Joe Biden’s unprecedented pullout from his re-election bid was “absolutely” a pure political calculation arising from fears of a Democratic election debacle, not based on any medical or cognitive impediments, Rep. Salud Carbajal said Tuesday.
“He seemed pretty normal to me,” Santa Barbara’s Man in Washington maintained, asked to describe his personal interactions with Biden.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a significant decline,” he said.
Biden, whose withdrawal as Democratic Party nominee barely 100 days before the Nov. 5 election has transformed the nation’s political landscape, is scheduled to deliver a nationally televised address on Wednesday to address the circumstances of his decision, which so far he has explained only in a brief written statement.
“Certainly he was hearing from people that they had concerns about his age,” Carbajal told Newsmakers. “Certainly they thought the last debate was, as I put it, ‘sluggish’ and (he) didn’t perform as somebody we expect to perform as a candidate for president. And I think he heard a lot from people throughout the country and he decided…to put country over his ego and vanity and make sure we have the best chance to win this election against…Donald Trump.”
Q: “So just to be clear, you’re saying it was purely a political decision and didn’t have anything to do with his cognitive ability?”
A: “Absolutely, absolutely.”
The president, who has not been seen for days in public, has been recovering from Covid, generating allegations that he is too frail and feeble-minded to be trusted with the nuclear codes, amid widespread speculations and wild conspiracy-mongering, up to and including wing nut social media claims that he is dead.
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he’s not fit to serve as president,” Johnson declared this week.
In our interview, Carbajal disclosed his participation in behind-the-scenes group calls with Biden, in which Democrats in Washington – some subtly, some not so much — presented both polling data and on-the-ground reports from their districts that the party faced a calamitous election that could result, not only in loss of the White House but also both houses of Congress.
“There was another meeting that I was part of with the president where (political concern) was expressed in the small group,” he said, adding that he and his colleagues told Biden, “the sentiment of what we were hearing throughout the country, my own constituents on the Central Coast…was communicated, and it was done in the context of ‘this is what we are hearing.”
In the interview, Carbajal also:
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Defended his avid support for Biden’s recent executive order on immigration, which bars migrants who cross the southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum, against sharp criticisms from many fellow Latino officeholders, including California’s U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, who said the president’s order “undermined American values and abandoned our nation’s obligations to provide people fleeing persecution, violence and authoritarianism with an opportunity to seek refuge in the U.S.”
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Admitted that “things are broken” in the nation’s immigration policy, but insisted that the problems that emerge from millions of migrants coming to the U.S. illegally are the fault of House Republicans, who refused to consider a Senate-passed, bipartisan immigration bill which Trump told Johnson and other GOP leaders to kill because it would weaken the effectiveness of immigration as an issue to use against Biden.
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Warned that a national abortion ban is “extremely possible,” should Republicans control the government, while pointing to his support for repeal of the 1873 Comstock Act, an antiquated anti-vice measure to ban the mailing of obscene material and articles used to induce abortion, which some on the right have argued could be used to further expand restrictions on abortion rights that have come forth since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago.
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Waffled when asked if he would debate Thomas Cole, a Santa Barbara Republican political activist, who is on the ballot as his opponent in the November election, saying that, “I will continue to focus on the important work that the residents of the Central Coast sent me here to Washington to do, and that’s been my focus right now.”
Carbajal declared that he is “thrilled” that Vice President Kamala Harris has taken Biden’s spot on the Democratic ticket, and predicted that she would defeat Trump.
“We’re going to stop him at the ballot box,” he said. “We do not want that type of dictator behavior and undemocratic behavior in the White House.. the future of democracy is at stake.”
Check out our conversation with Salud Carbajal via YouTube below or by clicking through this link. The podcast version is here. TVSB, Channel 17, airs the show every weeknight at 8 p.m. and at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. KCSB, 91.9 FM, broadcasts the program on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
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People who claim that Biden’s mental capacity is diminished don’t have the first clue about what they speak. Seriously, there are only a handful of humans capable of making that judgement of another human. But it’s true that his body has been almost ground to dust by the job of being President, and that is what we see when he hoarsely stumbles or rushes over words, or calls someone or someplace by the wrong name. For a person with a speech impediment, much more than most people, speaking is a physical act requiring strength, focus and stamina to make muscles perform as expected. We see his speech difficulties and think, ‘mental capacity’, but that’s not necessarily what’s going on. It’s vastly more physical than mental.
I have yet to hear of one single thing that Joe Biden screwed up because of his age, other than words. He has made excellent decisions. He has brokered complex arrangements by consensus with adversarial parties. He has travelled as much as any POTUS, and responded in a timely manner to the events of the day with compassion and common sense. He has articulated his vision for how our country should move forward to increase justice and follow the “moral arc of the universe”. In short he’s been exactly the person we needed in the White House for the last 4 years, and his decision to pass the baton will rank among the most strikingly patriotic decisions of any President in our history. Not to mention a shrewdly strategic one, as the choking and flailing by Trump’s team clearly shows. The old man nailed ’em to floor with their pants down and they haven’t any idea what to do about it. This political calculation was Jedi Master-level brilliance. “Diminished mental capacity”, my big toe!
I know it’s only been a few days but the change in ‘vibe’ could not possibly be more profound. I’m hoping it lasts another 100 days or so.
KT – Hear, hear!
Salud, your loyalty to Biden is appreciated but you look inattentive at best when you claim Joe was acting normally in the past few months.
Congressman Carbajal interacted regularly with Biden. Your view is based on selective media reporting.
Which of those is more credible?
What was credible was watching 90 minutes of Joe fumbling and stumbling during the debate fiasco. We all saw, or had the chance to see, that. I don’t understand the need to deny the facts. I would have voted for Biden even so as Trump is such a threat but I wouldn’t lie to myself that he was OK.
Again, which is more credible?
It’s not Biden’s age, it’s his stamina and mental capacity. There are millions of people older than Biden that are stronger and sharper. We old people have to play the cards we that are dealt and Biden has a lousy hand!
Oh no Anon… you think you’re one of those “sharp” 80 year olds, don’t you?
Anybody who saw the last debate and several other scripted teleprompter reads by Joe could clearly see what Salud is trying to sequester. Getting old sucks.
Nonsense. Again, you’re basing your opinion on media coverage, which has routinely focused on gaffes by Biden, and ignored the (by now routine) nonsense babbled by his opponents.
You should be above that.
Biden is a stammerer. He has to concentrate on the mechanics of speech, which
makes his elocution seem stilted and slow. None of his decisions in office have
shown any signs of diminished capacity.
Some people obviously prefer a glib prevaricator.
I was always horrible with english (even being my “natural language”); luckily definitions are now just a right click away… 🙂
nice!
Regarding President Biden’s mental state-Salud is certainly entitled to determine his own definition of what being normal is, but applying this label to Biden runs counter to what many people said after meeting with the president. Allied leaders from Europe and around the world said that they saw a decline in Biden’s mental acuity, as have many elected officials in our country. There is nothing shameful about any person losing mental capacity at any age, but they do not belong in one of the most stressful ands demanding jobs on earth; POTUS.
As to the selection process of Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s candidate for POTUS, she never received one delegate when she ran in the primary for the job in 2022 and Democratic Party voters had no role in her choice by party insiders recently . Her selection is no different than what occurs in dictatorships around the world, countries to which we keep preaching and pushing to have fair and open political processes. The Democratic Party leadership has chosen the North Korean and China systems for picking its presidential candidate in 2024. Now they have to select a “white male” to “balance their ticket”. Our country is the loser in this process!
This country’s open borders will continue to be at the top of the issues that voters make their choice for POTUS on. Harris is far too liberal on this subject and other important issues for the majority of the voters. Her only hope for election is that Trump and/or Vance self destruct because her history as Attorney General of CA, in the Senate and as VP don’t look real strong. No great accomplishment as CA AG, she did not get one of her many proposed bills passed in the Senate and has failed in the border portfolio, given to her by Biden. She has the same problem that kept Hillary from winning-she is not likable or liked. Too much nervous laughter at the wrong moments.
THEKID – go call the Border Patrol and tell them the border open.
Hah! Kamala is the ‘border tsar” – failure in all attempts.
GOLETA – that doesn’t even make sense…..
Recent internet activity indicates that Kamala is, in fact, likable and liked. Also, she was NOT given the “border portfolio.” Learn the facts.
If the Democratic delegates do make Ms. Harris the nominee, voters will then have a chance to decide if she (and the Democratic platform) or the nasty felon (and his authoritarian plans) will be better stewards of our democratic republic.
As far as Biden’s condition, it could certainly vary a lot from one time to another. The debate was bad. But, at the press conference he demonstrated clearheaded, ongoing understanding of many aspects of international affairs. If you’ve ever had a family member age this way, you will understand. The cognitive lapses are not linear and clear cut. Some in the administration were probably covering up, but others likely did not see anything wrong with Biden’s mind.
Biden was dumped as if he were radioactive! Polls show that Kamala is not exactly loved by voters. Delegates will not have a say in her nomination. She has already been anointed by party leaders. Let’s wait a bit until the euphoria over Harris subsides a bit.
Delegates literally jumped at the chance to back her. Three full states within a few hours of the announcement. Even though the Democrats have a very talent-rich bench, no one is challenging her because she is clearly the best qualified and situated to win and excel in office.
I agree that it’s still very early, but the euphoria is still growing rapidly. Democrats were deeply thirsty for someone to be fired up over. Today over 100K white women joined a single zoom call in support of Kamala Harris on about 24 hours notice. You might have to wait a while.
Your claims are completely fabricated. Immediately after Biden’s announcement, Kamala Harris called and zoomed delegates and within 32 hours more than enough of them had pledged to support her to secure the nomination. There will be a virtual rollcall of the delegates in early August.
More sexist commentary from “TheKid5”
Do you know there are probably 100 videos out there from the White house and CNN declaring that Harris is the “border czar”
Try http://www.google.com
You will have fun.
Vidiot
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/07/23/kamala-harris-not-border-czar-of-biden-administration-fact-check/74498717007/
ANON – actual facts are like holy water and vampires for these folks.
“This country’s open borders will continue to be at the top of the issues that voters make their choice for POTUS on.”
Speak for yourself; you don’t speak for me!
And your sexism is offensive.
“she never received one delegate when she ran in the primary for the job in 2022”
The primary was in 2024 and Kamala Harris, VP at the time and presumed to be Biden’s VP choice, did not run in it. Nothing you or other right wingers claim is true.
Blaming a civilian for the border is laughable
What is laughable is that comment and every other comment you have ever made on this board. “civilian” Donald Trump told the Republicans, who had spent months hammering out the details of the border bill, not to vote for it because he wanted to hang it around Biden’s neck and so they didn’t.
Enjoy 2024 with DJT as president.
Two questions, GLocal:
What year is it?
What is the name of the president?
Going to laugh so hard when she tanks at the ballot.
Have fun when 45 becomes 47!
You all asked for this when you voted for Biden.
I have no doubt you will–because for people like you it’s ever about good governance, it’s always about PwNinG THE LIBS
Didn’t you make some preachy post about being above Edhat and leaving or something? Look what the cat dragged in.
If you’d care to have a decent conversation I’m all in. People have been saying Biden couldn’t do it for years and his voters have been in a state of denial about it.
It is genuinely funny to see them still be in denial to the point they think Kamala has got this.
Her best shot at a presidency was him resigning on day one of term two.
In 2016 a woman did not beat Trump. Kamala has less of a chance than Hillary did any day. Her approval has been low, she’s been silent as a VP and gone largely unheard. Just because she is dems second best option does not mean she can contend. I’ll publically apologize to you and anyone else that statement offends if I’m wrong. But as I said, it’s funny AF that people are still in denial that they voted for this.
Didn’t you also make a stink about how horrible this site is and you’re never coming back?
Thank you in advance for your apology.
I love reading all the democrats gushing over what a hero Biden is for stepping aside.
This was a coup people , nothing less. Is it possible that Obama took so long to support Harris because he was Behind tue scene pushing for Michelle until he understood that there is no support for her?
Nope.
In fact Michelle Obama has consistently polled around ten points ahead of your cult leader.
She doesn’t want the job.
Wow what an interesting theory. I suppose you’ve seen lots of videos on the internet making this claim.
How nice for you, that you have something to do with your days.
Aw Salud, really? Cmon man. No way dude. He looks like a scarecrow to us, and what do you think the other world leaders think about him? A giant part of being the leader of the free world is looking the part. He doesn’t look it, and that’s exactly why he’s out.