Watching the national media try to turn Joe Biden into a breakout star of the coronavirus pandemic, I cannot help but think back to that 2014 interview with Lindsay Lohan, in which Oprah Winfrey said to the washed-up, troubled actress, “I really do want you to win.”
The media are pretending that “now is not the time for politics,” even as they all actively seek out ways to turn the coronavirus into a handicap for President Trump’s reelection campaign. Trump said at Monday’s daily press briefing that he took a call from Biden, describing it as a “really wonderful, warm conversation.”
And so ends the cheesy buildup to a call between Trump and the former vice president, whom no one had been thinking about anyway. But then there was Steve Benen, an MSNBC producer for Rachel Maddow, who said it wasn’t enough that Trump took the pointless call, but that he needs to hand the keys over to Biden immediately, right this instant.
“On March 12, the day before Trump declared a national emergency, Biden unveiled a detailed policy blueprint on how the federal response should take shape,” said Benen.
Oh really? As part of Biden’s plan for the freak coronavirus — which, even now, scientists don’t completely understand — he said the administration should “immediately put scientists and public health leaders front and center in communication with the American people.” Great idea. Maybe Trump preemptively read his mind by putting on daily two-hour White House press briefings, because that’s the only reason Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx are now household names.
Biden also demanded “that every person who needs a test can get one — and that testing for those who need it is free.” That is also the current administration’s position. This wasn’t ever a matter of wanting more tests, but of making them fast enough. That hasn’t happened, and Biden never had any ideas as to how it could have.
More helpful advice from Biden: “Provide a daily public White House report on how many tests have been done.” Done.
From the beginning, there was no unique substance to Biden’s plan. If the Trump administration had taken any of Biden’s advice, it’d simply be doing the exact same things it’s already doing.
Back when Biden initially offered to make that call to Trump, a stunt intended to elevate the out-of-sight, out-of-mind Democratic candidate, one reporter hoped to get a good sound bite from Trump by asking if he would accept such a call. Trump’s answer: “I’d love to speak to him, sure. I always found him to be a nice guy.”
It was exactly the right answer. If Trump had said, “I don’t need him,” it would have turned Biden into a victim-hero. But we did get this headline Tuesday morning from the New York Times: “What America Needs Next: A Biden National Unity Cabinet.”
We all know what it’s trying to do. Maybe Biden will fare better than Lindsay Lohan.
