Background Briefing: July 7, 2024
Should Biden Follow the Example of George Washington?
We begin with President Biden’s defiance in the face of mounting calls from Democratic donors and House and Senate members for him to step down as more and more talk of getting behind VP Kamala Harris to run against Trump is emerging from the punditry and the party. Joining us is Rick Perlstein, the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan, Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America and Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus. He is currently a contributing editor and board member of In These Times magazine, and his latest book is Reaganland: America’s Right Turn 1976-1980 and he is also a contributor to The American Prospect where his latest article is, “Say It Ain’t So, Joe: With democracy itself on the ballot, a statesman with character would know when to let go of power” which we discuss.
The Washington Gerontocracy
Then we look into why the White House Press Corps seem to have missed signs of Biden’s frailty on display in the recent disastrous debate with Trump, due in part to how Biden’s press spokespeople kept shutting down any mention of the president’s age. Joining us is Andrew Feinberg, a reporter covering the White House and Congress for The Independent where his latest article is “Biden defiant on key campaign day as pressure to withdraw keeps building.”
Will a Fresh Face Bring Back Younger Democratic Voters?
Then finally we speak with David Schultz a Professor of Political Science at Hamline University and University of Minnesota School of Law. He is the author of 30 books and various articles on American politics, ethics, election law, and the media, most recently Presidential Swing States: Why Only Ten Matter, Election Law and Democratic Theory, and American Politics in the Age of Ignorance: Why Lawmakers Choose Belief Over Research. His latest book is Generational Politics in the United States From the Silents to Gen Z and Beyond and we assess a further loss of votes for Biden from an important constituency as the Democratic Party appears increasingly like a gerontocracy to young Americans.