch live coverage of President Biden speaking at a Detroit campaign event to rally supporters and address growing fears that he is not up to the job of running for reelection. The presumptive — but still-not-official — nominee is trying to shift the narrative as calls grow for him to step aside in favor of a younger candidate.
The media narrative is still that Biden must go. The most effective rebuttal is to watch the video.
Yes Biden makes a few stumbles and pauses at times — but he’s always had to work at speechifying. He may use some phrases over and over, but they are how he emphasizes what follows. When Biden says “By the way” or “I’m not joking”. that’s his way of signaling he’s about to make a point he thinks needs to be emphasized, that have been overlooked.
Last night he was on fire, and the crowd was full of energy in response, with chants of “We’ve got your back”, “Don’t Go Joe”, and “Four More Years!” When Trump came up, the crowd started “Lock him up!”
Watch the video to see the energy on display. Biden is engaged with the crowd and responds to what’s going on. He lays out the case for his election and his agenda — and he doesn’t shy away from talking about the felon running against him, Project 2025, the one-sided coverage he’s been getting from the press, and how they’ve been giving Trump a free pass while they hammer on him.
All in all, it was a speech with a lot of substance in it. President Biden made sure to lay out what the stakes are and how critical the choice is. Towards the end of the speech, he made a point that it’s not enough to be against something — you also have to be for something and he laid out his agenda.
Skip to 34 minutes in the video to hear what Biden is promising to work on in the first 100 days of his second term, and the crowd response:
- Roe v. Wade — make it the law of the land
- Sign the John L. Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act
- Stop cuts to Social Security and Medicare — expand and strengthen them instead
- Do it by making the rich pay their fair share
- Tackle medical debt — find ways to alleviate it
- Raise the minimum wage
- Pass the PRO Act to end union busting
- Ban assault weapons
- Keep leading the world on climate and clean energy
- Make the American Rescue Plan aid to families that reduced child poverty permanent
- Bring prices down on drugs, including cancer drugs, and cap costs — for everyone, not just seniors
- Make housing affordable, go after corporate gougers on rent
- No tax increases for anyone making less than $400,000 a year
- Raise the tax rate on billionaires from 8.2% to a minimum tax of 25%
- Secure the southern border — reminding it was Trump and the GOP who blocked action
- Create pathways for dreamers, half a million spouses married to American citizens will get green cards
- Trickle down economics are over: fair shot, leave no one behind, an economy that works for the American people.
Here’s some key soundbites from the end.
Here's what I know:
I know how to tell the truth.
I know right from wrong.
I know how to do this job.
I know Americans want a president, not a dictator.
And I also know no American president would be Putin’s puppy like this guy is.
The walk off music is “I won’t back down.”
Watch the whole thing.
You will not get any indication of how strong this performance was and how it was received from the media, which is still pushing the message that Biden must step down. The * %*%$## NY Times barely mentioned anything about Biden’s second term agenda, and what it did mention, it dismissed.
Overall they ignored what Biden had to say and the crowd response other dismissing it as fiery and defiant. They continue to cite “the polls” as showing Biden falling behind — which is actually not the case. Depending on where you look and who you believe, you can find polls where Biden (and Harris) are down, are even, are ahead, or are mixed.
Biden made specific mention of the way the media jumped all over his mixing the name of Harris with Trump at the press conference on NATO — while forgetting how Trump has mixed up Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi. Last night’s performance by Biden was powerful — but we also know the media sharks will be watching his further rallies waiting for any stumbles to pounce on and amplify.
The Republican Convention is about to start in one of Trump’s favorite cities, “Horrible” Milwaukee. It will be interesting to see how the press spins that, and if the MAGA Party and Trump can control themselves when the spotlight is back on them.
Fingers crossed — but if Biden can keep doing what he did in Detroit, I feel a bit better. IF we can take back the House and keep the Senate I’ll feel even better — then maybe we can get this agenda through AND do something about the Extreme Court which will use the power it grabbed to block it.
Let’s finish the job.