September 25, 2024

"Listen, I didn't like the way they did it. I'm gonna just say it out loud, because nobody says it out loud. I didn't like the way it was done publicly."

"I thought they could have done this in a different way because we didn't need to hear all the inner fight. I didn't like it. I'm saying it to you. You were my ride or die. I was going wherever you go and that's what I would do, so I just wanted to say that because I always felt you were going to probably do four years and then try to figure out where to go with Kamala. Then he just wouldn't go. He was like a a a bug. He just kept being there. He was like a like a bug right there, so you felt that's what was needed, and you did...."

Said Whoopi Goldberg to Joe Biden, on "The View" today.

 

I always like to get a chance to use the old "insect politics" tag, but Whoopi likened Joe to a bug. She said it twice. [ADDED: On rewatch, I can see that Whoopi was characterizing Trump as the bug. Biden slaps the table, smashing the insect. I thought we weren't supposed to speak of human beings as vermin, but that's a rule that becomes conveniently invisible.]

I listened to all of what Joe Biden said — in response to the various super-soft questions — and I extracted 3 highlights:

• On why he didn't follow through on the understanding that he'd be a 1-term President: "When I ran for the first... for my first this last term, I said that I was, I thought, saw myself, as a transition president, yeah, transitioning to a new generation of leadership... but what happened was... I found myself having used more time than I would have ordinarily to you know pass that torch."

• Indicating that those who pushed him to give up the nomination were not so much worried that he couldn't handle it but motivated by the desire of "some folks" to get their hands on the power: "I never fully believed the assertions that somehow there was this overwhelming reluctance [about] my running again. I didn't sense that... but uh what I did was I think there were... some folks who would like to see me step aside so they have a chance to to move on. I get that. That just human nature. But that wasn't the reason that I stepped down. I stepped down because started thinking about it...." ("It," I gather from the extended babbling that followed, was his advanced age.)

• Praising Kamala Harris but also saddling her with the burden of what has gone on in his administration: "She is bright, she is tough, she's honorable... Look, she is smart as hell, number one, yeah, she's tough. She was a first-rate prosecutor. She is a United States Senator of significant consequence, and as Vice President, there wasn't a single thing that I did that she couldn't do, and so I was able to delegate her  responsibility on everything from foreign policy to domestic policy."

82 comments:

Old and slow said...

Wouldn't it make a refreshing change to hear a politician speak honestly just for once? Trump has the reputation of being an inveterate liar, and he certainly has an expansive view of the truth, but more honest words come out of his mouth than the rest of DC combined.

Dixcus said...

The toppling of the Joe Biden Presidency is a coup. It was orchestrated by people who threatened Joe Biden with removal if he did not accept their demands to step down.

When you can threaten the President of the United States, and force him to do something he so clearly did NOT want to do ... that is a fucking felony.

We kill people for that.

Dave Begley said...

Joe delegated the border to Kamala and look what we got. But that’s what the Dems wanted.

Both Whoopi and Joe were incoherent.

RideSpaceMountain said...

"Indicating that those who pushed him to give up the nomination were not so much worried that he couldn't handle it but motivated by the desire of "some folks" to get their hands on the power"

The blob converges all. You can't spell insect without incest, and these people screw each other more than the Hapsburgs.

Rory said...

Is she saying Trump's the bug?

Michael K said...

If Biden had ever seemed a decent guy, I could feel sorry for him, but he wasn't a decent guy.

Original Mike said...

"and so I was able to delegate her responsibility on everything from foreign policy to domestic policy."

Over to you, Kamala…

JaimeRoberto said...

"She is bright, she is tough, she's honorable... Look, she is smart as hell.."

Stated without evidence.

boatbuilder said...

Then he just wouldn't go. He was like a a a bug. He just kept being there. He was like a like a bug right there, so you felt that's what was needed, and you did...."
Whoopi you complete fraud. Two weeks before he "just wouldn't go" you and all the other Dem hacks were telling the world that he was sharp as a tack and anyone suggesting the contrary was falling for Republican lies.

tim in vermont said...

"When you can threaten the President of the United States, and force him to do something he so clearly did NOT want to do ... that is a fucking felony."

LOL. No it's not, it's power, like in Nancy Pelosi's book "The Art of Power." The difference between a "deal" and "power" is that in a deal, there is compromise, the Democrats don't believe in compromise.

And while we are at it, can you imagine if Donald Trump's father had been a noted mob figure the way Nancy Pelosi's father was? A mobbed up congressman, at that. Can you imagine the press on that one?

SeanF said...

Yes. "You" is when she's talking about Biden. "He" is Trump. She's saying that Biden couldn't leave after only one term because Trump was still hanging around.

SeanF said...

I noticed that Whoopi mispronounced Kamala, which I'm told means she's a racist.

CrankyProfessor said...

I'm sure Kamala is sharp as a tack.

Christopher B said...

I've thought for awhile that Biden endorsing Harris was an FU to the gang defenestrating him but given his answer to the first and third questions I may revise that. It could be DOCTOR Jill got to him and convinced him he had to block Harris, and it took some extra convincing to get him to accept her candidacy. The mini-primary was likely a feint. However I'll agree with Stephen Green that he's trying to sabotage her.

Christopher B said...

I've thought for awhile that Biden endorsing Harris was an FU to the gang defenestrating him but given his answer to the first and third questions I may revise that. It could be DOCTOR Jill got to him and convinced him he had to block Harris, and it took some extra convincing to get him to accept her candidacy. The mini-primary was likely a feint. However I'll agree with Stephen Green that he's trying to sabotage her.

MadisonMan said...

"U.S. Senator of Significant Consequence" LOL. Yeah right.

Sprezzatura said...

Thanks to Althouse for this clip. I had no idea that there were smoke shows on that show.

It turns out that that Sunny gal is 55 yo. How is that possible?

I've always like '68 cause one of my Porsches was born then. It turns out that was a good year for more than just cars. Old stuff is cool. IMHO.

Bob Boyd said...

How much time does Joe ordinarily use to pass the torch to a new generation?

Sprezzatura said...

Did he say she is clean?

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,"

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

At Peace -
Yep.
I smell a lucrative book deal.

Bob Boyd said...

"and so I was able to delegate her responsibility on everything from foreign policy to domestic policy"

When did that happen? Has Kamala been acting President? For how long? Is she acting President now?
All this is counter to the narrative that Kamala is something new. That she represents change, turning the page, etc. That she isn't responsible for anything that has happened in the last Biden Administration and she can't be asked why she hasn't already fixed the problems she talks about in her campaign.
She is burdened by what has been after all.

Bob Boyd said...

She's a one trick mule.

GatorNavy said...

The deepest state pushed President Biden out. Period. They are currently running the USA, completely unaccountable people who were never elected to any office. This should be unacceptable to all Americans. Yet here we are choosing between two evils. Anyone cheering on Kamala is a useful idiot and is willfully stupid. Anyone cheering on Trump has no clear moral compass and will do or say anything to win, without regard to the constitution of this nation. The best scenario is Trump passes away a day after being sworn in to office and a peaceful transition to Vice President Vance occurs.

Sally327 said...

I think Whoopi was being sincere about her commitment to Biden, which I find difficult to understand. She’s no brainiac, I know, but there doesn’t seem to be any credible rationale to explain her loyalty to this lifer politician who was only ever mediocre on his best day.

Cameron said...

He entered politics as the youngest senator and left as the oldest president. If he ever had any intention of passing the torch it died with his son Beau.

Bob Boyd said...

Whoopi didn't call Joe a bug. She meant Trump.

Narr said...

"How is that possible?" Expensive surgeries would be my guess. Like Biden himself, in his walking deathmask.

Harun said...

"She was a first-rate prosecutor."

Was she?

tim maguire said...

That’s a very strange quote—in parts she’s talking about him, in other parts she’s talking to him. And she calls him a bug to his face. Whether he’s in the room or not, it’s awkward.

I am pleased to see that she understands that this was some dirty work done purely as a power grab, with no concern for the American people or the institutions of government. But she’ll still vote for Harris.

mongo said...

From what I’ve read she has turned a lot more than one trick.

Jim at said...

Anyone cheering on Trump has no clear moral compass and will do or say anything to win, without regard to the constitution of this nation.

In other words, deplorable.

William said...

Whoopi speaks fluent Kamalese. Thanks to Rory and SeanF above for indicating that the bug in question was Trump. (Some people think Trump was a feature and not a bug, but she was most likely referring to Trump, not Biden.) Trump isn't particularly intelligible, but you get his meaning. With Whoopi, Kamala, Biden there's this fuzzy spray of words that sometimes achieve the density of phlegm and the word clots thus acquire meaning if you concentrate.

Mason G said...

"Trump has the reputation of being an inveterate liar..."

The MSM and most Democrats (BIRM) seem to think so. Of course, those folks are as honest as the day is long.

Breezy said...

Abortion

Dixcus said...

You forgot about my last sentence: We kill people for that.

The coup isn't over. It's still occurring. We haven't seen the last act.

narciso said...

Even c3po cant descipher that

Mason G said...

"Trump isn't particularly intelligible, but you get his meaning."

Sounds like he's intelligible enough. I mean- if you get his meaning, what else does he need to do?

Breezy said...

I agree Biden is not a fan of Harris and is undermining her message. He endorsed her knowing she is a political loser, unable to speak spontaneously and clearly and with no underlying moral or value compass. But he chose her for VP so he has to partly pretend. However, it gives good cover for skewering Pelosi for what she did, that cold-blooded reptilian Pelosi.

RideSpaceMountain said...

Watch Mongo. It'll come out that she's participated in Diddy's "freak offs". I can see the headline now, "VIDEO OF KAMALA BLOWING BEIBER SURFACES. BEIBER DENIES AND CLAIMS IT WAS JUST A HANDY."

Clark said...

"Trump" was the bug, according to Whoopi.

Eva Marie said...

Whoopi says he was just out there like a bug (meaning Trump as Bob Boyd says) and President Biden makes a motion as if squishing the bug.Very inappropriate on both of their parts.

Eva Marie said...

Just saw your comment Clark - as you said as well

Political Junkie said...

Did you all notice in the last quote the hostess shared, when Biden refers to Kamala's time as Vice President, he points to zero specifics.

Political Junkie said...

Agree with several. Whoopi quote looks like she is calling DJT the bug.

Political Junkie said...

Agree Doc. I have called the him SOB Joe for quite a while, because the record over decades shows he is an SOB.

Drago said...

"Anyone cheering on Trump has no clear moral compass and will do or say anything to win, without regard to the constitution of this nation"

Thanks for self-identifying.

Sprezzatura said...

I do hope folks that read this blog will click on the "tags" for each post and see where that goes. You should always do this. But you should especially do this when Althouse jabbers about a particular "tag" as part of her post.

For the folks here that don't look back, here is a clip from the first Althouse post that included the "insect politics" tag:

"You have to leave now, and never come back here. Have you ever heard of insect politics? Neither have I. Insects... don't have politics. They're very... brutal. No compassion, no compromise. We can't trust the insect. I'd like to become the first... insect politician. Y'see, I'd like to, but... I'm afraid, uh...

I don't know what you're trying to say.

I'm saying... I'm saying I - I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it. But now the dream is over... and the insect is awake.

No. no, Seth...

I'm saying... I'll hurt you if you stay."

And FTR, DJT seems to have insect politics vibes.

We know (because of lawsuits) that he cheats/scams/stiffs honest hardworking American salt of the earth subcontractors that work for him re construction Likewise cheating/scamming/stiffing the rubes that paid for Trump U. And his charity that gets tax deductions for stuff like buying paintings of himself for what was it? sixty thousand dollars?

And it does seem odd that he has love letters w/ scum like Kim Jong Un, plus his positivity re other dictators like Putin.

Rather than a tag for Trump, Althouse should just use the "insect politics" tag. Seems to fit like a glove.

Aggie said...

That's coming from a position that Joe Biden ever was 'President' in the classical sense of the word. President, being Presidential, communicating with frequent briefings, leaving no doubt of what his intentions are, leaving no doubt that he is in charge of his Administration. You know - like LBJ or Reagan, or Trump. Joe Biden was never Presidential in that sense. He didn't even venture from his basement to campaign. No. This was just the Obama dealership, getting their long term rental back, picking up the keys so they could lease it to another customer.

Readering said...

Whoopi wasn't calling Joe a bug she was calling Trump a bug. Sorry if other commenters already pointed this out. She was saying because Trump wouldn't go Biden felt he had to stay, instead of passing the torch to Harris to battle Trump's successor.

Skeptical Voter said...

Joy Reid was sitting so close to Good Old Joe that I wouldn't be surprised if she reached under the table and gave Joe a "package check". And Whoopi wants to smash Donald Trump like a bug. The ladies on the View are drinking some pretty strong Koolaid.

Danno said...

Doc, In my mind's eye, I always remember the picture of Joe Biden and Ted Kennedy orchestrating the attempted high-tech lynching of an honorable black man, Clarence Thomas.

planetgeo said...

I agree he did this to undermine Kamala, and he set her up for the fall by connecting her to every policy he had. He knows it will be the ultimate FU to Pelosi, Schumer, and Obama if she goes down. Just imagine the smug grin on his face under those aviators the next time he sees or talks to them after her loss..."you coulda had a sure win, but no, you geniuses said I have to go..."

Lazarus said...

So, Biden just forgot that he was going to be a transitional one term or one-half president? Didn't he have people to remind him? Did they forget or were they too scared to bring it up? Biden does forget a lot, but more likely, once he moved into the White House he took the presidency as something he had a right to, something he was entitled to, something nobody was going to take away from him before his eight years were up? Or did Biden stick around because the Trump "bug" was so threatening? Was Biden really so indispensable? A more honest man would have left the race early to give the Democrats a voice in deciding the party's nominee.

Lazarus said...

"First rate" means "was not indicted or forced to resign."

Lazarus said...

"Consequential" is the new DC buzz word -- or it was a few years back.
It's not enough anymore. Now you have to be "significantly consequential."

Sprezzatura said...

A recommendation: look for tags that aren't even part of the post you are reading. E.g., this post has a lot of jabber about bugs....so it's not insane to think about the bug that Kafka made famous.

Of course Althosue has a "Kafka" tag.

And there a bunch of amazing posts she's created if you chase that tag. Not to mention that you can go to the next level by reading the comments in those old posts.

Here is a short comment from Palladian for folks that remember him (and for those that don't remember him):

"I don't know about Kimball, but Hayek, de Tocqueville and even Kafka are essential reading for anyone who cares about human liberty.

Instead students are assigned Howard Zinn."

https://althouse.blogspot.com/2013/01/what-sort-of-people-were-these-what.html

Sebastian said...

"I was able to delegate her responsibility on everything from foreign policy to domestic policy" Of course, neither the delegation nor the responsibility meant anything. Joe didn't expect her to do anything about anything, and she didn't even try to do anything about anything. She's an empty vessel. But a useful one, for Dems.

Deep State Reformer said...

So now they love him again? FFS these people are annoying, hypocritical assholes every single time. Oh, and FWG and the Mercedes she rode in on too.

hawkeyedjb said...

Not one word of what Biden said in that final paragraph is true. Everyone knows it, but it doesn't matter, does it?

gspencer said...

"She [Heels Up] is bright, she is tough, she's honorable... Look, she is smart as hell, number one, yeah, she's tough. She was a first-rate prosecutor."

She's none of those things. Maybe old Willie Brown will grade her differently for what she did for him.

The rule of Lemnity said...

"Praising Kamala Harris but also saddling her with the burden of what has gone on in his administration."

See what Althouse did there? Pretty sneaky sis.

GatorNavy said...

To Jim and Drago
To quote someone who understood the current political situation;
“It’s a big club and you ain’t in it.” And neither will your children or grandchildren, unless all these unelected people learn to fear citizens again.

Sprezzatura said...

The evil librul media will give Biden cover such that dummies will not question his lies, and then that will make the dummies vote for the evil satin loving Ds.

But yur too smart for those tricks. You support the second coming of Honest Abe. We just call him HD. That's short for Honest Donald. That guy tells the truth. As you know cause yur smart!! You vote for the guy that doesn't lie.

And DJT has concepts of plans for stuff like health care. We just call him CoPD. Concepts of Plans Donald for the win!! Of course he can't win if the Ds cheat again, like in 2020. Or if the Ds stop the stop the steal like they did when the J6 patriots fought for We The People in 2020.

Good thing you (and the J6 patriots) are too smart to be fooled by those sneaky Ds and their lies. Yur a genius!!!!!

Bob Boyd said...

This is a video of Biden enjoying a carrot.

Sprezzatura said...

BTW, you can get a J6 flag for only $229.76.

https://www.youramericanflagstore.com/product/j6-flag/

That way your neighbors will know that you are too smart to fall for D liars. You support DJT and his promised pardons for J6 folks.

Iman said...

Biden is a cockroach.

Iman said...

“It turns out that that Sunny gal is 55 yo. How is that possible?”

Given her demeanor and her penchant for lying and running her mouth, it is surprising she has survived for as long as she has.

walter said...

"Mission Accomplished"

rehajm said...

You were my ride or die

I would have preferred the latter…

…and a big hearty fuck you to everyone here what lectured me on Joe doing what he needed to do, which was less than we expect from a dementia patient which Joe does certainly not have because NYT and WaPo are not reporting that he does…he was your ride or die and now you are kind of obligated…fuck u…

walter said...

" Old stuff is cool. IMH" Hildebeast agrees...and she "aint no wayze tired!"

walter said...

Well, Sprezzy..a supine (social) media helps containing "Pedo Pete"s showering with his daughter and cognitive decline so severe he had to be recklessly replaced by Word Salad.

Disparity of Cult said...

The Spew

Drago said...

GatorNavy, last time I checked, this was an election where people get, you know, elected or something.

But thanks for pretending Trump is like all the career politicians. It helps in determining how much weight/time to give to any "analysis" you might have on offer.

Drago said...

Yes, that was certainly the "story" being peddled today....after all the other stories. Not worry. There'll be a new shiny one tomorrow as well.

Jim at said...

And neither will your children or grandchildren, unless all these unelected people learn to fear citizens again.

I agree with your underlying point. But it's a binary choice.

And I'll take the business man who's spent exactly four years in DC over some whore who's entire life has been nothing BUT advancing upwards through the political process while pissing on the 'citizens.'

It's one or the other.

Aught Severn said...

The ladies on the View are drinking some pretty strong Koolaid.

Otherwise known as Franzia...

Leland said...

When he says “I didn’t like the way it was done publicly”, did they ask him what he means? I didn’t like that all we got for days was a letter with no clear understanding even today as to who is running the country. None of this transition has been very public other than simple proclamations that it happened. There has been very little transparency as to what exactly happened.

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Eva Marie said...

This is the cc transcript of Whoopi’s remarks:
Whoopi: . . . You were my ride or die.
I was going where you were going. That’s where I was going. So I just wanted to say that because I always felt you were going to do four years and then try to figure out where to go with Kamala, then he just - it was like a bug. He just kept being there zzz zzz zzz zzz. So you felt like . . .
Joy Behar: Slap him down.
[President slaps his hand on the desk.]
Whoopi: That’s what was needed.

Rusty said...

So, the logic being, to the mind numbed followers of the Democratic party, is that bugs need to exterminated. I'll give Inga, Gadfly, Rich and Mark credit for barely hanging on to reason, but you can understand how this rhetoric might influence the not too well glued together Democrat to violence.

PM said...

"...with HIS decision." Hahahahahaha. Ha.

Eva Marie said...

Can you imagine if Kamala Harris loses, every conservative news/interview show in the nation will have Joe Biden on, explaining how he could have won the election.