A contrast in leadership

If you choose to indulge in any recaps of this past week's Republican National Convention, this portion is definitely worth your time: 

Those are family members of some of the 13 service members killed in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Biden administration's botched withdrawal in August 2021. 

As Noah Rothman of National Review points out, it drew a clear distinction between the leadership styles of Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. 

The most powerful moment of the RNC...opened with a masterfully produced video package featuring some of the 13 service members who lost their lives in the attack on Kabul Airport’s Abbey Gate and their survivors. It continued when those survivors took the stage. Wracked with grief, they mourned Biden’s lackadaisical execution of the withdrawal operation and his callous attempts to ignore the fallout.

The display was so powerful because, unlike much of the programming at the RNC ..., the emotion on display was not anger. There was no bombast or table-pounding. It was bereft of the apocalyptic hyperbole that opens the wallets of small-dollar donors. The sentiments expressed were sadness, bitterness over the president’s conspicuous refusal to name and honor the fallen, and disappointment in a country to which they gave so much but had failed to reciprocate. It was the quietest moment of an otherwise boisterous convention. That reserve spoke louder than any activist or politician ever could.

These families have previously shared stories about how Biden preferred to invoke the death of his son Beau (whom on multiple occasions has falsely claimed was killed in combat) as opposed to extending sympathy to families experiencing a devastating loss due largely to the fecklessness of the POTUS himself. Say, remember how in 2020 when Biden et al were talking about empathy, compassion, etc. being "on the ballot?" 

And as if this past week couldn't have been worse for Dems, even leftist CNN commentator Van Jones further emphasized the differences between Biden and Trump at this point. 

 

VAN JONES: “A bullet couldn't stop Trump. A virus just stopped Biden.”

“The Democrats are coming apart. The Republicans are coming together.” pic.twitter.com/QDfCXaIVty

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 18, 2024

With the Dems' full court press on attempting to force Biden to drop his reelection bid (so coups are a good thing now, progs?), Republicans have a solid month before the Democrat National Convention to capitalize on this newfound unity. Ah, but as we've learned in the Trump era of the GOP, there's plenty of precedence for the party to screw up a good thing. However, there's no question they're in prime position for any number of scenarios on the Dem presidential ticket. 

• If Biden remains in the race, it's clear he's no longer up to finishing his current term, much less serving another four years. 
• If the Democrats' coup is successful, the GOP should hammer home the point that not only have Dems engaged in alleged behavior they've spent 3-1/2 years abhorring but they were also complicit in covering up Biden's frailties. 
• If Biden's replacement is anybody but VP Kamala Harris, not only will the new candidate be woefully underfunded (only Harris would be eligible to have access to the Biden war chest), but usurping Harris will alienate the Congressional Black Caucus who agreed to back Biden in the 2020 Dem primary on the condition his running mate be a woman of color. 

Just prior to Trump's nomination acceptance speech, an MSNBC producer tweeted this: 

This is first time a major U.S. party will nominate a convicted felon to be their presidential candidate.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 19, 2024

In just over a month, we may have another first: a major U.S. party nominating a dementia-addled octogenarian to be their presidential candidate. 

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