‘He’s Not a Solid Candidate, He’s Struggling!’ CNN Panel Frets About a Biden Rematch with Trump
A CNN panel fretted Thursday as former President Donald Trump made his way to a Washington, D.C. courtroom for his third arraignment of the year, worried about President Joe Biden’s prospects in a rematch with his 2020 opponent.
CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger brought up “a little scary” detail from a recent poll, showing that among Trump’s “really loyal MAGA base,” it wasn’t true that they supported him “in spite of [his] flaws,” but rather “they do not believe that he has any flaws.”
“There was not one person, one person, zero percent of these 319 respondents who said, yeah, I think that he has got a flaw or two, but I am willing to overlook it,” said Borger, noting how complicated it was for other candidates to face off against this “tsunami of people” who say “there is nothing wrong with Donald Trump, because he is representing my grievances, and as Donald Trump himself says, I am your retribution.”
“But the good news here, there is good news, the good news is 61% of Americans — bringing in the Democrats and the independents — a super majority do admit that Biden won,” said CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen.
The upcoming trial for Trump’s second federal indictment and third overall would help by “crystalizing things,” he argued, so if Trump were to be found guilty, “that is going to be sending a powerful message to the 61%.”
Anchor Dana Bash was more skeptical. “I’m usually an optimist, we all are,” she said, “but I see the 61% that you’re talking about, and I am focused on the 40% who say, no, this election was actually stolen.”
Former Department of Justice counsel Jamil Jaffer also took the skeptical view, saying that he expected the trial would be something that “actually solidifies Donald Trump’s base,” getting them to turn out to vote while Biden’s voters would be “tired” after having “watched this thing for years” and “Biden himself is struggling.”
“I think that this trial benefits Donald Trump,” said Jaffer, and the more indictments he got, the more likely he was to be the nominee, “which is crazy,” and more likely to be re-elected, “also crazy.”
Eisen disagreed that Trump’s legal entanglements would help him in the general, even if they did make him more likely to win the GOP primary. “We’ve had this thesis tested,” he said, pointing to the 2022 midterms, which were “a wipeout electorally.” Plus, he added, “61% is a huge number in American politics.”
Wolf Blitzer viewed that number pessimistically: “61% is only 61% believe that Biden was legitimately elected President of the United States. That is a pretty disturbing number, 61%.”
The panel continued debating whether or not 61% was a solid enough number, generally agreeing that this new upcoming trial was at least “short term, very good” news for Trump, helping him “solidify the base.”
“The question is, how solid of a candidate is Joe Biden?” asked Borger.
“That is the problem,” said Jaffer. “That’s exactly the problem.”
“We don’t know how solid a candidate Joe Biden is,” said Borger.
“We know he’s not a solid candidate,” Jaffer declared. “He is struggling! I mean, it is hard –”
“Exactly! Within his own party,” Borger interjected.
“It is hard to watch,” Jaffer continued. “Why is Joe Biden running for re-election? I mean, this is crazy. The idea that this is the best our country has to offer, Donald Trump and Joe Biden? The American public does not want to come out to vote for these folks, and that’s why it’s going to be all about turnout, and Donald Trump and these indictments will cause his base to turn out in droves and this is what people should be worried about, by the way.”
“The opposite could also be true,” argued Borger, and the indictments “could turn out Democratic voters,” and we don’t know the answer to that yet.”
“There are other issues” motivating voters, Bash said.
“And November 2024 is still a long ways off,” said Blitzer, “and a lot that could happen between now and then.”
Watch above via CNN.
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