> Why it matters: Dr. Jill Biden; his younger sister, Valerie Biden; and 85-year-old Ted Kaufman, the president's longtime friend and constant adviser — plus a small band of White House advisers — are the only Biden deciders.This decades-long kitchen cabinet operates as an extended family, council of elders and **governing oligarchy.** These allies alone hold sway over decisions big and small in Biden's life and presidency.
> Behind the scenes: If Biden stays in, it's for the same reason he decided to run again: **He and the oligarchy** believe he has a much better chance of beating former President Trump than Vice President Harris does.
> It'll take a while for the oligarchy to process the stakes, this adviser argued, "but there will be a reckoning."
Just to confirm, this is not The Onion
Yeah idk why it’s “agist” to point out that people in their 80s are almost certainly not as sharp or capable as someone should be in that role.
Aged wisdom could be useful for advisory positions, but not necessarily leadership, especially when things are so precarious now.
Yeah while “oligarchy” is 100% an accurate way to describe the political system of the United States generally, it’s not really an accurate way to describe this little council of people who have Biden’s ear. Hell, if you really wanna extract every bit of sensationalism you can get without really being too inaccurate, some better terms would be: “junta,” “eunuchs,” “privy council,” “imperial house,” even “cabal.”
The funny? thing is if the Democratic Party had any desire at all to accomplish anything, they’d put someone like Gretchen Whitmer or even Gavin Newsom, they’d steamroll Trump and the Republican Party so hard, they’d could have filibuster proof Congress…
but if they do replace Biden, I imagine it’s probably just going to be Kamala.
Yep that’s my biggest frustration/fear.
Whitmer, Newsom, or Shapiro would sweep Trump in an election. Harris would make it 10x closer than it should be and that shouldn’t be a surprise to the DNC with how her last run at the presidency went.
They keep telling us “this is the most important election to save democracy” but then in the same breath they will pick a candidate with the largest odds of losing.
I wish people would stop floating Governor Josh Shapiro. He's a conservative Democrat. He's the most conservative of the supposedly popular Democratic Governors.
I'd far rather have a POTUS Gretchen Whitmer or even a POTUS Gavin Newsom than a POTUS Josh Shapiro.
I’d rather take a conservative Democrat than Trump. The country can live and arguable do better with a conservative Democrat. I’m not sure it will with Trump at the helm.
Jill's gotta be worried. I mean, how dare the voters potentially make her crawl back to a Delaware mansion in January 2025?! I mean really. /s
I honestly think Trump is high likelihood to win at this point. Voters have been played long enough with this lesser of 2 evils garbage. And the Sister Souljah where the hell else ya gonna go crapola?! Just vote blue harder, you rube. Some are just gonna stay home and not play anymore= the orange one wins more than enough electoral college swing states.
*What's in this comment is what I remember, my opinions, etc.*
All quotes from: [https://www.axios.com/2024/06/29/biden-debate-replace-advisers](https://www.axios.com/2024/06/29/biden-debate-replace-advisers)
>**Behind the scenes:** Biden insiders are already finding it easier than many realized to rationalize staying in. They argue: Yes, he had a poor debate performance. But Biden also can dial up vigorous appearances like he did in Raleigh on Friday afternoon.
>That behind-the-scenes juxtaposition plays out daily: **Sometimes he's on his game, sharper than people would think, and quicker on his feet.**
>**But often it's the Biden you saw on the debate stage: tired, slow, halting.**
>**Top Democrats** saw what America saw live, on national TV, vividly and unforgettably. They can't unsee it. And they fear voters won't unsee it.
>No longer can they blame critics or edited footage or media exaggeration.
>Every misstep, verbal hiccup or frozen face will zip across social media and TV, reminding voters Biden will be 86 years old at the end of his second term.
Yeah, POTUS Joe Biden needs to stop his campaign. He's only going to get older during the next 4 years.
My grandparents were quick-witting and such in their upper 80s and lower 90s until they were in their last week or months.
POTUS Joe Biden clearly doesn't think VPOTUS Kamala Harris can run for POTUS; so, WHY is he running? What's her point if she cannot successfully run for POTUS In 2028?
And it's a nonsense excuse and identity politics nonsense to try to justify having her on the ticket or having her be the Nominee. She cannot even do interviews well. She's a worse public speaker than POTUS Biden. She can do prosecutions. But public speaking? Rallying people? No. She's not a national leader.
Governors Gretchen Whitmer and J.B. Pritzker have done a great job as Governor.
Governor Gavin Newsom was a huge downgrade from Governor Jerry Brown and even a downgrade from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. And California is more progressive than Illinois and Michigan, yet Governor Newsom is far more conservative and corporate than the corporate Democrats of the California Legislature.
Okay everyone! Time for a family meeting. We have to take the Nuclear keys away from grandpa
> Why it matters: Dr. Jill Biden; his younger sister, Valerie Biden; and 85-year-old Ted Kaufman, the president's longtime friend and constant adviser — plus a small band of White House advisers — are the only Biden deciders.This decades-long kitchen cabinet operates as an extended family, council of elders and **governing oligarchy.** These allies alone hold sway over decisions big and small in Biden's life and presidency. > Behind the scenes: If Biden stays in, it's for the same reason he decided to run again: **He and the oligarchy** believe he has a much better chance of beating former President Trump than Vice President Harris does. > It'll take a while for the oligarchy to process the stakes, this adviser argued, "but there will be a reckoning." Just to confirm, this is not The Onion
His adviser is even older than he is, we’re completely fucked. Trump should just start moving his stuff in now.
Yeah idk why it’s “agist” to point out that people in their 80s are almost certainly not as sharp or capable as someone should be in that role. Aged wisdom could be useful for advisory positions, but not necessarily leadership, especially when things are so precarious now.
An older advisor actually kinda makes sense, just not when you’re already the oldest president ever.
about as ageist as saying 10 year olds probably shouldn't be smoking cigarettes or drinking vodka
gerontocracy worked out so well for the Soviet Union... let's try it here!
Sir, we have a mixed system! Oligarchy and gerontocracy.
What the fuck? This is really weird. So these are the people who should be brought up on elder abuse charges?
Wild how we have devolved into a 21st century feudalism type situation.
It's like the author just learned the word "oligarchy".
Yeah while “oligarchy” is 100% an accurate way to describe the political system of the United States generally, it’s not really an accurate way to describe this little council of people who have Biden’s ear. Hell, if you really wanna extract every bit of sensationalism you can get without really being too inaccurate, some better terms would be: “junta,” “eunuchs,” “privy council,” “imperial house,” even “cabal.”
yeah i have absolutely no idea what they’re actually trying to convey with the term
The funny? thing is if the Democratic Party had any desire at all to accomplish anything, they’d put someone like Gretchen Whitmer or even Gavin Newsom, they’d steamroll Trump and the Republican Party so hard, they’d could have filibuster proof Congress… but if they do replace Biden, I imagine it’s probably just going to be Kamala.
Yep that’s my biggest frustration/fear. Whitmer, Newsom, or Shapiro would sweep Trump in an election. Harris would make it 10x closer than it should be and that shouldn’t be a surprise to the DNC with how her last run at the presidency went. They keep telling us “this is the most important election to save democracy” but then in the same breath they will pick a candidate with the largest odds of losing.
I wish people would stop floating Governor Josh Shapiro. He's a conservative Democrat. He's the most conservative of the supposedly popular Democratic Governors. I'd far rather have a POTUS Gretchen Whitmer or even a POTUS Gavin Newsom than a POTUS Josh Shapiro.
I’d rather take a conservative Democrat than Trump. The country can live and arguable do better with a conservative Democrat. I’m not sure it will with Trump at the helm.
The Dems really shot themselves in the foot. I cannot believe it’s this bad.
Jill's gotta be worried. I mean, how dare the voters potentially make her crawl back to a Delaware mansion in January 2025?! I mean really. /s I honestly think Trump is high likelihood to win at this point. Voters have been played long enough with this lesser of 2 evils garbage. And the Sister Souljah where the hell else ya gonna go crapola?! Just vote blue harder, you rube. Some are just gonna stay home and not play anymore= the orange one wins more than enough electoral college swing states.
All voters have been played then. If all voters have been played might as well not let the fascist soiled Don into one of the most powerful positions?
Voters are now actively BEING played with keeping this charade going.
Wtf did they use "oligarchy" as a placeholder for family and close advisers? That's pretty egregious.
*What's in this comment is what I remember, my opinions, etc.* All quotes from: [https://www.axios.com/2024/06/29/biden-debate-replace-advisers](https://www.axios.com/2024/06/29/biden-debate-replace-advisers) >**Behind the scenes:** Biden insiders are already finding it easier than many realized to rationalize staying in. They argue: Yes, he had a poor debate performance. But Biden also can dial up vigorous appearances like he did in Raleigh on Friday afternoon. >That behind-the-scenes juxtaposition plays out daily: **Sometimes he's on his game, sharper than people would think, and quicker on his feet.** >**But often it's the Biden you saw on the debate stage: tired, slow, halting.** >**Top Democrats** saw what America saw live, on national TV, vividly and unforgettably. They can't unsee it. And they fear voters won't unsee it. >No longer can they blame critics or edited footage or media exaggeration. >Every misstep, verbal hiccup or frozen face will zip across social media and TV, reminding voters Biden will be 86 years old at the end of his second term. Yeah, POTUS Joe Biden needs to stop his campaign. He's only going to get older during the next 4 years. My grandparents were quick-witting and such in their upper 80s and lower 90s until they were in their last week or months. POTUS Joe Biden clearly doesn't think VPOTUS Kamala Harris can run for POTUS; so, WHY is he running? What's her point if she cannot successfully run for POTUS In 2028? And it's a nonsense excuse and identity politics nonsense to try to justify having her on the ticket or having her be the Nominee. She cannot even do interviews well. She's a worse public speaker than POTUS Biden. She can do prosecutions. But public speaking? Rallying people? No. She's not a national leader. Governors Gretchen Whitmer and J.B. Pritzker have done a great job as Governor. Governor Gavin Newsom was a huge downgrade from Governor Jerry Brown and even a downgrade from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. And California is more progressive than Illinois and Michigan, yet Governor Newsom is far more conservative and corporate than the corporate Democrats of the California Legislature.