It’s inconceivable that a an 81-year-old president could think the support of an 80-year-old actor would turn his re-election chances around
Among the abiding memories of Hillary Clinton’s cringe-inducing 2016 presidential campaign is a music video recorded by a variety of B-List celebrities singing Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” to signal their support for Clinton at the Democratic National Convention.
Clinton didn’t lose the election to Donald Trump because of the video, but it was a symptom of the ridiculous practices and premises that led to her defeat. The Clinton campaign’s namesake may never have graced the swing state of Wisconsin with her presence, but she did carve out plenty time for hobnobbing with Hollywood and reminding voters of its preference for her.
If Trump wins again in 2024, this time in a rematch with President Joe Biden, it is likely that the bizarre press conference his campaign held alongside Robert De Niro outside of Trump’s criminal trial in New York City on Tuesday will be remembered in much the same way: as an emblematic embarrassment.
The spectacle began with an unenthused campaign staffer introducing De Niro as “a native New Yorker who can spot BS a mile away and isn’t afraid to call it out.”
Then De Niro ambled to the podium to put on what was doubtlessly the worst performance of his life, a long-winded, disorganised diatribe delivered in a style reminiscent of Biden’s own recent public-speaking struggles.
The acclaimed actor began by fixating on a small group of pro-Trump protesters invisible to his audience that he described as being “kind of crazy.” It was a sign of things to come.
From there, De Niro transitioned into a meandering assault on Trump’s character that resembled a John Oliver monologue circa 2018 – only somehow even less funny. He compared Trump to the 9/11 terrorists who murdered 3,000 Americans. He complained that Trump was in New York City for a trial he is legally required to attend. He bizarrely submitted that Trump seeks the destruction of the Big Apple, specifically. He predicted a Trump redux would mean that the United States would never again hold a presidential election. And of course, he insisted that he himself “needed” to be involved in the Biden-Harris campaign.
It was a universally panned disaster that reflected a politically dangerous lack of self-awareness. “Fight Song” might as well have played in the background as De Niro prattled on.
Joe Biden isn’t trailing in the polls because not enough Americans know that Donald Trump isn’t a stand-up guy, or that the celebrity class is – surprise! – lining up behind the Democratic nominee for president yet again. He’s trailing because he’s an out-of-touch politician representing an out-of-touch coalition.
De Niro’s blustery, “me”-laden rant was a callback to the Clinton campaign and hashtag-Resistance movement that was born out of its failure. While Trump’s behavior should, indeed, disqualify himself from the Oval Office, he speaks to very real concerns of Americans who fear that the country’s progressive elite class has charted a disastrous course.
As Biden’s presidency has shown, that fear is well-founded. America’s enemies in Russia, China, and Iran have all been emboldened by his weakness on the world stage. The skyrocketing cost of living was first brushed aside by his administration and then supposedly addressed by a profligate spending bill almost mockingly dubbed the “Inflation Reduction Act.” And the southern border was opened – with predictably ghastly results – for the first three years of Biden’s term before he feigned an election year interest in doing something about it.
Incredibly, the reaction of the Democratic Party to what it perceives to be an existential threat has never been to look at itself in the mirror or moderate. Instead, it’s doubled down on the absurdities, on the “Squad”, and on its indiscriminate embrace of the most ridiculous, narcissistic aspects of celebrity culture while hoping that Trump’s own blunders might doom him.
This isn’t a recipe for winning, but it does feed the outsized egos of a small – and small-minded – group of privileged people who want to feel good about themselves and earn the praise of their homogenous peers.
In 2016, the Clinton campaign didn’t understand how this tendency had hamstrung it until it was too late. In 2020, Americans were exhausted by the 24/7 Trump rollercoaster and convinced by Biden that he would govern from the center. In 2024, it’s utterly inexplicable that Biden’s reaction to falling behind Trump in nearly every meaningful survey this year was to enlist an 80-year-old actor to shake his fist at the clouds.
On second thought, this might not have been Biden’s “Fight Song,” but his swan song.
