Hello, this is Michael Moore and this is my podcast.
Thanks everybody for joining me today.
It's the 4th of July weekend and it's been, geez, almost like 10
days now since the great debate, the Trump Biden debacle.
And I was really gobsmacked, right?
Like in the 1st 10 seconds, I could not believe what I was
witnessing. And then I stayed with it.
If you were like me and watch the whole thing, it was pretty
brutal. First of all, it's just brutal
because Trump is standing there. He can't stand looking at him.
He can't stand listening to him and he's just a non-stop
diarrhea of the mouth when it comes to just non-stop lying.
And then there was Biden, everyone's favorite grandpa and
all this is going to be good. Two different people on this
stage, that's for sure. And then it was just immediately
right down into the rabbit hole. So I decided that night that I'm
not going to need your care. I'm not going to get all twisted
about what I just saw or what I think should happen.
And I've said to myself, you just need to take a good long
breath, step back from it and just see how you feel in the
morning. And I said that to myself for a
number of mornings because I wasn't ready to sort of figure
out not just, I think I pretty much knew how I felt about it,
but it was, how do I communicate this now to you, to others?
And what do I do about it? Because I think I share.
A goal. That all of you share.
No matter how we feel about a whole bunch of issues or things
that that goal is, we must stop Donald Trump.
He will not re enter 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
He will never step foot in the Oval Office.
Again, never, Period. And.
That's an OK goal to have because we know what the results
of this are going to be if it goes the other way.
So that part I didn't need to. Spend any time thinking about,
but you know, as I've told you over a number of months since
last October, of my utter disappointment seeing President
Biden embracing Benjamin Netanyahu, funding him, arming
him and not ordering him to stop using our weapons and our money.
Stop the slaughter, stop the ethnic cleansing, all that
stuff. And he kept saying he was going
to get a ceasefire and he never did.
Kept saying he was going to get humanitarian aid.
To 2 million. People that were suffering in
Gaza never did. One promise after another
broken. And it was clear that he was the
main enabler of Netanyahu and his so-called war cabinet.
And suddenly there were 10,000 dead Palestinians and then
20,000 dead, 30,000 dead, 40,000 dead, many of them, maybe the
majority of them, children, old people.
So, you know, I've just had my spirits deflated by this person
I voted for. And then the debate happened.
So a couple days ago, I finally sat down and just to get all my
thoughts and feelings out on the paper, wrote this.
And I, I wanted to, I want to read this to you.
I've already sent it out as a written sub stack to all of you
who are subscribers. And for those of you who are
also subscribers, but you like to listen to my podcast, this is
my podcast for today. I'm recording this actually
right after the interview that Biden gave George Stephanopoulos
on ABC News Friday night. And from what I'm about to say,
nothing has really changed. And was actually, I probably got
sadder because it just I saw the denial.
And in spite of my criticisms of Biden and everything, I am very
grateful for so many of the things that he's done in these
last 3 1/2 years. And yet tonight, it's like he
still didn't really have a clue as to what was going on, what
was happening and how dire the situation is for the country.
And the goal of stopping Trump may not be achieved.
I can't believe that's gonna happen, but it very well could
now. So I wanted to speak to you and
share these thoughts with you. Some of you will feel similar.
Some of you won't. Some of you will maybe be
disappointed. But this isn't about.
Who's our friend or who we have to be loyal to?
Or. Did such a great job and we
don't owe him or anybody. We owe this country.
Us, ourselves, our eternal
vigilance and our actions as citizens.
Democracy, as I've said for she's 30 years now, is not a
spectator sport. It's a participatory event.
It only. Exists when we participate.
If we check out. If we don't express our thoughts
and feelings what we stand for, it ceases to be a democracy.
And we won't. Have to worry about Trump ending
the democracy or some terrorists from somewhere else.
We become our own terrorists when we don't take the stands
that we need to take, especially when it's uncomfortable,
especially when maybe it's somebody we're grateful to or
that we like or whatever. Or somebody that we have a lot
of criticisms. About.
But we know what. Our what the larger goal is
here, what our responsibility is to the planet that we live on.
So before I read to you what I've written here, let me just
thank. Our underwriter for today's
episode, Shopify. Shopify has been with us for
some. Time and and here's.
How it works Basically if you have an idea to start your own
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They are the global. Commerce platform that.
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We've used Shopify before on this podcast and I'd use them
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Business from set up to. Marketing to customer service to
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No matter what stage you're in. Shopify.com/rumble and thank
you. Shopify for.
Supporting this podcast. And for supporting my voice.
So here we go. We are asking the wrong question
about Joe Biden on this. 4th of July weekend.
I just want to start by paraphrasing to you in old
Richard Pryor joke. It's a riff on a original line
from Chico Marx, one of the Marx Brothers.
But Pryor spiced it up a little bit, he said.
Who are you going to believe, me or your own lying eyes?
Well. Since the presidential debate.
Over a week ago. The.
Leaders of the Democratic Party have been in.
Full five alarm fire mode wanting us to believe that we
did not. See what we.
Saw how have they described what happened on debate night?
The debacle. Oh, it was just a cold.
He had a bad cold. Everybody has an off night.
OK, so that wasn't his best performance.
All presidents have one bad. Debate You're not going to judge
52 years of public service by 90 minutes of a lousy debate, are
you? He's 81.
What do you expect? You'll be 81 someday.
Let me tell you something about Joe.
Biden, he's not a quitter. He's all in.
This is. Scranton Joe we're talking
about. Yeah, we've heard all the
excuses. But it's all malarkey.
That's probably because maybe we're asking the wrong question
when we ask what are we going to do?
About Joe. Maybe we should be asking what
are we going to? Do about ourselves and.
What can we do to get him? Joe, some help?
Perhaps. We should start with a
definition of terms. Like why do people keep?
Calling that thing we watched a debate.
Was it really a debate if one of the debaters is mentally and
physically incapacitated? That he cannot.
Complete a sentence that he randomly flips between
discussing abortion, the three trimesters of a pregnancy, and
how great his golf game is. Then looking around, unable to
find one. Of the four cameras pointing at
him, he suddenly turns his. Head all the way to the left.
As if he was. Looking for Rhode?
Island or something, staring off into the distance.
And then out of nowhere, raises his.
Voice and shouts. We finally beat Medicare.
Not Ohio State, but Medicare.
We saw and we heard all of that. And no matter what the party
hacks. Keep telling us.
It was heartbreaking, my friends.
It was truly without equivocation.
Unlike anything any of us. Had ever seen before.
No matter where you stood. Or.
Stand on the Joe. Biden scale from Joe the working
class hero all the way. To Joe.
The banker of Palestinian. Ethnic cleansing one thing.
Was certain this. Was not a cold.
This was a human being in utter collapse.
Not just. Political collapse or?
Performance collapse, but rather a full frontal lobe meltdown
where at any moment. You had to wonder, was it
possible that the sweet and fragile existence we call life
was about to short circuit or worse, lose power, lose power,
lose power to Trump? And that no amount of shouting
stat or cutting. Quickly to a commercial break.
Was going to restore the president compatient to full
capacity in order. To save this even more fragile.
Democracy, do not mistake. My criticisms of Biden.
Spending nine months in the loving embrace of Bibi Netanyahu
as meaning that I do not deeply appreciate.
His three years of being. The most?
Progressive president of my lifetime.
That's right, my friends. There really has been no other
president, and we've had some good ones.
But with this president, with Biden, I mean, if you just look
at the record, there's been more.
Action taken through executive. Orders and.
Legislation to protect. The environment, more government
officials that he's appointed. Who are in their?
Heart of hearts. I'll say it Democratic.
Socialists, that's right. Everything he did with unions,
all the unions and all those union members who were backed by
their president, usually the president just kind of.
Stays out of it. When it's between the.
Corporation and the unions. Not Biden.
He went to Detroit and walked the picket line with the United
Auto Workers. No president had ever done that.
He's given more serious funding to lift millions out of poverty,
more support for libraries, single mothers and college
students deep in debt. And he has had this fervent,
almost religious zeal to fight greed and obscene profits.
And that's because of the true compassion he has for those
who've been dealt a bad. Hand in life.
And he has done more of all of that than all the good
presidents had. Whether it be Kennedy, Obama,
Carter, all of them. Whatever they were able to
muster hasn't matched. What Joe Biden has done, that's
just the truth. Then he got us through COVID,
the worst pandemic of the last century, plus the what was his
main job that he had to do one job in 2020, get rid of Trump.
And he did that and gave Trump a humiliating defeat.
It doesn't mean that he hasn't had his failures.
And yet on balance, and I'm remember I worked for Bernie and
was a Bernie supporter, but when Bernie wasn't the candidate, I
walk. Down on our main job?
Remove Trump. None of that is feeling right
right now, is it? Has he had?
A stroke? Will there be another one?
Or a mini one? Or maybe a micro stroke, you
know, I mean. As you get.
Older, you have these things while you're sleeping.
Sometimes it doesn't doesn't end your life.
It it rewires a few things. Maybe you're a little slower.
Or something's. Drooping, you know, but.
Life goes on, but. Sadly, the decline begins.
And it's hard to reverse that. Decline, but.
One thing about getting. Older and I can now I guess say
this. It doesn't get better.
I mean you can. Deal with it just fine, but.
You have to just. Sometimes.
Accept that. OK, well I can't do now at this
age. What I did at 35, that's OK,
That's the way it's. Supposed to be, actually, it'd
be a little. Weird if it wasn't.
But I don't think we should be waiting till September, October
to deal with this. I think we have to deal with
this right now. And this is not about whether
he's fit to serve another four years after what we saw on
debate night. This is about whether he should
serve another four days in the toughest job in the world.
That's the question we should be asking.
Or let me ask you this if Joe Biden offered to drive you from
Flint to Detroit tonight, would? You get in the car.
I'm not saying people in their 80s can't drive.
A lot of them drive. My dad drove till he was 90.
It's not that. It's not really about the age.
It is about the capacity to function at a level that if
you're the leader of the world's only superpower, how on it you
have to be in George Stephanopoulos interview.
With him Friday night. He asked President Biden if he
would be willing to let a neurologist check him out to
take a cognitive test to do, and he interrupted and he said no,
no, I don't need any of that. I get a cognitive test every
day, Biden. Says.
He didn't mean that he. Actually gets a cognitive test
every he's. Saying that when you're
president of the United. States that.
Is a cognitive test. You're put through it every day.
But that's not the question. The question is something is
wrong. We all saw it.
And would you please just be willing to have an independent
doctor, not one at the Army hospital in Washington?
You're the commander in chief. That means that doctor works for
you. You're the boss, not him, not
her. This has to be an independent
neurologist who's going to check you out.
George asked that question to Biden 3-4 maybe five times.
And Biden just avoided it, kept laughing it off.
Wasn't necessary. You know the doctor that told
him he had a cold. You know, he thought he was OK,
just needed some rest. Well, listen.
I'm not a doctor and I could be. And hopefully I'm wrong about
all this, but like you, I do have eyes.
They don't lie, I. Like nearly every.
One of you had or currently has four grandparents and two
parents. Every one of us.
Four grandparents, two parents. Some of you even have.
More with wonderful step parents and step grandparents.
And. If you yourself.
Just you yourself. Are over the age of 40.
Your eyes have seen all this too.
The slow decline of your elders, followed by a sudden incident or
event, and then without warning, your loved one is.
Confused, not sure where he or she is at.
Can't find the keys, can't find the rest of the thought she just
had in her head. Or has the ability to even end
the sentence that he was in the middle of.
It's all quite normal actually, and it's to be.
Expected. It's called getting.
Older, and it will visit all of us one day.
It won't feel good, it won't look pretty, but more than
likely, that feeble, humbling moment we're all going to
experience. Will not be televised live to an
audience of 2 billion people around the world with Jake.
Tapper's hot breath. Breathing down your neck and
telling. You ironically that.
Your time is up. Who?
Exactly is Jake Tapper, you might ask yourself at 81?
It won't matter because at that point when you suddenly blurt
out that there are 1000 trillionaires in America and
you've spent your presidency trying to make those
trillionaires. Corrected later to billionaires.
What have you been doing to them?
You've been trying to make them pay their friggin taxes.
They don't like you. And now you realize these rich
ass Barbarians are at your gate. And at that point, then yeah,
nothing will really matter. I'm sorry, my friends.
I've But if I have to be the only one to stand for Joe Biden,
that's right, that's. Me.
You heard me say that if I. Have to be the only one to stand
up for Joe Biden. Here to protect him.
From the cruelest form of elder abuse I've ever been forced to
watch. Well then that's what I'll do.
He was in epic. Distress that Thursday night.
Every cognitive default in his mind seemed to be shutting down.
If this had been somebody that you truly cared about, loved,
embraced. What would you have done?
Would you have? Seriously.
Even let him go out on that stage.
Who would send an 81 year old out onto any stage to debate a
living monster at 9:00 at night for a brawl that would not end
until 10:42 PM? Honestly, have any one of you
ever looked at the clock, saw that it was getting near 11:00
PM and said to yourself, I think I'm going to give grams?
And gramps a call. You never did that because it
would be cruel. They're not up.
You're not going to wake them up.
The only people who would think of forcing an elder to perform
at that hour of the night would be the same people who would
insist on six straight days of nonstop.
Debate prep hours and. Hours each day of standing and
talking until you were hoarse and exhausted.
Trump was right. I know there's the words I've
never spoken. Trump was right when he turned
to Biden to ask him what his problem was as to why he never
fires anybody. It's amazing to me how a week
later now, anyone on this campaign staff still has a job.
How is that possible after running this tired and grieving
father into the ground? A man who had just recently
watched his only remaining son being convicted as a felon for
the outrageous crime of needing help for being an addict.
Who would put this old man through a brutal boot camp, make
him memorize 200 facts and stats, and then pick the wrong
podium without once going on the stage the day before to check
the lighting, the sight lines, and where the bully would be
standing lying. A smug TV star who knew what the
red light on the camera meant, who knew timing and how to wait
and when to pounce. And devour his prey all while
speaking this. Was Trump all while speaking in
his softest, most fake, empathetic voice, speaking his
most honest statement of the night?
This is what he said right after Biden got lost.
Forgot what he was going to say. And then mumbled something.
Trump. Quote, he says to the
moderators. I really don't know what he said
at the end of that sentence, and I don't think he knows.
What he said either how Biden was not.
Well, Biden did not. Possess the faculties.
He needed something was wrong. Did nobody.
See this in the. Days leading up.
To the collapse. Did not a single.
Person raise their voice. To ask.
Maybe we shouldn't do this to him.
But they did do it to him. And the repercussions?
That we the world. And the generations after us
will have to suffer through are not even part of the current
discussion this week. It's all about making sure he
stays in the race and nothing about the risk to his own life
he is facing as they push him, push him, push him.
To soldier onward. So I will say this to protect.
Him from an out of control party machine that is in a panic over
what to do for any of us to be. Silent now.
Is exactly what the term. Elder abuse is meant to
describe. Leave Mr. Biden alone.
Let him rest. Let him go home.
He has done his job. Let him have his dignity.
Please do him this favor. Tell the press that President
Biden has asked to have an independent team of doctors do a
full. Medical evaluation of his mental
and physical health. When they are through, they,
along with the president, will then announce.
The full results to the public. And give their honest
assessment. And that assessment?
May be this for the good of his well-being, he must stop work.
He must step. Down.
The next day, president. Biden, then will.
Give his final remarks. In a short and beautiful
statement. On the South Lawn.
Of the White House. The place will be packed with
thousands of grateful everyday Americans, fry cooks and
teachers, brick layers and nurses, gay teens and the vets,
the homeless, the union members and the elder.
Care workers. All of whom know what he is
doing. Is for the good.
Of the country. That he loves so.
Dearly he once. Saved the world.
From a man named. Trump.
And now, in one last selfless act, he is.
Stepping aside to ensure this Trump will be.
Banished for good millions upon hearing him speak.
While he wipes the. Tears from his eyes will weep
too. Biden will never.
Be forgotten. A profile in Courage, the
Founders. Of this country.
Were smart in many ways. They knew there would be
presidents who would not make it through even a four year term,
so they set up a position called Vice President just for that
reason. It's amazing actually, to think
that. We've only had 46 presidents.
In the life of this country. And that nine of them, that's
about 20%, have never made it to the end of their term.
Four were assassinated, 1 resigned.
Four more died of various illnesses Each time, though.
There was a smooth. And peaceful transition with the
Vice President being sworn in as the new president.
Contrary to what it may feel like right now, this is not an
unusual moment we are in this week.
This happens. There is precedent.
And if President Biden is unable to perform his duties, there is
a tried and true solution. He resigns due to the obvious
medical issues that were on full display the night of June 27th.
His Vice President, Kamala Harris is sworn in as president
by federal campaign rules. She and only she, inherits all
the campaign funds in the Biden Harris war chest.
Biden will urge all his Biden Harris Convention delegates to.
Support her. She will now immediately become
the incumbent president who will run on the incredible
accomplishments of the Biden. Harris Administration.
There will be no real convention fight and nearly every American
would plan to vote for Biden, will vote for Harris.
As recent polling has actually shown us, many Biden voters have
already stated that they'd vote for a dead cat or a ficus plant
instead of Trump. They're not switching to Trump.
Some of you even said that they would go all out Weekend at
Bernie's and vote for a dead Biden if that meant keeping
Trump. Out of the White House.
One possible bonus at all this. Will be that a?
Record number of votes from women for Harris will make up
for some of Biden's loss of the youth vote.
And the Arab American? Vote and there's this.
For over 8 months, it has been reported that Kamala Harris has
quietly pushed for an immediate ceasefire.
In Gaza. It seems to me.
That there's one good thing that is possible from this mess we're
in. Less Palestinians?
Will die with. Kamala Harris.
In the Oval Office and this someday we will look back and
see that we grew. And got better as a country.
And finally finished the job of having a full.
Equal and complete democracy. Our first female president.
It turned out. Ended up playing a big role in
making that happen. Another gift.
From Joe Biden. Picking her, knowing she was the
right one when, during their own debate on a stage back in 2020,
she gently but caustically reminded him that as a senator
many years prior. In Washington, DC, he.
Once stood in the way of she and her sister going to an
integrated school in Berkeley, CA.
That was his position at the time.
When she confronted him with. Us you could see.
In that moment, the sadness and shame.
On Joe Biden's face. He knew.
Right from wrong. And in 2020, he knew, even if
most of his supporters. Weren't sure about her as his VP
pick. And even if her platform was
essentially Bernie's, he knew she was the one and the first of
what would turn out to be many women and people of color who
would lead us. To our better selves.
I'm OK. With that, aren't you?
Let's find the. Courage to fix this.
After all, this weekend it's our 248th birthday.
Now that's old. What will happen?
Either way, we're not going to let Trump back in the.
White House. We're going to have to make a.
Fairly quick decision. This can't go on now for days or
weeks if Harris is. Going to be the candidate or
whoever the candidate is including.
If it's Joe Biden. The election is Jesus.
Less than couple days, less than four months from right now.
Today. Wow.
So you get it. Right, can't mess around.
The candidate has to have four months, 4 full months to get out
there, and all of us have to do whatever we can do to prevent a
second term of Donald J Trump. So stay tuned.
We'll be on top of this over the next few.
Days this week. Not for long though.
We need a decision. I'll do my part if you're.
Listening to this Saturday here on. 4th of July weekend.
I'm going to be live tonight, Saturday.
Night at 7:00 PM. Eastern on MSNBC on Eamon's
show. I invite you to.
TuneIn, I think I'm going to be. On near the.
Top of the hour there. At 7:00 PM so.
TuneIn we'll talk about this and other things.
We'll. Talk about Gaza.
And what needs to happen. I feel bad that all this stuff,
all this mess that we're in here in the US is.
At least here has. Taken a lot of attention away
from stopping the massacre of all of these civilians.
Thank you for caring and doing what you need to do, whatever
that is to protect our. Democracy, my thanks to.
All of you for tuning in, this is Michael Moore.
This is it folks. Here we go.