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Jill to Joe: ‘It’s over’ — headline raises eyebrows

August 11, 2022 | | Print Article

President Joe Biden is so “off the mark” in handling the many challenges that have defined his presidency, that even his wife thinks he’s failed at his job, according to author and radio commentator Cal Thomas, who believes it’s time for Biden to prepare “for a dignified departure.”

Thomas recalled a speech First Lady Jill Biden gave in July to a private group of Democratic donors in Nantucket in an op-ed with an attention-grabbing headline, “Jill to Joe: It’s over.”

As American Wire reported, Jill Biden told about two dozen donors at a Democratic National Committee (DNC) fundraiser that she “had to be the first lady of the moment” because of everything Joe Biden had thrown at him.

“[The President] had so many hopes and plans for things he wanted to do,” she said, “but every time you turned around, he had to address the problems of the moment.”

“He’s just had so many things thrown his way,” she continued. “Who would have ever thought about what happened [with the Supreme Court overturning] Roe v Wade?”

“Well, maybe we saw it coming,” she clarified, “but still we didn’t believe it. The gun violence in this country is absolutely appalling We didn’t see the war in Ukraine.”

“Notice the use of the past tense, which is telling,” writes Thomas.

And, he contends, none of it was true.

“All of this is false,” Thomas writes. “Vladimir Putin signaled his intention to invade Ukraine far in advance; the decision on Roe was leaked weeks before the formal announcement; gun violence in major cities preceded the Biden administration.”

The issue, argues Thomas, is not that Biden has had so many things thrown at him, but that he is incapable of handling the challenges of the job.

“The problem that is only now speaking its name is that the president of the United States appears to have dropped the ball and is a little too slow off the mark in dealing with the challenges of the presidency,” he states.

It isn’t just Republicans saying it. As Thomas notes, columnists with The New York Times and The Washington Post are “questioning whether Biden should run for a second term.”

“A recent New York Times-Siena College poll found that 64 percent of Democrats surveyed would prefer another nominee in 2024,” Thomas reports. “Biden has served his purpose by keeping Donald Trump from winning a second term and now many Democrats want to discard him like an empty paper bag.”

“At least a paper bag can be recycled,” he adds. “Biden can’t.”

Indeed, the trend among Democrats away from Biden and toward just about anyone else has been abundantly clear, particularly in recent weeks.

When asked late last month if she would like to see President Biden run for reelection, Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) made her feelings known.

“I don’t want to answer that question,” Bush told a St. Louis reporter. “He’s the President. He has the right to run for a second term.”

She then abruptly ended the interview.

According to Thomas, Biden has an out, and he should take it.

“After what former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others forecast as the coming ‘wipeout’ of the Democrats’ congressional majority in November (almost certainly the House and possibly the Senate), Biden will become an instant lame duck and can expect several much younger Democrats to seek the 2024 nomination,” he explains. “This will afford the president a credible exit strategy.”

Says Thomas, for a man who is apparently “surprised” by current events, it would be the “dignified” thing to do.

“If Biden was surprised by events that occurred on his watch, what does that say about his leadership? The unexpected should be expected, or at least anticipated, when one is president,” he writes. “Perhaps Joe should listen to his wife and start planning for a dignified departure.”

Melissa Fine
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