Today is the big test for the presidential candidate, a moment of truth that could well determine his future viability as his party’s standard bearer in his campaign for a second term and if the public would be willing to vote for him. That was the sentence we had prepared for the sentence Donald Trump was to receive today for his 34 felony convictions, as found unanimously by a jury of a dozen Manhattanites on May 30.
Instead, the exact same situation now applies to Joe Biden, who will be holding a solo press conference today. Rather than have Americans mull over Trump’s fine or probation or jail time, we will all be dissecting how Biden handles unscripted questions on live TV and how it will impact our perceptions of the man.
The tables first turned exactly two weeks ago with Biden’s disastrous debate showing, with the 81-year-old mumbling and stumbling and fumbling while the 78-year-old made up lies about everything. Still Biden’s mentality, not Trump’s mendacity, was the focus.
Then, four days later, the tables shifted again, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided that former presidents have some level of immunity from criminal prosecution and Trump’s sentence was postponed until September.
Trump was to appear downtown in Courtroom 1530 at 100 Centre St. before Acting Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan. Now, Courtroom 1530 will be much quieter this morning without Trump and the Secret Service and the assembled press.
While Trump’s obstacles have been lowered by the Supreme Court ruling (which further delayed his D.C. criminal trial for trying to overturn his 2020 loss), Biden has been on a desperate tour to salvage his candidacy. He went on ABC News the next night after the debate. And he did some rallies and gave a speech at the NATO summit, each time another test of his abilities.
This afternoon’s press conference is his next hurdle. On Monday night, in a bit of counter programming with the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Biden will have an interview on NBC News.
Biden’s goal is to slow, and then stop, the calls by Democrats for him to drop out. Recall how it was all so different just two weeks ago, the party united behind Biden and Trump facing a jail sentence. That’s politics.
This date, July 11, is also notable for it was 220 years today, in 1804, when occurred the Aaron Burr-Alexander Hamilton duel in Weehawken, where the sitting vice president of the United States (Burr) shot and killed the former treasury secretary (Hamilton). There’s a fabulous Broadway musical to see if you want more details.
It was VP Burr’s opposition to, and rivalry with, President Thomas Jefferson that caused the adoption of the 12th Amendment to have joint tickets with running mates. Burr came in second in 1800 when the loser of the White House race became VP. The 12th Amendment was ratified on June 15, 1804 and Burr offed Hamilton the next month.
The 12th Amendment says that electors shall vote “for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves.” The different state requirement might cause a complication for Floridian Trump picking Floridian Marco Rubio. But that’s a minor matter compared to having a pre-12th Amendment mess with Biden and Trump serving together.
