THE SHOW NOTES: Biden’s Bad Week Gets Photoshopped
Welcome! The Miami Dolphins scored more points yesterday than any NFL team since 1966.
CONFIRMED: Patrick Mahomes only threw a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce because Taylor Swift was in the stands. - Barstool
BREAKING: Hollywood writers reached a tentative deal with studios after 146 days.
🚨ALSO BREAKING: Americans filed more than 39,000 bankruptcy cases in August, an 18% increase from the same point last year.
DVD: Netflix officially ended its DVD service.
MUST READ: How Much Aid Has the U.S. Sent Ukraine? Here Are Six Charts. - CFR
NEW: Bob Menendez to announce re-election bid in New Jersey during 1st public appearance post-indictment - Fox News
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Polling Massacre
While The Washington Post and ABC are admitting their joint poll showing Donald Trump up by 10 points over Joe Biden is likely an outlier, what they are doing with the survey is more telling. Here’s an excerpt from a piece I wrote this morning:
While dismissing their own poll, they are not so much making the case that Trump will win as they are making the case that things are so bad for Joe Biden that something needs to change.
The NBC News poll is having the same effect. The media is collectively sounding the red alert that Biden really is vulnerable, even to Trump. Democrats headed into 2024 need to know things are far worse than MSNBC tells them, and, in their bubble, they may be surprised to learn Trump can win.
Details: A record number of Americans claimed they are financially worse off under a Biden presidency while 3 out of 4 say he is too old to run for office. The most daming data point is a historically low 23% approval rating for Biden’s handling of the border.
Shock: The aggregate effect of recent polls has Donald Trump ahead of Joe Biden by 1.2% in Real Clear Politics polling average.
Photoshopping Biden
Go Back First: Back in August, John Hasson noted that Democrat strategists had started recirculating photoshopped images of Joe Biden. The images were designed to make Biden appear younger.
In each case, Democrat influencers contrast the images with unflattering pictures of Trump, arguing that the comparison proves Biden is not only fit for office, but also more fit than Donald Trump is.
Their posts have been amplified by A-list Democrats, including Malcolm Nance, Jon Cooper, and former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who promised in his resignation letter that he would do whatever he could to help Biden’s reelection campaign.
The most widespread photo appeared on July 8, when Democrat strategist Chris D. Jackson tweeted a picture of Biden vacationing in Delaware, contrasted with a picture of Trump golfing.
In the picture, Biden’s face appears tanned, smooth, and features a confident smile. The caption reads “As I have said before, if they want to make this campaign about fitness: game on.”
Now: Having photoshopped a more youthful-looking Biden in contrast to Trump, they now want to do “Joe Cool” instead of “Dark Brandon.”
A major liberal group has drawn up a multimillion dollar plan to make Joe Biden cooler online. And the initiative has the blessing of a top White House official.
The organization, ProgressNow, is launching a $70 million project to help the president and down-ballot Democrats win the war for voters’ digital attention. The idea is to create, in their own words, an “echo chamber” on the left. At its heart, it is an effort to compete with one they say already operates on all cylinders on the right.
So a Democrat meme-machine. Sure, guys. That probably won’t fix the economy.
Breaking point
Reuters reports that El Paso, Texas is nearing a breaking point with 2,000 illegal immigrants flooding the city PER DAY. The unprecedented number of immigrants pouring over the border comes after Biden granted amnesty to 472,000 Venezuelan immigrants who arrived at the border before July 31st.
Border context: The situation is so bad that Democratic Senator Dick Durbin told Dana Bash on CNN the border is now “a very serious challenge that we've never seen before."
Strike
As the auto strike intensifies, Democratic operatives tell Axios that Biden is risking political peril by fully backing UAW workers during the strike. "If this situation goes south, it sends a real blow to his economic narrative." Meanwhile, UAW President Shawn Fain has refused to endorse Biden’s reelection campaign.
History: Biden is going to walk a picket line. He’ll be the first President ever to do so. Here’s the problem. If the strikes help crater the economy, it will just be another data point on how bad Bidenomics is. Oh, the strikes are already contributing to an economic slow down. It is unwise for the President to side so openly with the UAW, which is demanding things the auto makers cannot afford. Likewise, the UAW is opposed to a good portion of Biden’s EV agenda.
Why the Biden problems matter
Minnesota Democrat Rep. Dean Phillips has been sounding the alarm for months that Biden has major problems and needs to be primaried by a legitimate Democratic contender. The Politico Playbook reports that Phillips is inching closer to launching a formal primary against Biden himself.
🔥 Trending news:
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez hires Hunter Biden lawyer for bribery case - CNBC
South Carolina rep left family to live with mistress, wife claims in divorce papers - NY Post
Buddha Statue Worth $1.5 Million Disappears in Gallery Heist - The Messenger
France to withdraw troops from Niger in Macron climbdown - The Times
Dick Durbin breaks with Schumer on Senate dress code change for Fetterman: 'Concerned' - Washington Examiner
Biden world is worried about spoilers as third parties threaten to boost Trump - NBC
Big GOP donors hoped for an alternative to Trump. Now some are giving up. - Politico
X Adds Brutal ‘Context’ Update To WaPo ‘Hit Piece’ After Dave Portnoy Tapes Call With Reporter - Dailywire
Ukraine targets a key Crimean city a day after striking Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters - Politico
Women’s marathon world record shattered by more than 2 minutes - NBC
Samsung’s new ploy to get kids off iPhones is a MrBeast sponsorship - The Verge
California Wants to Know Your Emissions - WSJ (paywall)
Market snapshot:
Do you ever get the feeling that you are in the beginning of one of those apocalyptic movies where everything is normal, but there is an edge - an eerie calm - right before the aliens invade or the zombies start running around eating people? That’s what reading the news lately feels like to me.
23% approval rating for Bidens handling of the border 🤔This must be a mix of people who do not want secured borders and some who just don’t have a clue buying into the lies being told.