Biden just can’t stop stepping on his own good intentions

Anyone else ready for a time out for an important commercial message or a snack – because I’m worn out. 

Tuesday showed the tale of two presidents in its most condensed form.At the same time President Joe Biden walked into the White House’s Roosevelt room to address the stunning collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, former president Donald Trump sent an email to his followers cheering a court decision to lower a bond in a civil court case against his business.

“I will never surrender,” he said. “Now is the time to show the whole world we grow stronger than ever before.”

And then he asked for money.

Biden, meanwhile, was pledging federal funds to expedite the clearing of Baltimore Harbor and rebuilding the Key Bridge. “Fifteen thousand jobs depend on that port.  And we’re going to do everything we can to protect those jobs and help those workers,” Biden said.

Trump, as usual, was wrapped up in his own world, cheering his own luck and begging for more money for himself. He had no care for those whose jobs are in question because the port is now blocked. Trump never mentioned the billions of dollars the port brings into the economy. He never mentioned the 15,000 people directly and indirectly dependent on that port for employment. Trump never mentioned the vital role in travel the bridge serves because it supports 30,000 vehicles every day traveling up and down the Mid-Atlantic traffic corridor.

But Trump wants you to know he’s doing good – he just needs a little more money. 

He also sent out an email to his supporters asking them to send him love letters. “I will always love you,” Trump said in his letter before writing “If you feel the same way about me as I feel about you, I’d LOVE to read your letter.”

That’s right, Donald Trump wants you to write him love letters – and he says he’ll read them!

I’m sure he would. Wednesday he was Ryan O’Neal playing Moses Pray in “Paper Moon” trying to sell Trump Bibles to his minions. I half expected him to offer a gold embossed version or tell us for an extra five dollars you could buy an edition autographed by the author. “I sell the good book, ma’am. Just moving’ through the country with the lord’s good news,” said O’Neal as Pray. 

Meanwhile, mired in reality, Biden addressed protesters at an official White House event in Raleigh North Carolina Tuesday that looked suspiciously like a campaign stop. When a couple of pro-Palestinian protesters shouted, “What about Healthcare in Gaza?” Biden responded that everyone should have healthcare. When they shouted “Ceasefire now” as they were escorted from the event, Biden said, “They have a point.” That is perhaps the most direct evidence we’ve seen yet that Biden is frustrated with Israel’s prime minister. It would be nice if he were more blunt. But that’s reality.

Reality never intrudes into Donald Trump’s world, however. As of Wednesday, he still hadn’t addressed the Baltimore bridge collapse, even as Biden was all over it. 

“We’re with you,” Biden said to Baltimore. “It will take time to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge. . . we are not leaving until this job gets done,” he said.He pledged federal funds to clean up the “terrible accident” as expeditiously as possible, though it’s still unclear how long that will be.

Trump? “We were on the cusp of having Trump Tower taken away,” he said before he pilloried Biden, the media and everyone who didn’t and doesn’t support him.

Biden responded quickly to the accident, and in so doing he short-circuited misinformation about the Baltimore disaster that went viral. “Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident.  At this time, we have no other indication - no other reason to believe there was any intentional act here,” the president said.

That is the reassurance the country needs at a time when misinformation is rampant and everyone is an instant expert on everything. One tweet, for example, insinuated the cargo ship deliberately struck the Key Bridge. As speculations began to run wild and the nation started to panic, both the administration and professional journalists set the record straight. The ship had lost power. Those onboard had radioed a “Mayday”. The bridge was closed and lives were saved.

The incident shows how fragile our infrastructure is, and speaks to the need for absolute transparency on the problems we face. So, while the Biden administration gets points for talking about this problem while Trump sells Bibles, gold sneakers, and cologne and begs for money to pay his bills, it loses points for obfuscation, arrogance and elitism in dealing with them.

Trump’s daughter-in-law is using election denial as a litmus test for working at the RNC. That’s horrifying. Trump remains the greatest single threat to American democracy. He is a despot and demagogue. The Biden administration remains our best chance to keep our democracy, but it is in no way a stellar example of public service either.

Wednesday in the briefing room I asked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg a very simple question: When will the port in Baltimore re-open after the collapse of the Key bridge? We had already been told that the bridge, built 50 years ago, took five years to be constructed. He said it wouldn’t take that long to rebuild it. But he couldn’t say when the port would reopen. The collapse of the bridge and the closing of the port represent billions of dollars in economic impact. He wouldn’t even ballpark the re-opening of the port. “Days? Weeks? Months? Years?” I asked. He wouldn’t say.

The bridge is also inspected every year, and while the state conducts those inspections, as the Transportation secretary he should be well aware of the condition of the bridge after its last inspection, but would not address that in the briefing. He did say it wasn’t on a priority list for reconstruction – before the accident, but he simply referred me to the state for a report I’ve already seen and he should be aware of. That’s not reassuring.

That’s why communication problems continue to plague the Biden White House. On background, many members of the administration have expressed their exasperation with the administration’s inability to be upfront with the American voter. It’s not that they lie, it’s that they simply sidestep addressing major issues and do a poor job dealing with the press on them.

Trump? He has no clue what’s going on, but his declarations are simple and direct. They’re also full of deception, but they sound good to his minions.

The Biden administration just can’t stop stepping on its own good intentions.

On another issue, the war in Gaza has been extremely frustrating for the president. We in the press constantly ask about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s desire to invade Rafah and the president’s opposition to it. “Are we losing influence?” We ask. The administration, through its various mouthpieces, always says our policy toward Israel hasn’t changed and sometimes friends disagree, and “we’re talking about it.” Why don’t they just say, “Hey, Israel hasn’t invaded yet have they? I guess we do still have some influence.”

Nuance is everything, and we don’t ask the right questions in the press about the nuance, and the administration doesn’t supply answers either.

Everyone knows that Biden is angry with Netanyahu. How could he not be? Even members of Biden’s administration call the prime minister a lying con artist and “Israel’s Donald Trump.” We also know our policy has not changed with Israel. But we also know our tone has changed. Simply saying that from the podium, bluntly, would benefit the president greatly – especially among those who call Biden “Genocide Joe.”

The Biden administration’s inability to be confrontational is costing it among those in the swing states who might otherwise vote for him this fall.

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There is no comparison between Biden’s re-election staff and Trump’s. Trump, especially in the swing states, relies on elected officials who support him for infrastructure. Biden has actually built a far larger team, is better funded and has a better message – but they can’t communicate and remain nearly dysfunctional – particularly the advance team. Trump can rely on his big mouth. Biden is relying on his actions with less enthusiasm and bombast, while facing an electorate that has trouble understanding nuance. I feel like Sam Kinison. I just want to shout to the president, “Say it! Say IT!”

But the last few days, as busy as they’ve been, should show anyone who isn’t in a coma the differences we face in this country between Biden and Trump. If you want to accuse Biden of mediocrity, then fine. I’ll listen.

However, if you want to argue Trump is a better choice, I’ll remind you that on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after getting hit with a partial gag order in the New York criminal case involving his alleged business fraud, Trump lashed out against the one person not covered in the gag order – the judge.

He’s running for president. Did he talk about Gaza? Yemen? Ukraine? Putin? Nope. Did he discuss the billion dollar implication of the collapse of the bridge in Baltimore – or more importantly the six people known to have died? Not a word.

No, the man who would be despot was busy attacking Judge Juan Merchan – accusing the judge of violating Trump’s First Amendment rights while simultaneously attacking the judge’s daughter.

That’s the guy who wants to get another chance at the White House.

Meanwhile Biden is dealing with the issues that matter, but can’t, for the life of him, communicate his actions effectively enough to prevent people from believing he’s suffering from dementia (a question Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took in an interview Tuesday) and that his administration is both criminal and inept.

Yeah. I need a break for this important commercial message – and a chance to hydrate.