Joe Biden put out a new ad that argues he has the best change to beat President Trump in the general election.
Said Biden: “This is no time to take a risk. We need our strongest candidate. So let’s nominate the Democrat Trump fears the most. Vote Biden. Beat Trump.”
Former Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) endorsed Joe Biden’s presidential bid Wednesday, saying the former vice president has the ability to win swing states President Trump won in 2016, CNN reports.
“Joe Biden lobbed fresh accusations at Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday, digging in on attacks that she’s an ‘elitist’ and escalating tensions between the two Democratic primary frontrunners,” Politico reports.
“Biden built on an inflammatory Medium post he published Tuesday, in which he wrote, ‘Some call it the ‘my way or the highway’ approach to politics. But it’s worse than that. It’s condescending to the millions of Democrats who have a different view.'”
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Joe Biden was denied Holy Communion on Sunday morning at a South Carolina church, the South Carolina Morning News reports.
“Father Robert Morey of Saint Anthony Catholic Church confirmed Monday afternoon that he had denied the presidential candidate Holy Communion because of his stance on abortion. Biden, a lifelong Catholic, had attended the church’s 9 a.m. Mass.”
Daily Beast: “Indicted Ukrainian gas oligarch Dmytro Firtash spent more than $1 million hiring key figures in Republican efforts to investigate the Biden family.”
“But the two men have a history. Two Ukrainian gas industry experts say the gas-market reforms pushed by Biden and others in 2014 and 2015 hit Firtash in the wallet, and badly. One knowledgeable outside observer estimated that the 2014 and 2015 gas reforms and legislation cost him hundreds of millions of dollars.”
President Trump told reporters that China should launch an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden, though he noted that hasn’t yet asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to do so, Axios reports.
The statement came as Trump was asked once again what he hoped Ukraine President Zelensky would do about the Bidens when they spoke on their now infamous phone call in July.
Said Trump: “Well I would think if they were honest about it, they would start a major investigation into the Bidens. It’s a very simple answer. They should investigate the Bidens. How does a company newly formed and all these companies — by the way, likewise, China should start an investigation into the Bidens. Because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine.”
He continued: “So I would say that President Zelensky, if it were me, I would recommend that they start an investigation into the Bidens. Because nobody has any doubt that they weren’t crooked. That was a crooked deal 100%.”
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) “flipped his support from Julián Castro to Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, saying now is the time to narrow the 2020 field and unite as Democrats,” CNN reports.
“The switch of support comes days after Castro sharply criticized Biden — with an apparent jab at the former vice president’s memory — in a contentious moment dubbed ‘personal’ and ‘not cool’ by other candidates, but Gonzalez said that debate moment was not the reason behind his decision.”
Joe Biden’s campaign told the Washington Post that the former Vice President misspoke by saying that he declared his opposition to the Iraq war immediately.
Said adviser Antony Blinken: “He opposed the way we went to war and the way the war was being carried out. He has for many years called his vote a mistake and takes full responsibility for it.”
“Joe Biden is flooding Iowa with more organizers than any of his rivals. He’s spending big on TV ads highlighting his personal tragedies. And he’s wooing former supporters of Bernie Sanders to tout his progressive bonafides,” McClatchy reports.
“Five months out from the start the 2020 Democratic primaries, the former vice president is attempting to lock down his softest support in the early voting states as quickly as possible as he braces for a fluid fall campaign. Biden’s consistently led in most polls, but his campaign is already tamping down expectations in Iowa and New Hampshire as local Democrats warn that he is falling behind other candidates in organizing.”
Alexander Agadjanian, a researcher at MIT Election Lab, finds Joe Biden has a huge advantage not only among black voters but also those high in anti-black prejudice.
“There has been endless debate in Democratic circles, much of it fuzzy, over ‘electability’ — policies aside, which candidate is best equipped to take on and beat President Trump? But the counterintuitive feat Biden has achieved, as reflected in this data, might hint at the possibility of an effective general-election strategy: appealing to African Americans, a core Democratic base, while also stemming if not recouping losses from racially resentful voters who fled the Democratic Party in 2016.”
“There are limits to this strategy, however, given that prejudice does not abound among Democrats.”
Jonathan Bernstein: “We must be getting closer to the primaries and caucuses, because Joe Biden’s team on Tuesday began the job of lowering expectations. They’re now making the case that the former vice president could still take the nomination even if he doesn’t win in either Iowa or New Hampshire.”
“As Steve Kornacki correctly says, no one has actually done this since the modern nomination system began in 1972. (And as Kornacki adds, Bill Clinton in 1992 doesn’t count because all the other candidates conceded Iowa to home-state Senator Tom Harkin.)”
“It’s not just that failing to win would hurt Biden; it’s that failing to win would mean someone else won, and that candidate might be well positioned to capitalize on an early victory.”
“Plus, spin only gets you so far. If Biden can’t win, then one of his big supposed advantages – his appeal to voters – will be less credible. Moreover, at this point Biden is thought by most to be the front-runner, and that could make even a strong second-place finish seem disappointing. That means the news about Biden could be quite negative until he manages to win somewhere, especially if party actors turn against him or rally to another candidate. At this point, Biden has the most party endorsements in the race. But his lead could disappear quickly if he loses twice early on.”
Joe Biden pushed back on a report in the Washington Post that he recently told an inaccurate story in New Hampshire about traveling to Afghanistan to reward a heroic Navy captain, the Charleston Post & Courier reports.
Said Biden: “The story was that he refused the medal because the fella he tried to save —and risked his life saving — died. That’s the beginning, middle and end. The rest of you guys can take it and do what you want with it.”
“We can’t just be a campaign about defeating President Trump. A simple campaign is not enough to beat him. It has to be a movement.”
— Joe Biden, quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
Joe Biden defends the Affordable Care Act in a new ad running in Iowa.
Said Biden: “Obamacare is personal to me. When I see the president try to tear down, and others propose to replace it and start over that’s personal to me too. We’ve got to build on what we did because every American deserves affordable health care.”
“Joe Biden’s younger brother told potential business partners that the former vice president would help their firm land business with court systems and would incorporate their health care model into his 2020 presidential campaign,” Politico reports.
“The allegations are consistent with others made over the years that relatives of Biden have sought to enrich themselves off of his public service. But they go further, representing the first explicit claims that James Biden offered to have the former vice president use his clout to further private business interests.
“The allegations come in sworn declarations made by executives at firms suing Biden’s brother that were filed in federal court on Friday. They do not allege any wrongdoing by Joe Biden or indicate that the former vice president had knowledge of his brother’s alleged promises.”
“Joe Biden is coasting in the national polls. Surveys show him ahead of his Democratic rivals in hypothetical matchups against President Trump. He has maintained a lead in Iowa all summer, despite facing months of controversies over his record and his campaign missteps,” the New York Times reports.
“But less than two weeks before Labor Day, when presidential campaigns traditionally kick into high gear, there are signs of a disconnect between his relatively rosy poll numbers and excitement for his campaign on the ground here, in the state that begins the presidential nominating process.”
“I am going to vote for the candidate who I am absolutely certain has a brain that is functioning. And that narrows it down to exactly one.”
— Dr. Neal Kassell, who performed surgery on Joe Biden three decades ago following two brain aneurysms, quoted by Politico.
Joe Biden is up with his first TV ad in Iowa, a 60-second spot that focused on his electability and his close ties to former President Barack Obama.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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