While Democrats were jubilant about winning elections this month in areas that were already predisposed to vote for them, they still needed many of their big guns to campaign for their candidates. Barack Obama led this charge by campaigning for Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, but several other prominent Democrats also helped. On another portion of the party spectrum, you had AOC and Bernie Sanders stumping for far-left New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. While Kamala Harris wasn’t a fixture on the trail, one could chalk that up to trying to build interest in her book or saving her powder for a future White House run, since NYC is safely Democrat, and neither New Jersey nor Virginia is truly a swing state or holds early primaries at this point.
Missing in action among all those players, though, was former President Joe Biden. While some of this can be blamed on his ongoing treatment for prostate cancer, it was also apparent that his “help” wasn’t really wanted on the campaign trail.
Perhaps it’s safer now that the election is over and fundraising for 2026 takes center stage. Nebraska is not a swing state, either, but someone still decided it was a good idea to bring Biden out to rally the troops there for their annual Ben Nelson Gala, an event intended to celebrate their volunteers and raise money for the state Democrat Party. You can’t say Biden was in rare form there, though, because he still could do what he does best: make stuff up and blame everyone else for his failures. Here’s one meandering tall tale from the mouth of Biden, according to the transcript:
The Democratic Party’s back. That’s not hyperbole. Did you see the election results? Well, I want you to know for the longest time, Delaware didn’t have a national TV station. They had to rely on Philadelphia. And when that was happening, I liked it very much because I was voted the most popular person in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Y’all think I’m kidding. I’m not. I keep reminding the governor of New Jersey that Delaware owns the high watermark of the Delaware River on the New Jersey Shore.
The transcriber made his or her money on this one because Biden’s delivery and message were their usual jumble, even in that short passage. Matt Margolis of PJ Media also noticed, saying, Biden looks and sounds like he belongs in an assisted living facility. “Reports indicate Biden is asking for $300,000 per speaking engagement. Past reporting also suggests he’s been struggling to land gigs,” Margolis added. “Talent agencies say the price is too high, and his recent gaffes aren’t exactly helping his marketability. One can’t help but wonder if he had to beg for this Nebraska booking. He’s represented by the Hollywood-based talent agency CAA, but even they can’t turn Biden into a hot commodity. Even his presidential memoirs got an embarrassingly low advance.”
Much of the criticism, though, centered on another comment Biden made. “But it is a golden age for the Trump family,” he mused. “Can you imagine? Has anyone noticed how much the Trump family has made while he’s been president and put in the program? Reported $1.8 billion. Can you imagine if any other president in American history did that, can you imagine what happened?”
Really? Does “10% for the Big Guy” ring a bell? It must have escaped his failing mental acuity that such a comment would boomerang back to him. We don’t have to imagine something we lived through. But these are the type of safe, out-of-the-way events Joe Biden still may be able to perform, even if barely functional. Squint at the teleprompter, throw the partisans a little bit of red meat mixed in with a lot of malarkey filler, mention Donald Trump a couple of dozen times, and cash the check.
As Biden’s term came to a close last year, we lost a president in Jimmy Carter who was arguably one of the worst in our history. However, he made up for some of it with a post-presidency marked by service to his community and beyond, not complaining about his successors or blaming the situation he inherited for his failures at every opportunity.
On the other hand, Joe Biden’s legacy won’t be as long thanks to his advanced age and failing health, but it won’t be noted for much good, either.
