In January 2024, President Joe Biden began the new year with a job approval rating in the area of 40 percent. That is where it had been hanging for some time.
In February 2024 Special Counsel Robert Hur argued that his chance of winning a post-presidential case against Biden for “willfully retaining” secret documents would be unlikely to succeed: Biden would present as a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” Democrats heaped abuse on Hur as a Republican partisan who strayed from his brief.
In March 2024, Donald Trump led Biden in opinion polls by 1-2 percent.
In June 2024, Biden gave a disastrous performance in his first scheduled debate with Trump. The “cognitive decline” on display seemed much worse than what Robert Hur had described. Democratic support for Biden immediately collapsed.
In July 2024, Biden withdrew from the race under massive pressure from leading Democratic politicians orchestrated by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Biden immediately endorsed his failed Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement. This short-circuited the possibility of a mini-primary selection process favored by the people who had forced out Biden.[1]
In August 2024, Harris chose Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her Vice President candidate. A bump in opinion polls more than reversed Trump’s 1-2 point lead over Biden to a 2-3 point lead for Harris. Joy spread everywhere among Democrats.
In September 2024, Harris clearly won her debate with Trump. The Joy Juggernaut gathered speed. From this point onward, President Biden was really Former President Biden.
In October 2024, opinion polls showed that the Harris rebound had ebbed. Trump and Harris were tied. This shift occurred in spite of “mis-steps” by the Trump campaign.[2] As the election drew nigh, the mood in the Harris campaign was described as “nauseously optimistic.”
In early November 2024, Trump defeated Harris 49.9 percent to 48.4 percent of the vote.
In December 2024, the Former President Biden riff gathered speed. He embarked on a series of exhausting foreign trips far from the ugly realities at home. President-Elect Trump was courted by foreign leaders even before he takes office. Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden for anything he did or may have done since 2014.[3] Later, he pardoned almost everyone on the Federal “Death Row.” This included Kaboni Savage.[4] Will he pre-emptively pardon Luigi Mangioni for any Federal crimes?
In a particularly awful irony, the sitting Vice President, Kamala Harris, will have to preside over the Senate when it certifies the results of the November 2024 presidential election. Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) takes over if Harris understandably skips out.
[1] Before he named Harris as his Vice President, a photographer caught a picture of Biden carrying a note that said of Harris “Do not hold grudges.” Biden’s notes on display: ‘Do not hold grudges’ against Sen. Kamala Harris Apparently, he has to be reminded.
[2] Trump’s speeches became much longer and more wandery-aroundy, and it was noted that people attending them began to leave after a while. However, Trump did about twice as many campaign events as did Biden and Harris. It looks like he was becoming exhausted, while his opponents were, frankly, indolent either through age or basic nature.
[3] I’d a done the same thing. For my sons, not for Hunter. But putting Hunter, a recovering drug addict, in prison as punishment for some non-violent crimes wouldn’t do the kid—or society at large–any good. He’s still got a chance to make a decent life.
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