CB and I didn’t even talk about it beforehand, but we were both live-tweeting Joe Biden’s townhall last night on ABC. It was really good! I’ll be honest, I’ve known for four years that I would vote for whoever got the Democratic nomination, so I haven’t really fussed over (what I see as) the smaller issues or gaffes or whatever. So I came into the Biden townhall having not listened to his speeches much in recent months. I was impressed! He was sharp as a tack, at times bordering on “mind-numbingly wonky” in that lovely way Obama had too. Joe was folksy, compassionate, decent, genuine and just… trustworthy. Which brings me to this tweet from Mercedes Schlapp, the senior advisor to the Trump-Pence campaign:
Well @JoeBiden @ABCPolitics townhall feels like I am watching an episode of Mister Rodgers Neighborhood. https://t.co/bC8fIZPxHR
— Mercedes Schlapp (@mercedesschlapp) October 16, 2020
Imagine thinking this is some kind of insult. Imagine thinking “you know who people hate? Mr. Rogers.” And if Joe Biden reminded you of Mr. Rogers, that’s a compliment to Joe. Mr. Rogers was the biggest mensch in the world.
So, yeah. Please vote! Make a plan to vote, if you haven’t already. I genuinely wept last night when I thought about how amazing it would be to have a nice president with compassion, nuance and thoughtfulness.
This was one of my favorite moments – Biden talking foreign policy. We haven’t talked enough about foreign policy during the election, and I loved Biden’s full-on RANT.
Biden talks about the Supreme Court. They’ll say he’s dodging the question, but I think he’s just leaving himself room to maneuver once everything shakes out.
This was the question about the 1994 Crime Bill and he said he regretted it, and he talked a lot about community policing and how modern policing needs to be changed.
And here are the clips about the pandemic and vaccines.
Biden stayed after the townhall was “done” so he could keep talking to the people.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
OMG that Trump voter! “it’s a modern day miracle”, I’m dying. Did you see the expression on Biden’s face while that dude was talking? I laughed. And then the expression on the trump dude’s face while Biden talked about Trump’s so-called “foreign policy”.
That was awesome.
As soon as that guy started talking, I instantly disliked him – he was so pompous in such a short amount of time! And clearly a Trumper, who withered as Biden was like “um, no, not so much” with good foreign policy. I thought Biden’s answer on that was excellent.
Biden was unbelievably detailed in his answer. He’s extremely knowledgeable and thoughtful…can’t wait, can’t wait!
We need wonkiness in the top levels of our government so that it actually works for us. Trump has decimated the agencies; anyone who has tried to deal with Social Security, Medicare, the VA, the IRS has seen the damage he has done. Not only is Trump not wonky, his advisers are also clueless. Wonky Biden can fix what Trump broke. And, yes. 77 year old Joe Biden is handsome and hot.
I never saw that, but I’ll tell you his son Hunter is hot. Hot in that “well, I’m not gonna tell my friends about this” way.
Joe was very good looking back in his day. Both of his sons are/were too. The more I learn about Beau, the more I think he would have followed in his father’s footsteps and been a POTUS candidate someday, had he sadly not passed away.
Joe Biden’s decency and kindness make him super attractive in my book.
His kindness shows and his genuine smile twinkles out of his eyes. That is attractive.
He has aged very well. This is a man who has had unimaginable tragedy but he kept going forward. He is surrounded by a loving family and friends who adore him and it shows in his face. The contrast between him and you know who is stark.
And all the Trumpers are loosing their minds of the badgering of poor Trump by a Savannah. No matter badgering everyone and anyone is the only form of engagement with people for Trump. How dares a woman demand a man to actually answer her questions. I am surprised he did not yet call her a nasty woman.
Omg, the Trumpeteers on Twitter following Biden’s Town Hall were relentless in their Guthrie-bashing. Whining in whiney-ass voices about how evil she was, how she wouldn’t let him answer a question at all. My favorite response was that a Lying Liar who Lies deserves to be interrupted and called out. Trump deflected wherever he could, and Savannah was on it. (Personally I watched Biden and only about half of Trump’s, which I taped.)
My favorite part of Biden’s Town Hall was his thoughtful answer to the woman who had two daughters, one of them transgender. Favorite Twitter comment was a person saying Biden’s answers felt like a “balm covering our wounds.” Finally we got to hear someone who sounded intelligent and presidential after four years of hate-spew.
Per Twitter, the hard questions that Guthrie asked T*rump:
When did you get sick
Should you wear a mask
Do you believe in herd immunity
Why share a Bin Laden conspiracy
Do you denounce QAnon
Will you accept losing
Super super hard and unfair.
The man is the freaking commander in chief and he whines like a toddler.
His answer on trans rights question came across as informed and super genuine, despite his slightly outdated language. I was glad to see people weren’t jumping down his throat on that because it’s clear he’s a guy on the right side of the issues, even if his take was a little olde-timey in its verbage.
His cult coddles him, they think he’s such a tough guy yet he crumbles under questioning from a journalist? What a wuss. He’s POTUS, he should answer every question thrown at him and more.
Bullies aren’t tough. They are cowards who use attack as a defense mechanism.
I bet the rotting orange regrets having that town hall on NBC. After all his #1 fan, Matt Lauer, isn’t there anymore. Should have went to Faux News, where sane people don’t go.
thank God NBCs Chuck Todd wasn’t given the job. He would have let Trump’s answers (lies) go unchallenged. I was never a Savannah Guthrie fan but she did way better at that it sounds like than Chris Wallace and before this I would have thought it would be the other way around. I just watched Biden myself and it was so nice to watch politics with my blood pressure at a normal rate for once, I can’t tell you!
I watched Joe’s townhall- I was nervous at first. I can’t tell you how much peace I had listening to this intelligent and thoughtful man.
On commercials I flipped to Trump’s townhall and watched his tense and usual unhinged blather. Please God- let people see. He is a menace to society.
It’s like two different planets. I just don’t get how anyone can prefer the crazy guy, but I think Kaiser is right, some people just love the show. they can’t want to see what happens next. What will crazy guy with the nuke codes do today!? Tune in and find out. It’s so sick.
45 never has anything new to say anyway. I flipped over once in the commercials and could tell it was adding absolutely nothing to the discourse.
Biden showed us last night that he can and will make America respected and respectable again. I cannot wait to vote for him today.
And I also think it helps that he was VP and a Senator – he already has a relationship with many leaders in the world – so its not starting from scratch. People in other countries already trust him.
Totally agree. He’s the uniquely right person for this moment in time, post a disaster like the Trump administration. He wasn’t just VP, Obama grew to deeply respect and trust him, and it sounds like Biden was more familiar with what being President entails than most VPs have been. Then there’s his years in Congress…he knows how everything works.
I believe when he was a Senator he was on the Foreign Relations committee for a long time too. I definitely think (hope) that our allies and others do respect Biden, and he can repair a lot of the fractures.
I’m sure he has a lot of people ready to start day 1, to fill all the vacant positions our government has had under Trump, and to replace all the incompetent/evil people running things at the moment. I hope we have a Blue Senate and everyone gets confirmed fast so they can get to work. People like Betsy DeVos have done so much damage.
Perfect. Make American Respectable Again (MARA). VOTE BIDEN/HARRIS.
I don’t care how it happens Trump.Must.Go. if Biden/Harris need to wear felt feathered chicken hats or whatever, get Trump out.
I thought Obama had a huge amount of work to do when he took office after Bush.
Hell, Biden and Harris hopefully have a fully formed team of experts with a top 10 list they are working on of problems to fix ASAP.
100% agree that Trump has torn the working social service agencies of this country apart almost beyond repair.
The widening gap between the low and middle class working people and the hugely wealthy is going to become even more difficult to manage unless Biden gets elected.
I do have wonder how so many people are supporting Trump, white, older, not that wealthy are all out Trumpers…..In my area, folks living in homes valued at less than $175K have Trump signs up. The urge to knock on their door and try to get them to understand “Trump does not give a damn about you. He would not piss on you if you were on fire.”
I am unable to understand how American politics and public behavior has come to this.
The sitting POTUS is unhinged at best. Racist, the FLOTUS wears a jacket “I really don’t care do U” how much more, on a damn nearly daily basis can we take?
White supremacy = societally sanctioned racialized narcissism. We haven’t examined it as a nation because so much of our population is white (and either still trying to get the goodies and/or havr not been willing to do the uncomfortable work of dismantling a system that still benefits them greatly).
The Evangelical’s have been controlling the GOP since the early 80’s. As their power grew, they became bolder. The GOP is now their mouthpiece for racism, sexism, and homophobia.
And the second Bush really helped increase their power and prominence. One of the many reasons I will never, ever join the “he wasn’t so bad after all” bandwagon.
Biden was amazing! I love that he stayed and continued to answer questions afterwards. A class act.
Watching Biden in comparison to Trump has me in tears in the best way possible. He’s presidential, kind, and compassionate, everything Trump isn’t. I have no idea how anyone could possibly see a parallel to Mr Rogers as a bad thing! We should all live our lives more like Mr Rogers.
I didn’t know who Mercedes Schlapp was until that tweet, so I assumed it was meant to be praise, the I clicked to her twitter profile and thought, huh. Okay. I don’t think it went over the way she thought it would, lol.
Hyundai and Matt Schlapp are lobbiests. Hyundai Schlapp currently works for the team of liars (opps WH Press Office) They spew the most hateful things in Twitter. Matty boy lost a lot of contracts because of this Tweets. Oh well, go all in on a nut and the corporate world drops you.
I watched Biden last night and for the first time in a long time I had hope. He is a genuinely good man; he’s kind, compassionate, and knowledgeable. I’ll take Mr. Rogers any day over the crime lord currently occupying the White House. Start packing Trump, and take the rest of your despicable family with you.
So not surprising that something a Trump supporter thinks is an insult, everyone else with a heart and brain takes as…a huge compliment lol.
Biden is so earnest and well prepared to lead this country. A+ performance.
Seriously, what kind of person thinks that’s a knock? It’s ridiculous. I wonder how much everyone’s blood pressure will go down once Biden is in office? (I’m willing it into being. As well as voting, of course.)
After the early Democratic primaries that Bernie won, his wealthy cosplay socialist supporters were ready to crown him king and the Democratic nominee. Then South Carolina happened and black people said, no, Joe is the candidate we’ll throw our weight behind. And all the cosplay socialists went crazy with rage and anger denigrating black voters. I admit I would have preferred a much younger nominee, but Joe Biden really is the candidate we need at this moment in time. An intelligent, decent, experienced white male politician who can counter the crazy of Trump and his cult. And most black people saw this and that’s why they chose Biden. People keep underestimating the strength of Trumpism which makes people feel comfortable in their racism and grants them freedom to act like the assholes they really are. No empathy and compassion for anyone other than themselves and the right to exercise their selfishness no matter who it hurts. People of color immediately recognized what Trumpism was all about and it’s sad that it took others so long to recognize it as well.
you’re right. I didn’t want Biden either, but of course i was going to vote for whoever won the nomination. but i’ve come around to your point of view. I think it had to be Biden, like it or not. he is holding up to the attempted slime jobs, because he’s an old white guy and people feel they know Joe. He’s not what I wanted but he’s what I needed. Because I cannot do THIS for another four years, and that is the only thing that matters.
Yes, and trump knows too, he has repeatedly said Biden is his biggest threat for a couple years. I wasn’t as sure about what he meant back then but now I understand.
I’m okay with Biden because I knew no one female or socialist was going to influence enough voters to switch. He picked Kamala so good move there. However, he will need to chose a cabinet filled with smart women (the majority better be female) and he will need to take immediate action to put into law several things to prevent a Trump from happening ever again. Without these measures, he will not get a second term (OR Kamala will not get a term next).
100%. I wasn’t on the Biden train either, but I do think he will do an excellent job of getting us back on an even keel. So soothing. And so not insane. And not dumb as a box of hair. Amazing how those things can make me feel so much better. I’m much happier about voting for him than I was before, that’s for sure. Even bought myself a T-shirt.
It had to be a straight white guy because Trump and his followers would have been vicious and vile to a woman/ POC/ LGBTQ candidate. Having an old white male pretty much showed that all their weapons are ones of bigotry. All they could go at Biden with was “radical antifa” or “Huh, Hunter seems fishy” or “he’s old!” none of which Dems care about or the moderate college-educated voter. Biden was the best choice for 2020, from a strategic perspective.
Geez, even if you’re ignorant, shallow, have been living on Pluto for the last five years, and have to pick your president on looks alone, tRump would be lucky to get three or four votes. Not even his missus would vote for him. America, indeed the world, needs to be rid of the cretin in the house.
I am ready for a kind, decent person in the Oval Office. Someone I can turn on the tv and show my kids is our president without worrying he’s going to say something awful. Bring on any version of Mr. Rogers.
This is exactly how I feel. I’m tired of having to mute the tv to go to the bathroom because I’m afraid the news will show a clip of Trump in the one minute I’m gone. I’ve started looking at people and asking one question. Would I leave them alone with my child? I can’t say yes to any person in the Trump administration.
I know a lot of liberals have been disappointed by Biden’s nomination, but genuinely, I think he’s a great pick. He’s a good man who is clearly kind and thoughtful. He’s extremely experienced and smart. He has a PLAN, thank god. But he’s still an old white guy, which frankly makes him a good transition coming down from the insanity that is Trump. He feels “safe” to a lot of people.
He needs to be careful here – Trump wins with his charisma. Elizabeth Warren lost with her “plans.” He needs to be careful getting too wordy or he will lose against the shouting done by Trump – that was one of the mistakes Hilary made.
Foreign Policy is a very important part of the USA and something – I think – too many voters do not really care about. When Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel basically said that the USA cannot be counted on anymore I was shocked. I live in Germany and it was clear to me before but her voicing this was a whole new level since a) she is a very patient and diplomatic politician and b) the USA has been an mostly beloved ally for decades. Obama was and still is super popular. I’m skeptical but I hope Biden will win. The door is closed to Trump but I am pretty sure it will open up for Biden again.
I was appalled at the disrespect Trump displayed during his visit with Angela Merkel. It showed who he really is. He really is SO AFRAID of intelligent women. When I read that Obama was hitting the campaign trail in support of Biden (unsure if last week or this week), I was gratified to feel that mutual respect they still have for each other.
That Biden = Mr. Rogers is as good a GOP self-own as Moscow Mitch saying his opponents campaign is basically “She’s a mom, she’s a Marine, and I’ve been here too long.” McGrath was like…yes, thanks! Kind of like that Biden commercial of Trump promising if he loses we’ll never see him again. Yes please!
I agree. The Turtle really made himself look small with his obtuse observation.
As to never seeing Rump again, dreams really CAN come true… There’s no institution left in the U.S. that would borrow money to him.
Man I love a wonky politician and I love me some Uncle Joe. Just his talking was sooo soothing. I would love to have him in the White House.
He did a great job. I loved how he talked about bringing everyone together again and not just being spiteful and vindictive in the party- which is all Trump is motivated by. The foreign policy was major for me this is something that’s been really upsetting to watch (America become a joke)
I flipped to trump out of morbid curiosity and it was just the usually ranting, flipped back to joe. I thought he did wonderfully.
That sounds all well and good but the GOP always presses for this “reach across the aisle” BS and then they change the goalpost. Are we to ignore all the changes that the GOP did on purpose, never reaching across the aisle? Forget 3 SCOTUS appointments they will get before years end that threatens us?
He can do that spiel during the campaign, but once in office if he doesn’t carry through with real change, he will not get a second term OR Kamala will not see her first. Obama tried reaching across the aisle – look what that got him.
I think the difference is that Trump went out of his way to pick people for his administration that are purposefully awful and want to destroy our democracy and institutions from the inside out. And advocated for the absolute worst choices for our country. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst, he went for the 1 every single time. What happened to going for 4s or 5s? If he’d picked conservative people with experience in government, that wouldn’t have been as bad.
Biden can go back to picking people who are actually experienced and don’t hate the institutions they’re serving. Doesn’t mean he has to pander to the GOP or reach across the aisle though. Have someone lead the EPA who was in the EPA during the Obama era. Get a Postmaster General who came up through the ranks. And I’m sure he won’t have out-and-out liars, for God’s sake.
And, to be clear, I really hope he didn’t mean failing to prosecute those in the Trump administration who have committed crimes. If we don’t do that, our checks and balances will have completely failed. I don’t think that’s vindictive either, that’s what the justice department is supposed to do.
I saw Biden speak at a university last year and his message was the same. He was so sincere and passionate about how we have got to mend our wounds and heal the divide in the US. I will be proud to vote for him. Can’t wait.
I was honestly expecting to just watch part of the town hall, but I ended up watching it all the way through (of course switching between it and Trump’s town hall, which was as jarring as it sounds). He did a excellent, both in talking about policy and just being a good, heartfelt man. He wasn’t even my top choice in the primaries but he’s more than changed that, and I hope we can flip the Senate too so he can get his agenda passed. This is what America could be, and Trump’s town hall showed what needs to be relegated to the dregs of the past.
The more people see Biden, the more I see them liking him (myself included), and the more people see Trump, the more they see the racist, unempathetic, idiotic a-hole he obviously is.
I didn’t watch it all but popped in when he was talking about the crime bill and why he regrets voting for it. He was explaining why decisions were made at the time and in such detail which was so refreshing to hear. I always thought of Obama as the smart one and Biden as his negotiator but hearing Biden speak made me realize that he is wonky as well and knows his stuff. He also has humility and I think Symone Sanders is doing an excellent job at getting him to respond to the social questions in a much smarter way. He may be an old white guy but he also seems to listen and change if needed. There is no other option and his decency is important and needed.
Also important to note that Biden stayed and answered questions asked by the crowd even after the town hall was done. He cares and that’s more than can be said about the US president since Jan 20/17.
It is nice to hear that he realizes the crime bill was a mistake. Good people own up to their mistakes. They don’t try to pretend they never happened. Or get all pissed off when they’re questioned about them.
I think Biden needs to be telling people to turn their attention on the SENATORS IN OFFICE if they want a question on court-packing. I think we have a real chance of flipping the Senate if Biden would just point fingers rn and say, “it’s not about what I want rn. I’m not in the Senate anymore. Talk to the Senators.”
He almost got there last night but I wished he had pushed harder. We can still beat the nomination if everyone went hard on the moderate senators. Trump’s going to lose, why do they want to piss off more voters? So y’all – call your flipping Senators, whoever they are.
Gee, Mr. Rogers or Mr. Hyde?
Not exactly a tough call. Biden knows the issues, cares about the American people and bringing us all together, and knows how to act like an adult. Trump can do nothing but bluster, lie, and endorse whackadoodle Q-Anon.
For what it’s worth, back in the day when I worked in Dem politics as a low level advance person, I was a fly on the wall at several meetings where Biden (and other Dem nominees) were in conversation with various people (union leaders, mayors, governors, etc.). My impression of Biden, more than any other politician I’ve spent time working with, is that he’s the one who actually *listens* when other people talk (as opposed to performative listening, which is what politicians mostly do, I find). He’s also smart as hell, knows the issues inside and out, and is able to reach across the aisle in an effective way because those on the other side actually like and respect him (which President Obama knew and counted on him for). I’ve also never ever seen anyone work a room like Biden does. He radiates warmth and gives you his attention fully. In the politico world, that’s considered Biden’s real super power (though it’s hell on his staffers trying to move him anywhere on time because he won’t stop engaging with anyone who still wants to talk. Lol). I’m very glad Bernie and AOC have lead the movement to allow Biden to shift farther left. I say “allow” because I believe Biden is actually a lot more left than he has felt able to be open about in the swamps of D.C.. And I think in past he’s been too ready to make a deal, not understanding the opportunities the shifting demographics in this country have opened for us. Which is to say, I think if we can get him elected, he’s going to be the president we need for this exact moment when everything is in chaos. And I think Harris is the perfect partner for him in this regard. We need some serious, detail-oriented wonks working to rebuild all the essential systems Grandpa Racist has torn apart (most importantly the Pandemic Early Warning Program Grandpa yanked out of China for no reason and what might well have stopped the horror we’re living through now).
Diamond Rottweiler: Where is the like button?
Yes. Love Mr Rodgers. And love boring wonky politics. Go Joe!
BIDEN/HARRIS 2020
I saw that Mercedes Schlapp tweet (and I didn’t know who she was) & I honestly thought it must be a compliment from a Biden fan! Because Mr. Rogers is universally loved. What ghouls the Republicans have become.
I’m glad that he clarified his current position on the 1994 Crime Bill. Whenever I would argue with Trump supporters (which I try to not do anymore, lol), they would always bring it up, and I would ask them what he had done *most recently* to make them think he still held those views. Ditto his 1977 comments about not wanting his kids to grow up in a racial jungle—they present these quotes without context and act as though they were said yesterday.
And believe it or not, Republicans declared Mr. Rogers their natural enemy in the early aughts because he encouraged “special snowflake” thinking in children. They’re all about saving the children, so long as none of them emerge with a healthy sense of self-worth and solid self-esteem.
Hi Valerie, exactly. Have you all seen what Mr. Roger’s widow has said about Trump? She is nice as pie, and yet even she has publicly stated that she thinks Trump is just a horrible person, that Mr. Rogers would never have supported Trump and his hateful, divisive rhetoric and that if Trump wins again she may actually become a recluse. She is a cool, lovely and passionate wonderful lady. Wish her all the best. Seriously, check it out. LOVE HER.
I love Joanne Rogers! 🙂
Joe did great! He is really so kind, and so well thought out in his words. Cool. Who cares about a little stutter or a little gaffe? No one. He is smart as hell. He knows what he is doing and will staff the admin with many wonderful, capable people around him that will love to be there with him, with us. So happy to vote for him and Kamala. Compare and contrast that to Trump and his family and colleagues. The answer is clear. Biden/Harris all the way. And love to all here, and to Kaiser as well, and thanks Kaiser for the updates. We can do this! I appreciate you all so much, and all you do, keep going darlins! May there be better times ahead for us all. LOVE. and VOTE.
i had forgotten what an intelligent and compassionate president could sound like. I am so exhausted by Trump’s constant cruelty and stupidity.
I see hard right Trumper’s losing their cool and confidence. I see them reaching like they’ve never reached before to defend this awful man and to try and find anything to discredit Biden. I see patriarchal misogynists coming out of the woodwork in attack mode because their ideal man is losing.
I also see so called “Christians” showing their hypocritical colors in an attempt to defend the most amoral man in modern history.
Sadly, all of these people I’m describing are relatives of mine.
God I hope Biden wins by a landslide. America can’t take much more of Trump.
I spent the day with a friend yesterday-family is big Trump supporters and I have been attacked by her husband over Trump. We very seldom bring up politics but she kept telling me how Trump was being attacked by Savanah, she should have let him answer questions and yet Biden was given respect with his town hall, so unfair! Then, not by her, I was told 10 days before election BIG NEWS against Hunter & Joe Biden coming out-this will be worse than Hillary. I CANNOT WAIT for this election to be over!!! I do worry this country will never be the same.