Donald Trump speaking

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been running a distant second to Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination contest, and even dropping in the polls, for some time. Perhaps that is because DeSantis has chosen to spend his time going after the Walt Disney Company and LGBTQ people. Or perhaps DeSantis has not gained ground on Trump because his criticisms of Trump have been rather tepid. It is almost as if DeSantis was hoping that Democratic attacks on Donald Trump would be enough. The Republican polls, however, indicate that is not the case.

For years, Democrats have observed that Trump is in physical or cognitive decline. This includes his difficulties walking down a ramp, problems drinking water, sniffing, and slurring his words. (As to the latter two, some have speculated that Trump takes too much Adderall, and that he may even have a prosthesis in his palate to cover damage from years of snorting Adderall or cocaine.) In recent speeches, Trump has also appeared confused, even stating that he ran against Barack Obama in 2016 (hint: it was Hillary Clinton), and that President Joe Biden might start “World War Two” (spoiler alert: that war ended when Biden was not even three years old).

Now, finally, Ron DeSantis may be shifting his strategy to tell voters about some of these apparent difficulties for Trump. Specifically, at a New Hampshire campaign event on Tuesday, DeSantis said of Trump:

… [H]e is wedded to the teleprompter. He can’t get off that teleprompter, any time he does, he says things like ‘Don’t vote.’

DeSantis went on to say:

And so I think that it’s just shown this is a different Donald Trump in 2015 and 16. Lost the zip on his fastball, ….

It’s a pretty mild attack compared to everything that DeSantis could say about Trump, but at least he is opening this door a crack. Perhaps DeSantis will be emboldened to go further, especially if he does not otherwise gain ground on Trump in the polls. Note that Chris Christie, another 2024 Republican presidential candidate, also attacks Trump, although more on Trump’s policy failures and inaction rather than physical or cognitive problems.

When it comes to Republican ads for the 2024 elections, we know the GOP, in order to create a false impression, won’t be shy about using video of President Biden tripping on stairs or stuttering. By the same token, Democrats should make full use of Donald Trump’s increasing number of apparent physical and cognitive issues to bolster an impression that seems increasingly true.

Photo by Evan Guest, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/uHekNJ

President Biden may have just saved the country

With the U.S. House of Representatives having passed a bill on Wednesday night to suspend the nation’s debt ceiling, and the U.S. Senate passing the bill late last night, it is now all but certain that a historic Republican-caused default on the U.S. debt has been averted. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill at any time, and to address the nation this evening. While there is plenty of credit to go around, President Biden deserves the most praise for the extreme competence, professionalism and political savvy with which he has handled the issue.

Here is Biden’s statement after Wednesday’sj House vote, with emphasis added:

Tonight, the House took a critical step forward to prevent a first-ever default and protect our country’s hard-earned and historic economic recovery. This budget agreement is a bipartisan compromise. Neither side got everything it wanted. That’s the responsibility of governing. I want to thank Speaker McCarthy and his team for negotiating in good faith, as well as Leader Jeffries for his leadership.
This agreement is good news for the American people and the American economy. It protects key priorities and accomplishments from the past two years, including historic investments that are creating good jobs across the country. And, it honors my commitment to safeguard Americans’ health care and protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. It protects critical programs that millions of hardworking families, students, and veterans count on.