Biden Can’t See Why America Is in Trouble
Democrats and Republicans agree that democracy is in danger. But they’d rather insult each other than do anything about it.
A typical Biden performance, which is not a compliment.
Photographer: Alex Wong/Getty Images North AmericaPresident Joe Biden is right that American democracy is under threat. Unfortunately, he seems not to know why, or what to do about it.
The president’s prime-time speech on Thursday was a typical Biden performance — rambling repetition, theatrical intensity, all soul-baring emphasis and next to no content. At least it was brief. And, to be fair, Biden did modify his recent line of attack on his opponents, declining to call them “semi-fascists” and graciously noting that not all Republicans (“not even the majority of Republicans”) are in fact enemies of democracy. The threat, he said, resides with MAGA Republicans, presumably a smaller group, but not one he defined. If it means those who say they’d prefer Donald Trump to Biden in 2024, that’s almost half the country.