Gov. Josh Shapiro says Kamala Harris will 'have to answer' for not speaking out about Biden

[Jose Garcia]

Source: NBC News

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said former Vice President Kamala Harris will “have to answer” for why she did not speak out publicly about former President Joe Biden’s ability to serve during his term.

Shapiro, widely seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender, made the remarks in a new political podcast hosted by sports commentator and personality Stephen A. Smith. Smith asked Shapiro about an excerpt from Harris’ soon-to-be-released book on her presidential campaign.

“Was it grace, or was it recklessness?” Harris wrote of the White House’s handling of Biden’s decision to run for re-election, per an excerpt of the book. “In retrospect, I think it was recklessness. The stakes were simply too high. This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision.”

Speaking with Shapiro, Smith asked the governor how Americans should feel “when we hear something that we suspected but wasn’t acknowledged by politicians who were looking for our support, and then we find out later we were right, and they should have spoken up, and they should have shown more courage.”

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/josh-shapiro-kamala-harris-biden-rcna232207

[ImNotGod]

1. So we are at the point were Democrats are threatening each other? nt

[AleksS]

20. Did we ever leave that point?

If we didn't have ourselves to fight, what would we do with our time?

(Kind of? But kind of not?)

[Random Boomer]

41. And why doesn't he take this issue up with Biden directly?

Biden is still alive and well. If Shapiro has a problem with Biden running for the presidency in 2024, then Shapiro should have talked to him about it.

[Captain Zero]

54. Maybe because the VP can initiate the 25th Amendment??

I'm not sure that was any kind of alternative for KH.

But it could be one for JD Vance if any grassroots republicans would get after him to do it!

[24601]

68. I believe Gov Shapiro meant that former VP Harris would have to answer politically, not answer legally. While the 25th

Amendment articulates how a VP and principal officers of the executive departments declare a POTUS unable to discharge Presidential duties. It does not, however, require them to do so. I'll post the verbatim text and note that the amendment applies to ability, not fitness.

"Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President."

Gov Shapiro could have been referring to an obligation, if subpoenaed, to testify before House and Senate Judiciary and/or Oversight Committees. I really don't believe he was going that far.

[CozyMystery]

85. From the article

“I can tell you that I wasn’t in the room, but when I was confronted with engaging with the former president, in looking at it simply from the perspective of, how is he doing in Pennsylvania? Could he win Pennsylvania? Because, I think, Stephen, you understand, if you can’t win Pennsylvania, it’s pretty darn hard to win the national election,” Shapiro continued. “And I was very vocal with him, privately, and extremely vocal with his staff about my concerns about his fitness to be able to run for another term. I was direct with them. I told them my concerns.”

[Rebl2]

88. Sounds

like it. That’s past, what are you going to do for us now and in the future is what I want to know.

[thought crime]

102. We're at the point that Shapiro is posturing for 2028.

Start you motors! It's never too early to take a swing at a potential rival.

[BootinUp]

2. It's the other way around. Nt

[Polybius]

27. Biden will have to answer for not speaking out about Harris?

[BootinUp]

30. Shapiro will have to answer for not backing Biden. nt

[MuirHero]

35. We all watched that disastrous debate last June.

Joe Biden was a great president who exceeded my expectations with regard to his progressive policies and accomplishments. That said, he should have never sought a second term.

Soon after Biden won in 2020 he said that he views himself as a "transition president", leading many to believe that he only intended to serve one term. Anyone who continues to believe that he would have beaten Trump had he stayed in the race is not facing the fact that internal polling showed that Biden would have lost to Trump in a landslide.

How could anyone who watched that disastrous debate continue to believe that Joe Biden was up to the job for a second term? And let me be clear, that's not knocking Joe Biden, that is simply recognizing the reality of Joe Biden's cognitive decline.

[BootinUp]

36. In politics people believe stupid shit all the time.

Take your post for instance. I have no interest in hearing anymore about this from someone who can’t separate a wild game show that has nothing to do with his job, from his job. Good day!

[travelingthrulife]

79. One debate and Democrats start slitting each other's throats.

He governed responsibly. What is the issue here.

Shapiro is nuts. He's trying to wreck a person he feels likely to run against him.

I would give anything to have Biden back right now.

[DaBronx]

103. Welp

He sounds like the bad guy but who really is a good guy. It sounds like he did vocalize his position. What more could he do against a freight train coming. I liked Biden and still do but I do feel like it was a Ruth Ginsburg situation. I feel democrats need to make strong level headed decisions. We do not have a royal family in this country but it sure feels like it sometimes. May the person with the best vision and strongest record and qualifications move forward. And the voters can decide if that person is healthy enough in the primaries. We need a strong new wave to carry us forward.

[JustAnotherGen]

3. No

She doesn't have to do anything.

He's wrong.

[agingdem]

5. True she doesn't but

I'm old enough to remember Ronald Reagan's second term in office when his alzheimer's diagnosis was shielded from the public,,,he wasn't making decisions..his staff was...

[BaronChocula]

13. If I may respectfully rebut

At that time I don't recall any republicans rushing to throw each under the bus for what actually amounted to a coverup of a president who actually had Alzheimers and wasn't functioning in his role.

Biden was still functioning fully in his role in my opinion. What brought him down was the perception of his age while demented Phony Soprano got a pass.

I respect a lot of what Shapiro has done in PA, but he seems a little too "ambitious."

[JustAnotherGen]

58. The Reagan Model Computer

My dad's favorite joke. Terribly sexist - but my mom would laugh at it too. My grade school years were spent with my father yelling at the CBS evening news. He would say when we were doing goofy little kid things "Are you stupid? No. Then why are you acting like a Republican?" He also used to threaten that if we didn't stop acting the fool and going for bad, he would drop us off at the White House and make us live with the Reagans.

But I digress. I mean - I'm over it. Its fine.

On President Biden's worst day - he's better than the syphilis riddled diaper shitting dictator we have now.

When I talk to the ancestors at night - I always ask for The Universe to make sure Biden out lives the maggot.

The reality is this: I'm not down with ANY Black woman having demands placed on her. Once again, we were ignored. Why can't Pete Buttigieg do it? S.O.S. Blinken? Ron Klain?

America needs to read the room that the Democratic Party core base is sitting in. The tolerant welcoming Democrats are down the hall.

This is the cruelty is the point, scorched earth, blind to anything but dominating the opposition tea drinking Club watching America burn until they wake up and Listen To Us This Time.

[agingdem]

69. My parents were Holocaust survivors..

my mother lost her entire family..my father and two brothers survived...when I was a child my father sat me down in front of our very small television and in his very thick accent demanded I "vatch"...what I watched was a scary man, Joseph McCarthy, yelling at a man sitting across from him.... I remember looking at my father's face, he was crying..and then he put his arms around me and said "This should not happen in America"..

THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN IN AMERICA

[travelingthrulife]

81. I remember it too and that is not what was happening with Biden.

[agingdem]

6. what angers me is not what Kamala knew about Biden's health but

why she allowed her campaign staff to corral her..

[Buzz cook]

31. Sadly much of her campaign staff

Were Biden's campaign staff.
They were motivated to protect Biden as much as they were to help Harris.

[Marthe48]

84. Protect Pres. Biden from what?

I don't believe he was so impaired that he wasn't engaged. One of Pres. Biden's strengths was picking able people and delegating to them. Whatever his health was or is, it was smart to have experienced people on board and find ways to follow through on the intent.

I also think that Pres. Biden's debate performance did exactly what it was supposed to: make him look like he wouldn't be up to the job and so hand it over to VP Harris. I think at least some of the Democratic voices who criticized President Biden's abilities were trying to reinforce his plan. If I'm right, it was a daring political move that failed. Why did it fail? Because the media is owned by the rich, the rwnj have encroached on elections and voting rights, and hell hell, even the security of the voting machines. Even if Pres. Biden saw a way forward, many in the Democratic party didn't get on board. And of course, like Hillary Clinton, VP Harris is a woman. Oh, the horror of it.

As an aside, VP Harris' choice came down to Walz or Shapiro. How much of this from Shapiro is sour grapes?

I'm alone a lot and maybe my errant thoughts go too far into speculation. But I don't doubt Pres. Biden's political savvy, or his mental acumen.

[Buzz cook]

105. Protect the Biden legacy

Biden was all in on support of Bebe Netanyahu. Harris was unable to walk away from that in any meaningful way.
Harris was unable to run her own campaign, in part because of time and because her staff had divided loyalties.
In my opinion Biden was still able to be president but unable to run for president and certainly not at the same time.

[Fiendish Thingy]

4. I would prefer Shapiro run for Fetterman's senate seat

Shapiro is not that old, and could run for president in 2032 or 36, after ousting Fetterman.

[biophile]

8. Yes this is my hope too.

[Cheezoholic]

11. Totally agree. While we all want more fight in our party putting something like this out to test the political wind

for ones own ambition isn't right. This is MAGAt style in party politicking and I personally don't like it. We need Fetterman gone (whatever's wrong with him it's not in the country's or his constituents best interest) and I agree, Shapiro would better serve himself by going through the Senate to get into DC. We need all hands on deck to grab these midterms then start worrying about '28. Way to early for this shit. We lose the midterms the country is definitely sunk. And another thing, repukes are making a HARD push for control of enough states to call a convention over the next 3 years and get our Constitution put in a Museum in Idaho somewhere. Full on Pincer move coming at us. We desperately need unity.

[Fiendish Thingy]

33. Constitutional conventions can't change the constitution

They can only propose amendments - ratification by the states is still required.

There won’t be a convention because mathematically, there aren’t enough red states left to reach the threshold to trigger one - they’d need one of the solid blue states to sign on and that’s not going to happen.

[MuirHero]

37. Shapiro or Conor Lamb...

Shapiro or Conor Lamb would be my choices to challenge Fetterman in 2028. I've been working on Democratic campaigns here in PA for the past 40 years and I cannot think of a bigger disappointment than John Fetterman. Conor Lamb would have been a much better choice in the 2022 primary.

[Deminpenn]

59. Shapiro is running for governor in 2026

He probably has his eyes on running for president after that.

It wouldn't surprise me if Conor Lamb took another shot at senate nor would it surprise me if Fetterman elects not to run for a second term.

[FakeNoose]

62. I agree on all of your points

We know that Josh Shapiro is an effective legislator, but we really need him as an administrator. Namely another term as Governor, and hopefully one day, as President.

I had the chance to hear Conor Lamb speak at a rally this summer and he sounds very good. He's not running for anything yet, but he sure sounds like he could be thinking ahead. I don't know if he would challenge Fetterman directly in a primary, but we'll see. Maybe Fetterman will decide not to run again and leave the path open for Lamb.

[Deminpenn]

106. Fetterman seems not to like his job as a senator

given he doesn't show up for committee meetings or even schmooze with his fellow senators.

I'm surprised Conor Lamb has taken a leftward shift away from his moderate instincts lately, but I have to wonder if that''s more out of political convenience than conviction. Lamb's still a relatively young guy, so maybe more life experience has changed his perspective.

[MissKat]

72. someone is already moving into place for that

Conor Lamb

[travelingthrulife]

80. This is why he's trashing Kamala.

[travelingthrulife]

82. I hope he drops off the map. He seems really sleazy to me.

[Butterflylady]

7. Truth is, I would rather have Biden,

Then trump, any day, and most of America would agree.

I will never accept trump as my president.

[LisaM]

9. This is ridiculous.

This seems like pandering, and to say this to Stephen A. Smith who is (IMO) an overpaid buffoon is absurd.

If you read all the way down in the article, Kamala Harris said that she thought Biden was absolutely fit and qualified but had a bad debate.

Trump had a bad debate, too, which no one ever mentions.

[MichMan]

12. According to the linked article, Harris said that in an interview before the election

In her book, she now says

“In retrospect, I think it was recklessness. The stakes were simply too high. This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision.”

[BaronChocula]

14. Agreed

Asking for an open discussion on a topic (Biden's fitness) is not the same as coming down on one side or the other.

Amazing some have the answers to an extremely troublesome conundrum a year later.

[travelingthrulife]

83. It is when the GOP is actively going after Democrats and liberals

You want to have this ambitious president wannabe trashing Democrats for the GOP.

Seems to be our eternal problem. Democrats always blaming Democrats instead of blaming the GOP for what they have done to us.

[BaronChocula]

92. YES x 1000 n/t

[ReRe]

52. Honey

I don't even know who Stephen A. Smith is, and after this OP never want to hear anything else about him!

[Deminpenn]

60. He works for ESPN, so a sports guy

nt

[ReRe]

64. I figured he was into politics

but would never have thought he was with ESPN. Thanks. Knowledge is a good thing to collect every day!

[Deminpenn]

107. Mostly he covers the NBA and basketball at ESPN

He used to be the 76ers beat writer from the Phila Inq.

On ESPN he does one of those two guys shouting at each other shows with Skip Bayless. I think Smith has beocme somewhat of a parody of himself.

[SSJVegeta]

10. Kinda glad she didnt choose him at this point

[BaronChocula]

16. Which is probably why

he's sounding all butthurt now.

[fujiyamasan]

17. Ironically it was Fetterman that recommended that Harris not select Shapiro

Saying his own ambition and ego would get in the way.

Now Fetterman is this bizarro MAga lite Manchin Sinema wannabe.

[MuirHero]

40. Fetterman has gone completely off the rails.

And sadly he is my senator. PA suffered a real loss with the defeat of Bob Casey last year. I still cannot believe that the voters chose Trump toady Dave McCormick over Bob Casey. The Casey name has been gold here in PA going back to the 1980s when Casey's father, Bob Casey, Sr., was our 2 term governor.

[Wiz Imp]

15. Shame on Shapiro for even talking to Smith. Smith is an arrogant know-nothing asshole

And it was a BS question. Harris explicitly said in her book that Biden was fit for office. Her criticism of him was many people didn't want him to run because of his age, not his fitness. Harris felt he should have listened to their arguments earlier. The fact that he dropped out eventually reinforced the point that Harris (or whoever) would have had a better chance of winning if they could have campaigned over a longer period of time.

[Note: I don't completely agree with Harris's opinions here, but Smith and apparently Shapiro are twisting what she said into something she didn't say.

[stopdiggin]

47. +1.! Another podcast buffoon loking to manufacture clickbait. And a politician

that (unfortunately) walked himself right in ...

[usonian]

18. My words to Democrats dredging up the past. Don't take the frickin bait.

Foot sighted! Shot same!

Rant
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3527804
I'm not copying it here.

Image.


Anyone who didn't speak to Joe personally is a coward and has no gripe.
(I don't know who did or didn't)

Life's like that. Really!

[elleng]

19. Damn, thought I liked Shapiro.

[IbogaProject]

21. This whole issue shpuldn't be published

Yes there needs to be reflection but airing our party's "dirty laundry" and critizing Biden while Biden is being publicly maligned by prez T is wrong. Even if Joe should have pulled out of the race in 23 or earlier in 24, this isn't the time to give the reich media anything to denegrate us with.

[MichMan]

28. It is going to be talked about with Kamala book tour coming up

[ananda]

22. Well, isn't this precious?

Shapiro just lost my vote.

[Emile]

97. He didn't do himself any favors.

[Captain Zero]

109. I've never been that impressed with him

as a national candidate anyway.
imho.

[mcar]

23. Like you Gov, but no, just no

Don't fall for the distraction.

[Javaman]

24. Yeah okay, bro cool story

[oberle]

25. It's time to let the subject of Joe Biden go

Joe was a wonderful president and he served the country well for many years. We no longer need postmortems on the 2024 elections. The stakes are too high for the 2026 and 2028 elections. Get over the past and face the scary future.

[MuirHero]

42. Agree - the 2024 election is water under the bridge.

[LyfeTimeDem]

26. well he's done

Im not to happy with Kamala either for the "reckless" thing. Since when is it not the POTUS's decision, alone?

We know who to blame and it ain't Joe Biden or Harris

[Midwestern Democrat]

43. The President isn't an Emperor - his party is totally free to reject his wish for a 2nd term and quite a few would argue

that the power players in the Democratic Party should have done exactly that in late 2022/early 2023.

[stopdiggin]

48. just refused to allow him a place in the primary .. ?

that's some powerful imagination ...
A sitting president , and advantage of incumbency - wield rather considerable power ...
The notion that a person in that position should be encouraged (or leveraged) NOT to run ... Is a far, far greater leap.

[Klarkashton]

29. Instead we have a brainless maniac sending in to

god knows what sort of hell.

[GETTINGTIRED]

32. As 1 of the 92%

He doesn"t get to tell that Black woman what she has to answer for..
2028 Presidential candidate..
Naw.

[Trueblue Texan]

34. The point of this article seems to be to rile up Democrats and get them fighting. Fuck that.

Peace, brothers and sisters and all.

[tavernier]

38. IMO a lot of people have to answer for trashing Joe Biden

But Kamala Harris isn’t one of them.

We now know who followed the money. Keep yourself clean, Josh, because we aren’t as stupid as we seem
and we are looking closely at all of our candidates.

[JCMach1]

39. Might want to check the entry on LOYALTY

Perhaps he could learn a little.

[stopdiggin]

49. read up and down the thread, my friend. finding a lot of support .. ?

"I believe that most voters agree with me on this."

Or? Maybe not?

[spudspud]

45. Well, I can cross Shapiro off the list of potential Dem Prez candidates I'd vote for

Save your fight for the MAGATs man. Not our own, and most certainly not Kamala. You're telling on yourself.

[iemanja]

46. This is helpful.

[BlueMTexpat]

50. What a jerk! eom

[ReRe]

51. I had him pegged from the start.

One of those things you keep to yourself and never tell anybody. Until, of course, they shoot themselves in the foot.
And this alone is what I didn't trust about him: He was too damn pretty. And a little too full of himself. Period.

[Buddyzbuddy]

53. Wait, when Republican's screw up really badly

Democrats come into office and don't want to find blame," we need to just move on" but a Democrat may possibly may have made a mistake and now we're gonna get to the bottom of this. She's gonna have to answer for this. Meanwhile, our Country is in dire straights, on the verge of a dictatorship and that's what you have to say, Governor?
Well, thanks for playing "who wants to be President. Johnny would you please tell him what his consulation prize is."
You had so much going for you after that bridge success. I won't write him off, but do better.

[choie]

55. What a self serving

Asshole. This is what we should be talking about? Our democracy is in peril and he’s talking about the last election? Do ya still have the flag lowered, Shapiro?

[ForgoTheConsequence]

56. Glad to see he's focusing his attention toward the pressing matters.

And not the full scale fascist takeover of the United States.

[Sanity Claws]

57. Oh, fuck him.

I know that this is not the most articulate statement but I am tired of this shit. Just cut the shit out and focus on the real problem - the Felon and his authoritarianism.

[DemocracyWorks]

61. So the coastal elites have it figure out huh

Still burying our heads in the sand over the 2024 election I see.

[JustAnotherGen]

65. I don't consider

Shapiro to be a *Coastal Elite*. I live in NJ and work in Bucks County PA. Once you leave Philly you are dealing with people who think like they are in Mississippi. Huge Krasnov Displays in their yards, Confederate Flags on their Trucks, etc etc.

He's trying to win Pennsyltucky by leaning in on the bullshit narratives about Harris.

Also - Black Democrats in Newark and Trenton are NOT coastal elites. Neither are Black people in South Carolina.

I'm sick of that. They are sick of that smear.

Whenever the next Presidential election is - the Primary winner will be decided in South Carolina. If Shapiro is running?

He just lost. I don't doubt that Pritzker or Newsom will pummel him with this when they campaign in South Carolina.

Note: I've always listened to Black folks in South Carolina when I cast my Primary vote. It's the only time this country gets to hear about how they are doing in that Figurative Coal Mine. With SC moved up to the front of the line? They send up a prayer to Black Women about the kind of leader they want. They aren't Coastal Elites. They are the Forgotten Women of America.

[electric_blue68]

99. Oh!....

from JustAnotherGen:

"I live in NJ and work in Bucks County PA. Once you leave Philly you are dealing with people who think like they are in Mississippi. Huge Krasnov Displays in their yards, Confederate Flags on their Trucks, etc etc".

Oh, dear. Not good!
Only been in Philadelphia.

As far as "coastal elites"...
I might be wrong, but I tend to think of them as upper middle class, to rich white people, and maaaybe some non-religious, politically Conservative very well off POCs.
I'm white but went from middle class to poor-ish in my 40's. Otoh, bc I'm a proud NYC'r maaaybe I ?partially fit that bill.

Shapiro is over the top re: VP Harris.

[Cobalt Violet]

63. Josh Shapiro will have to answer for support of Gaza Genocide.

In my dreams.

[JustAnotherGen]

66. He'll have to answer

For focusing on attacking a Black American woman first.

The ethnic cleansing is here in America now. We intersect with Afro Latino/a. With the exception of one - all of my great nieces and nephews are afro Latino/a. The exception? Her grandparents are from Ivory Coast.

The existential threat is against my flesh and blood in America. I'm putting the oxygen mask on little kids in my family. Everyone else take a ticket and stand in line.

[RVN VET71]

67. Ah, the under-the-bus throwing begins

Distance yourself from friends and colleagues who have become targets of your enemy so your enemy won't target you.

Politics is slimey business. Personally, I have been impressed with Shapiro, until this very moment.

Still, I'd vote for him in a light-second if he were running against the Pedo-Fascists.

[lark]

70. Ok, Gov. Shapiro, you just ensured I won't vote for you in the primaries.

FFS, isn't there enough R crap to complain about, WTF would you bring down a Dem this way! SMDH.

[Emile]

71. Oh no, not another angry pointless blame & bash thread.

[wolfie001]

73. Well, if he thought this was a good way to the Presidential primary, he's wrong

He just hamstringed himself before it started. Big time.

[Ursus Rex]

74. Taking bait like that is almost instantly disqualifying.

What a foolish response to a leading question.

[Clouds Passing]

75. OMG STFU!!!!! Quit smearing Joe Biden!

[bucolic_frolic]

76. I think 25A applies to all cabinet members

any of whom had capacity to discuss.

[24601]

108. It's slightly more nuanced than all cabinet members. In addition to the Vice President, the 25th Amendment refers to

"... principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide." Congress has not provided for another [collective] body of individuals to consider whether the President is able to perform the" powers and duties" of the presidency.

Here's the nuance directly - the VP and all the principal officers of the executive department are in the cabinet. The reverse isn't true since the cabinet includes additional people who are not principal officers. Today, those include key positions such as WH Chief of Staff, DNI, OMB, EPA, SBA, Trade Rep, & CIA. Some cabinets have included UN Ambassador, who is not included today.

[markodochartaigh]

77. Well,

the bottom line is, Democratic politicians have to answer for everything, whether they did it or not. And Republican politicians have to answer for nothing.

[CousinIT]

78. About...what? In her book she says nothing was wrong and had she seen anything..

....regarding his health, she would have spoken out.

As for him running again, she was his VP, not just another Democrat. It was not her decision to make. Had she eeped a word, the press would have made up shit about that.

It wasn't her job. It wasn't her responsibility. It belonged to Biden and the Democrats.

[doc03]

86. It should have been obvious Joe Biden wasn't up to serving another term. I thought Joe Biden

Last edited Sat Sep 20, 2025, 10:01 AM - Edit history (1)

was a great president in some ways. But he appeared to be frail towards the end of his term. Every time he
would speak I would hope he wouldn't have stroke or something, it was obvious he was failing. Someone needed to
convince him not to run. If he would have dropped out there would have been others that would have ran. Kamala Harris had two strikes against her from the start. In my opinion she ran a campaign that turned off many white voters.

[electric_blue68]

100. What? WHY do you think she ran a campaign that "turned off many white voters?"....besides...

those automatically racist /or sexist.

[doc03]

110. It was like how many hip hop, rap or whatever they are called entertainer's endorsements she could get. I don't give a

damn what rich, spoiled entertainer endorses what candidate. There are only a few thousand votes in a handful of states that
win or lose an election, we can't afford to turn anyone off. I voted for her but wish there would have been a better choice.

[AZProgressive]

112. Some Trump supporters like rap music

The Republicans seem to like it more than they did whenever they ran Bush, Romney, or McCain. Probably why Trump had some support from mostly male rappers.

I agree about entertainer endorsements whether that is Hollywood or music but I think the Harris campaign went out of their way to avoid offending anyone.

[betsuni]

113. Republican voters don't hate wealthy entertainers, don't resent the wealthy, who are part of "Us" in Us vs Them.

It's populists of another type who put the wealthy and capitalism in the hated "Them" category. Just one of the reasons the hoped for alliance of Right and Left populists won't happen.

[AZProgressive]

115. I agree that I don't think entertainer endorsements for Harris or any other Presidential election hurt the Democrats

There is a healthy type of populism which we had under FDR where they campaigned against bankers and he appointed a head (A Kennedy who turned out to be a better Kennedy than the one in charge of our health) to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that went after the cheats and they had very successful election results.

I consider right wing populists you see in Europe and with Trump as well as other countries are very different than like a Bernie Sanders in the US. Big difference between Bolsonaro and Bernie Sanders. The ones that do talk about an alliance with with the far right populists are foolish but those people are rare and tend to be like Jimmy Dore or Cenk Uyger.

[betsuni]

116. European right-wing populism happens in good economic times and bad, in countries with strong social safety nets,

but Sanders thinks people voted for Trump because of economic anxiety and all that needs to be done is explain why they're voting against their own economic interests (which he keeps insisting the Democratic Party are ignoring) and they'll vote for left wing populists, the alliance.

But it's an anti-immigrant movement, Republicans created it in the U.S. because they depend on white votes, the threatened white identity base. "It takes a special kind of condescension to believe voters suffering economically are so distracted by the identity politics of the Right that they have overlooked the direct solutions to the economic problems offered by the Left."

"Anyone who wants to explain what's happening in the West needs to answer two simple questions. First, why are right-wing populists doing better than left-wing ones? Second, why did the migration crisis boost populist-right numbers sharply while the economic crisis had no effect? If we stick to data, the answer is crystal clear. Demography and culture, not economic and political developments, hold the key to the populist moment."

Eric Kaufmann

[AltairIV]

87. We are lead by idiots

There's a demented loon in the white house right now, and this is what they are talking about?

[yorkster]

89. Don't like your tone, Gov. Shapiro.

Kamala "will have to answer for" blah blah...
This is no "purity test". Just a hard pass.
Will support the eventual nominee of course..
..

[viva la]

90. Good lord-- why do Democrats always do this circular firing squad thing?

Trump-- far more impaired (especially ethically) that Joe Biden ever will be-- is well on the way to overturning democracy, and this governor decides he's going to waste his words on the previous president and vice president, neither of whom ever threatened to destroy our government and laws?

To what purpose? What's his plan here?

I for one have a much lower opinion of him now, so if he thinks this will help him in the Dem primary, I think he might be miscalculating. I'm sure I'm not the only primary voter who is grateful to Biden/Harris for restoring our country after the devastation of Trump 1.

[Vinca]

91. Ah, what Democrats seem to do best. Trash each other.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

94. Beating a dead horse Josh?

I used to respect you up to this point.

[chouchou]

95. I'd tell him to "go play your God-Damn Monday morning quarterback somewhere else"

[hamsterjill]

96. Well, obviously he's upset that he wasn't picked for the VP spot.

Guess it smarts, you asshole. And knowing that you were, at minimum, the THIRD choice must smart even more.

Democrats don't need this shit right now. There is no purpose served by holding on to the past when the present is where everything is on fire. Stupid, stupid man!

[mcar]

98. Men who write books after an election loss do not get this criticism

Just saying.

[betsuni]

114. Never. And the snide criticism always begins before the book comes out and nobody's read it yet.

They condescendingly assume, no benefit of the doubt: it's going to be whiny sore loser excuses, why is she still around, go away.

[Cha]

117. This really disappoints me.. Was it Kamala's

Story to tell?

Like we don't have Enough Problems now.. and Divisions in our Democratic Party.

I'd like to hear from Kama on this!

This knnda looks like sour grapes.

[hatrack]

101. STFU, dude - why don't you and Fetterman get a room already . . . .

[marble falls]

104. DU needs to consider that discussing the replacement of Biden needs to be treated like bringing up the 2016 campaign.

There's midterms coming up and that is where our focus needs to be.


That, and EPSTEIN!

[Emile]

111. Bash & blame punching down of the Democratic Party