Alex Wagner made at least one good point amidst all the chatter about some Democrats raising doubts about whether President Joe Biden should seek re-election.
She referenced a CNN report that fake electors from seven battleground states will be delegates to next week’s Republican National Convention, including three fake electors from Arizona who had to get a judge’s permission to travel out of state because they are under indictment for their alleged role in the scheme to overturn the 2020 election results.
And she said that “very much makes sense“ because Republicans are about to choose “a man with 34 felony convictions to be their presidential nominee — the first felon in American history to be leading one of the nation’s major political parties. That is where the Republican Party is at right now.”
“Despite the impression you may have over the last few weeks, very few people have forgotten that fact. Even amid the ongoing debate over President Biden’s age and his fitness for another four years in office. It is why everywhere you look there are voters saying things like this.
And then there were sound bites from three voters with a chyron reading: “Some people adamant they will not vote for Trump.”
And just how adamant were they? Very adamant.
Middle-aged Black woman: “I’d vote for two dead flies with the wings pulled off over Trump. I’d vote for Darth Vader over Trump. That’s how I feel about it . That man is going to be the ruination of this country, He’ll be the ruination of this world.”
Young Black woman: “My option is Joe Biden — old or not. I don’t care if he’s in a %$%@%% casket — dead. I’m still going to vote for him.”
Older while male: “If it’s a Biden and Trump race then I would vote for Biden even if he was dead. I’m a Republican.”
These quotes come after the 7-minute mark.
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And Wagner emphasized that polling data shows that such sentiments “are not just anecdotal” and “are widely shared,” according to polling results.
She cited an NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll that was published Friday, but conducted among registered voters on July 9-10 before Biden’s post-NATO Summit news conference on Thursday and his energetic rally in Detroit on Friday. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
The poll found that the presidential race was very much “up for grabs.”
Here are the main conclusions of the poll:
With just days to go before the start of the Republican National Convention, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump continue to be closely matched among registered voters in both a head-to-head matchup and a multicandidate field. Biden’s support remains relatively unchanged from last month despite the view of many Americans that he lacks the mental fitness to serve as president. However, Biden outperforms Trump on whether either candidate has the character to be President of the United States, and by more than two to one, Americans are more concerned about a president who lies than they are about someone who is too old to serve. Both candidates remain flawed in the eyes of Americans, and majorities say neither should be on the ballot. Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, and Gretchen Whitmer do not improve the Democrats’ chances against Trump.
The poll found that nearly two in three Americans (64%),do not think Biden has the mental fitness to serve as president. compared to 35% who do. But remarkably, despite such misgivings, Biden led Trump by two percentage points, 50% to 48% when asked which candidate they would support in November in a two-way race.
“So if that poll is correct there are a significant number of people who do not think that Joe Biden is mentally fit to be president but plan to vote for him anyway because they would vote for literally anyone over Donald trump — dead or alive, mammal or insect.”
And that’s all the more reason for Democrats to stop panicking because it makes absolutely no sense to change candidates at this point. No other potential candidate does any better than Biden, and there’s time with a more aggressive campaign to accentuate Biden’s positives along with Trump’s negatives.
And just to lighten the mood this weekend, here’s a challenge. Just fill in the blank in the following sentence:
“I would vote for ________________ over Donald Trump.”