OK, kids, we’re taking a slight pivot from documentaries on fabulous women to talk about a documentary on a fabulous president. Yass, sisters, dust off your best stovepipe hats cause the gay gods are gifting us with a doc that explores the (alleged) boyfriends of our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln! Is it Hanukkah? Or my birthday? (No to both.) The only negative thing I can think of to say is, why didn’t they hustle to get this out in theaters for Pride Month?? Backing up a bit, People Mag just nabbed the exclusive debut of the new trailer for Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln, in which “preeminent Lincoln scholars and never before seen photographs and letters” detail the hitherto untold tale of ALL the loves of Lincoln’s life. Can you tell I’m excited?

PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the trailer for the upcoming documentary Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln, which peels back the curtain on the 19th-century president’s private life and examines Lincoln’s relationships with men before he was elected president in 1860.

Directed by filmmaker Shaun Peterson, Lover of Men features interviews with over a dozen scholars, historians and experts on Lincoln’s life. The trailer emphasizes his near mythical stature in American culture.

“Lover of Men examines the intimate life of America’s most consequential president, Abraham Lincoln,” reads an official synopsis for the upcoming film. “As told by preeminent Lincoln scholars and never before seen photographs and letters, the film details Lincoln’s romantic relationships with men.”

The movie uses historical evidence of Lincoln’s romantic relationships to then widen “its lens into the history of human sexual fluidity and focuses on the profound differences between sexual mores of the nineteenth century and those we hold today,” the synopsis reads.

“The film fills in an important missing piece of American history and challenges the audience to consider why we hold such a limited view of human sexuality,” the film’s synopsis concludes. “Lover of Men is not only an exploration of gender roles and sexual identity, but also serves as an examination of American intolerance.”

Lincoln’s sexuality has been examined over the years, including a 1999 feature story in Salon magazine and a 2005 book by author Clarence Arthur Tripp titled The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln, among other works.

“Years in the making…my passion project has come to life,” filmmaker Peterson wrote on Instagram of the movie in May.

Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln is coming soon to theaters nationwide.

[From People]

The standout quotes to me from the trailer (so far) are, “He was seen wearing Lincoln’s nightshirt!” and “Freud was devastating for sexuality.” (Talk about penis envy!) We all know there’s gonna be a contingency out there who lose their ever-loving minds over the notion that Abe was fluid. Speaking personally, I first encountered the idea REDACTED decades ago when I was in middle school. I had to do a report on Dr. Paul Ehrlich, inventor of the “magic bullet” approach to targeting microbes, which led to the first effective treatment for syphilis. As part of my research for that report, I came across a list of historical figures that had strong, anecdotal evidence (based on symptoms) of having had syphilis. Lincoln’s name was there, and they didn’t suggest he caught it from Mary Todd, wink wink.

If this has ignited the Lincoln itch in you, and since we don’t know how long “coming soon” will be, may I humbly recommend some options to whet your appetites: there’s the HBO doc Living With Lincoln, available on Max. It came out in 2015, and I definitely want to revisit it now because it was about a family steeped in Lincoln memorabilia, so I’m curious to see how their material will stack up to the “never before seen” items Lover of Men promises. And next I recommend Manhunt, the Apple TV+ series about the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth. Tobias Menzies is excellent as the Secretary of War who leads the hunt. Fair warning, though: the historically-accurate discussions of insurrection are quite something to take in from the vantage of our current climate. They don’t beat you over the head with the parallels, it’s just so undeniably apparent.

Photos credit: IMAGO/United Archives / WHA / Avalon, IMAGO/Zoonar.com/Heinz-Dieter Falkenstein / Avalon

This week, Vulture published an impressively detailed article written by friend-of-the-blog Ellie Hall. Hall’s piece was about Rose Hanbury and the years of rumors of an alleged affair between Rose and Prince William. Hall’s analysis is less about the alleged affair and more about the media coverage of the rumors, and the subsequent attempts (many of them successful) to delete or alter the coverage in the British media. It begs the question: why is there a slow-motion cover-up and who is behind it? The answer is egg-shaped. Well, interestingly enough, Tom Sykes at the Daily Beast did a follow-up on Hall’s report, speaking to Hall and analyzing why this Rose story just won’t die. Some highlights:

Water off a duck’s back: Prince William’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast about whether they had been involved in getting the [Rose Hanbury] stories killed. However, The Daily Beast has reported on prior efforts by the Palace to stop outlets in the U.K., where Palace press officers have significant influence, from publishing items about the allegations. Friends of William told The Daily Beast that the allegations were “water off a duck’s back” to him that and he would have ignored the story as “rubbish on the internet,” but had been forced to act after Hanbury, who is a good friend of William and Princess Catherine, was named.

Streisand Effect: Ellie Hall, the author of the Vulture piece, told The Daily Beast that her story which highlighted the removal and editing of dozens of online articles without informing readers, was essentially a critique of “media transparency,” but added that the ongoing interest in the story was “pretty much a textbook example of the Streisand effect” and that trying to “hide information” had only served to make people even more interested in the allegations. Hall said: “I think that this story would have died on the vine back in 2019 if they hadn’t threatened legal action, because the fact that media organizations had been warned off it, as reported by The Daily Beast among others, then became the story. The fact that somebody really wants the story to go away is the only reason it’s still around.”

Why did so many outlets delete/alter the Rose stories? Hall contacted the newspapers which have removed articles but none responded to her queries with the exception of the Guardian which said it had made changes to one story (about the Colbert monologue) on its own initiative not because of “external” pressure.

One former editor explains: A former senior staffer at the Sun told The Daily Beast: “No one likes killing stories and it’s always a bigger deal than you expect. Many editors are against it in principle but it is a last resort when you have lawyers giving you major aggro. If no one is reading the story any more as it’s old, it’s preferable to retrospectively spike it than to waste thousands fighting it.”

Christopher Andersen on the Rose story: The royal author Christopher Andersen, author of a new biography of King Charles, told The Daily Beast, “Anyone who was attempting to scrub or alter past coverage of Rose Hanbury’s alleged affair with William has a mighty—make that impossible—task ahead of them. Of course the irony here is that, by trying to tidy up past articles, whoever is behind this is now pouring more fuel on the fire.”

Friends of William and Kate: However William and Catherine’s friends were quick to defend the couple for pushing back against the stories. One said: “I genuinely think if Rose hadn’t been named they would have regarded this as just more rubbish on the internet and wouldn’t have lifted a finger. Nonsense stories are water off a duck’s back to the royals.” The friend also pointed out that the Cholmondeleys are “one of the great families” and “have a ceremonial role in the monarchy.”

[From The Daily Beast]

You can read my previous coverage in our Rose Hanbury archives. For years now, I’ve had an involved theory about what went down. My theory is that there was an affair between Rose and William (no smoke without fire) and that Kate actually did try to “phase out” her “rural rival” Rose. In the months before the Mail & Sun broke the story, Rose and William’s situation was common knowledge among the aristocrats and Turnip Toffs. Kate may be the Future Queen, but Rose is definitely the Queen of the Turnip Toffs, and the story becoming public was Rose’s revenge, it was Rose pushing back on Kate for not knowing “the rules.”

I also think it’s telling that even Wales-allies are like, yeah, it was different when Rose was named. There hasn’t been a similar freakout whenever William has been caught clubbing with random women or when he’s been seen out with a blonde. It was the fact that Rose was their neighbor in Norfolk, it was the fact that the gossip came out of the Toff set, it was the fact that Kensington Palace had no idea how to control it and so they went into panic mode for months and fed Harry and Meghan to the tabloids to cover it up. That’s another reason why the Rose story will never die – because it’s inextricably linked to what the Windsors did to the Sussexes, all to protect an unfaithful heir.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

New York real estate is crazy and it gets crazier every year. New York developers have gone all-in on creating million-dollar condos and luxury apartments for the super-rich, gentrifying working class neighborhoods and crushing the middle class out of home ownership. But hey, at least New York has a “Billionaires’ Row” with luxury condos on offer for the richest people in the world. Speaking of, according to the NY Post, King Charles has purchased a $6.63 million condo on Billionaires’ Row. Why would the king of England need a luxury apartment in New York? Or rather, who will move into this apartment now that Charles has apparently purchased it?

King Charles has made a royal splash on Billionaires’ Row in Manhattan, shelling out for a lavish condo unit at 111 W. 57th St, according to reports in the Real Deal and Crain’s. City finance records filed this week show this deal, for a unit in the development’s Steinway Hall portion, marks the final sale in the landmarked building.

Listed on the deed as “His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, Represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs,” the buyer snapped up unit 11A, a three-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom pad on the 11th floor for $6.63 million.

The deal closed in June, according to the city register.

Who will bask in the 3,601-square-foot apartment’s luxury, with city views and access to a swanky swimming pool and sauna? It isn’t entirely clear, as the deed mentions Canada in an apparent purchase for that Commonwealth nation, though questions remain as to whether the home will belong to the King himself. Requests for comment and clarification from Buckingham Palace were not returned.

Robert McCubbing, senior trade commissioner and director of trade and investment at the Canadian consulate in New York, signed the deed on behalf of King Charles, the records show. The Post has reached out to McCubbing for comment as well.

The Billionaires’ Row complex features 60 residences, with 14 in the now-fully sold Steinway Hall and the remaining 46 full-floor and duplex homes in the adjacent 91-story tower boasting stunning Central Park views.

[From The NY Post]

At the link, you can see some photos of the unit and the building – I find the decor rather gaudy, quite honestly. But I think it would appeal to Charles’s aesthetic – reportedly, he likes darker, enveloping rooms and lots of gold. Still, why the hell does Charles need a New York apartment? He has to be buying it for someone else. Not Andrew. Not Anne. Not the Edinburghs. Not William. Maybe Kate? LOL, is this her payoff? A quiet, discreet pied-à-terre away from the UK? Maybe it’s someone else entirely though. It has the feel of what Prince Albert of Monaco has done for his “other kids” – buying apartments, easing their way into society financially. Hm. Maybe it’s for one of Camilla’s kids? That would track.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Here on the East Coast, the ESPYs were delayed because President Biden gave a press conference adjacent to the NATO Summit he’s currently hosting here in America. As everyone knows by now, the national media has been throwing a complete fit about President Biden since his poor performance at the debate two weeks ago. Since the debate, Pres. Biden has been on the campaign trail, delivering speeches and meeting with voters. The entire time President Biden has been incredibly visible, his opponent has been sitting in Mar-a-Lago doing nothing. Biden’s also hosting the NATO summit this week with all of America’s closest allies, allies who want no part of another Trump administration. Last night’s press conference was yet another attempt by the Biden administration and the Biden reelection campaign to simply put an end to the past two weeks of hysteria. Did it work?

Biden made some flubs – he has a speech impediment and he’s been a gaffe machine throughout his decades-long political career – and he called VP Harris “Vice President Trump” at one point. But he also gave detailed, substantive answers on Chinese trade policy, gun policy, Ukraine, NATO alliances and more. At no point did he go off on a tangent about electrocuting sharks. My take: he’s an old man, he moves a bit slower, but he’s not senile. He’s got institutional wisdom and he’s still a sharp policy wonk. Critics are like “is he capable of doing the job??” But he’s actively doing the job. Right now. And he’s doing it well.

Since all of this sh-t is going down concurrently with the NATO summit, world leaders have been asked about their interactions with President Biden and they’re all backing him and wondering what the hell America is doing right now.

It would be really cool if the media people now DEMANDED that Trump go do an hour long off the cuff press conference covering complex foreign policy, since, you know, they’re so interested in who would be the best President and all.

— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) July 12, 2024

Joe Biden’s gaffe could have been worse, he could have said, “I’ve known Jeff Epstein for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

That’s worse right?

— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) July 11, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Embed from Getty Images

ESPN announced, two weeks ago, that Prince Harry would receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the ESPYs. The “backlash” came quickly. That dumbass Pat McAfee, an ESPN bro, made asinine comments about Harry within a day, then the Daily Mail published exclusive comments from Pat Tillman’s mother Mary Tillman, where she expressed her shock and dismay that the award was being given to someone so “divisive.” The British media has spent this entire time screaming and crying about how Harry should refuse the award and how he and Meghan are loathed by Americans.

What’s crazy about all of that is that the endgame was entirely predictable. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex turned up to the ESPYs last night, looking amazing. ESPN put together a fantastic video package, and four previous Pat Tillman Award recipients (all of them veterans like Harry) came out to take part in the award presentation. Harry got several standing ovations and he made an incredibly moving and gracious speech. All of this was entirely predictable, as I said – the British media and some of the American media threw a huge tantrum for two weeks, only to see their arguments get blown up in ten minutes at an awards show airing on ABC.

Fashion notes: Meghan wore a slinky white Oscar de la Renta halter gown which looks so much like her wedding-reception dress (the reception look was by Stella McCartney). She looked amazing and she looked on with such pride for her husband.

Notably, in Prince Harry’s speech, he made special mention of Mary Tillman, the woman who most likely collected a check from the Mail to criticize a veteran. He also thanked Pat Tillman’s widow, Marie Tillman Shelton, who was in the audience: “I’d like to begin by expressing my deepest gratitude to everyone at the Pat Tillman Foundation, led by Marie Tillman Shenton, who I’m so honored is here tonight. I’d also like to acknowledge the Tillman family, especially Mrs. Mary Tillman, Pat’s mother. Her advocacy for Pat’s legacy is deeply personal and one that I respect. The bond between a mother and son is eternal and transcends even the greatest losses.” Class and grace. Checkmate.

Here’s the excellent video package ESPN put together:

Prince Harry is the recipient of the Pat Tillman Award for Service.

The Duke of Sussex founded The Invictus Games, an international platform that supports wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women who are navigating both physical and invisible injuries. pic.twitter.com/M3F3Rmft4j

— ESPN (@espn) July 12, 2024

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Getty.

This post is just shameless smut so that I can drool over a hunk of a man. His Instagram is littered with thirst traps, whether it’s shots of him on set, lounging in bed, or enjoying something between his teeth. Simply put, I’m in love. What? No, I’m not talking about the six-foot chiseled actor. I’m talking about the four pound fur baby next to him. Forget Glen Powell, everyone (including yours truly) is smitten with his rescue dog Brisket! Glen adopted Brisket a year ago through the Labelle Foundation. Judging by their online posts, Brisket sure seemed to settle into being a set dog right away, as Glen brought him along to Oklahoma where he was filming Twisters last summer. And a star was born…

Do you remember a few years ago when we didn’t know that much about Glen Powell? Sure, we may have noticed him in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick but it wasn’t really until 2023’s Anyone But You when we all decided he was our imaginary movie star boyfriend and he seemed like a really nice guy and then in 2023 we really knew he was a nice guy because he adopted an adorable tiny rescue dog that he named Brisket. Sure, Glen Powell is pretty cute and all but his dog is ridiculously cute.

And we aren’t the only ones who think so because tiny Brisket made a ton of friends on the set of the upcoming movie Twisters that stars, you guessed it, Glen Powell. Just check out these adorable pics! And if you linger on the last one, well, that’s just because umm… Brisket is too cute for words.

Powell posted the precious photos on his Instagram account on July 8 and wrote, “Shortly after being adopted, @hotbrisket joined the cast of “Twisters” and was quickly called “the Lassie of his generation.” Rumors are swirling of him leading a “Homeward Bound” reboot that would crown him as ‘Hollywood’s King of the Animal Kingdom.’

People on Instagram have absolutely zero chill when it comes to one photo in particular, and one person said, “Printing and hanging the last pic on my wall… because the dog is too cute, ya how.” Riiiiight. Another added, “I think Brisket was as shocked as we were in the last pic…I can’t tell. Glen, sweetie, can you post another pic similar to the last pic, with a better angle? It’s for research.” That seems legit. Someone else said, “It’s official. Half nekked thirst trap, and all this full-blooded female can see is THE BABY FLOOF! GP being upstage by the true GQ centerfold.” Haha! Some of us are just here for Brisket! And speaking of Brisket…

Powell adopted Brisket from the Labelle Foundation and posted in Brisket’s introduction snap, “It’s a ruff world out there, so I thought it was about time I hire a proper bodyguard…Meet BRISKET – 1.5 pounds of raw power. Thank you to @thelabellefoundation for all the incredible work you do to advocate for dogs and for making me a dad. I can’t wait to tackle all the adventures of life with this guy!”

[From Parade Pets]

I understand objectively that Glen Powell is attractive, I do. But personally, he’s a little too Abercrombie for my taste. In fairness to Glen, though, there really is nothing more attractive than someone who rescues a pup. It’s a scientific fact, however, that Brisket is a goddamn knockout. Hollywood may have decided that Glen Powell is the next big thing, but Brisket is gonna be the next TINY thing right by him every step of the way! You can follow the glamorous life of Brisket on his Insta, @hotbrisket (yes of course that’s his handle, he’s sexy and he knows it!) and live vicariously as he navigates his nascent stardom. To quote Peggy Lee in Lady and the Tramp: what a dog.

Photo note by Celebitchy: Glen brought Brisket to the Twister premiere last night! Daisy Edgar Jones wore Gucci.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Glen Powell (@glenpowell)

Photos credit: IMAGO/Jeffery Mayer / Avalon

Alexandra Daddario is pregnant! [Hollywood Life]
Congrats to John Mulaney, he had an “intimate wedding” in New York last weekend which was only attended by three other people. [JustJared]
Joe Alwyn talks about Kinds of Kindness. [Buzzfeed]
Zoe Kravitz explains why she changed the title of her film. [LaineyGossip]
Matthew McConaughey got stung by a bee (on his face). [Seriously OMG]
Jezebel is doing a “bad summer story” contest. [Jezebel]
My Lady Jane is the sleeper hit of the summer? [Pajiba]
Katy Perry really wants to be a pop star again. [Socialite Life]
Scarlett Johansson wore a terrible Erdem! [RCFA]
Oh, the “brat diet” is a real thing. [OMG Blog]

For months, if not years, the New York Times has been actively empowering Donald Trump and denigrating President Biden. This is the main thrust of the New York Times Pitchbot account, which mocks the NYT’s ability to spread negativity on every single thing President Biden does. In recent weeks, the NYT has been on a tear, reporting all manner of hysterical stories about Biden’s age. The Times is right in the center of whatever this operation is to kneecap Pres. Biden and VP Harris. But they want to be able to say “hey, we’re not completely anti-Biden!” So here it is, at long last, a New York Times editorial board piece called “Donald Trump is Unfit to Lead.” You can read the full piece here.

Next week, for the third time in eight years, Donald Trump will be nominated as the Republican Party’s candidate for president of the United States. A once great political party now serves the interests of one man, a man as demonstrably unsuited for the office of president as any to run in the long history of the Republic, a man whose values, temperament, ideas and language are directly opposed to so much of what has made this country great.

…Mr. Trump has shown a character unworthy of the responsibilities of the presidency. He has demonstrated an utter lack of respect for the Constitution, the rule of law and the American people. Instead of a cogent vision for the country’s future, Mr. Trump is animated by a thirst for political power: to use the levers of government to advance his interests, satisfy his impulses and exact retribution against those who he thinks have wronged him.

He is, quite simply, unfit to lead.

The Democrats are rightly engaged in their own debate about whether President Biden is the right person to carry the party’s nomination into the election, given widespread concerns among voters about his age-related fitness. This debate is so intense because of legitimate concerns that Mr. Trump may present a danger to the country, its strength, security and national character — and that a compelling Democratic alternative is the only thing that would prevent his return to power. It is a national tragedy that the Republicans have failed to have a similar debate about the manifest moral and temperamental unfitness of their standard-bearer, instead setting aside their longstanding values, closing ranks and choosing to overlook what those who worked most closely with the former president have described as his systematic dishonesty, corruption, cruelty and incompetence.

That task now falls to the American people. We urge voters to see the dangers of a second Trump term clearly and to reject it. The stakes and significance of the presidency demand a person who has essential qualities and values to earn our trust, and on each one, Donald Trump fails.

[From The NY Times]

“Given widespread concerns among voters about his age-related fitness…” This is untrue. Following the debate two weeks ago, most polls showed the debate didn’t change voters’ minds either way, and focus groups and voters interviewed all said that Trump came across as especially unhinged. The voters are not the ones leading this dumbf–k, shoot-ourselves-in-the-dick agenda. The media, a handful of billionaires and several disloyal Democrats are the ones coordinating the “age-related fitness” conversation. The voters already spoke in 2020 and in this year’s primaries.

As for what the Times writes about Trump… it’s too little too late. They could have done this after the man was convicted of 34 felony counts. They could have done this after he orchestrated an insurrection and tried to overthrow the government. They could have done this after E. Jean Carroll won her lawsuit, or when Trump was indicted for stealing classified documents. And on and on.

The only thing I keep coming back to is that it’s only July. I genuinely think most average Americans were not paying close attention to the past two weeks of trumped-up hysteria over Biden’s age, especially given that there was a long holiday weekend in there too. If this sh-t is still the conversation in September, we’re all in big trouble.

Covers courtesy of the New Yorker & Time. Photos courtesy of Backgrid & Cover Images.

Can we just stop for a moment and acknowledge the hilarity of Prince William doing some big homelessness project launch in July? He’s about to disappear for three full months of “summer vacation,” but before he disappears, he’s going to tell everyone about his “landmark” project to “end homelessness.” In case you missed the launch of Huevo’s Homewards project last year, he’s spent £3 million of Royal Foundation money and those funds are being parceled out to six homeless shelters/halfway houses. While the donations are fine, my concern was that William was basically adding extra layers of bureaucracy to the system rather than allowing homeless charities to simply administer the funds as needed. Homewards was criticized across the board though, for a variety of reasons, not least of which was William’s arrogant need to center himself as the sole savior of homeless people.

Well, continuing on that theme, William has now done a documentary in which people can see him centering himself in the issue of homelessness. The two-part documentary is called Prince William: We Can End Homelessness. It’s not supposed to come out until the fall, but William is well aware that his brother is about to pick up a major award tonight, so the crack team at Kensington Palace threw together a big speech for William to make today. KP sent out advanced copies of the speech to the British media, and here we go:

The Prince of Wales will say on Thursday that he “truly” believes homelessness can be “ended”, despite it blighting the lives of “far too many people”. Prince William is marking the first year of his project to solve homelessness, which will report its progress in building community links to make homelessness “rare, brief and unrepeated”.

He has recently hosted members of the public who have had “lived experience” of homelessness, inviting them to Windsor to hear more about what needs to be done to help.

At a speech due to be delivered at an event in Lambeth, south London, on Thursday morning, he will say: “Homelessness is a complex societal issue and one that touches the lives of far too many people in our society. However, I truly believe that it can be ended.”

He hopes to “demonstrate that it is possible to end homelessness,” he will add.

The Prince’s Homewards project is working in six UK locations, building a network between the public, private and third sectors to identify the root causes of different forms of homelessness and make progress towards eradicating it in five years. Matt Downie, CEO of homeless charity Crisis and a Homewards sector partner, said of the ethos: “The question isn’t what are our big problems and how can we wallow in them. The question is who can help?”

He added: “We are facing some really, really tough times. Homelessness is going up but actually, the evidence to end homelessness has never been better.”

[From The Telegraph]

They released a video, below, which is basically full of testimonials about how Homewards is the most groundbreaking thing ever. They’re also calling this the one-year anniversary of the five-year project… but they’re late. The one-year anniversary was in June. It’s weird that they held this “one year anniversary” keeery for the middle of July, because (as I said) William is about to disappear for three months. One thing I’ll give the film crew is that at least they didn’t lead it off by centering William. At least we’re hearing from the people on the ground, you know?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

It’s been two weeks since the first presidential debate, where President Biden looked and sounded old and out of sorts. I absolutely believe he had a bad night. Donald Trump had a bad night too, but that was overshadowed by the past two weeks of hysterical meltdowns by the media and by some (but not all) Democrats and political commentators. From a strategic perspective, President Biden’s reelection campaign should have held emergency meetings, sent out talking points and made sure that high profile surrogates were all visible and acting in lockstep. I think the Biden campaign did some of that, but it wasn’t enough to stop what has become a two-week tornado of bullsh-t.

What has really bothered me throughout this ordeal is that it all boils down to two fundamental things: “we’re worried that Biden is too old/he might die” and “we don’t want Kamala Harris to be president.” Those two “concerns” are connected, because from where I sit, concerns about Biden’s age are already baked into his support. People are voting for the Biden/Harris ticket knowing that President Biden is old as hell, but that Kamala Harris is younger and capable if she needs to take over. In all of these conversations about “Joe Biden must step aside because he’s old,” why are all of these people acting like Vice President Harris doesn’t exist, or that everyone agrees she should be passed over, or that what they’re suggesting isn’t some logistical nightmare which would see Donald Trump crowning himself emperor of the Confederacy of Trumplandia? I bring this up because George Clooney has some thoughts, and he wrote down those thoughts in a NYT op-ed:

I’m a lifelong Democrat; I make no apologies for that. I’m proud of what my party represents and what it stands for. As part of my participation in the democratic process and in support of my chosen candidate, I have led some of the biggest fund-raisers in my party’s history…. Last month I co-hosted the single largest fund-raiser supporting any Democratic candidate ever, for President Biden’s re-election. I say all of this only to express how much I believe in this process and how profound I think this moment is.

I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced. But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe “big F-ing deal” Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.

Was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe. But our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw. We’re all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we’ve opted to ignore every warning sign. The George Stephanopoulos interview only reinforced what we saw the week before. As Democrats, we collectively hold our breath or turn down the volume whenever we see the president, whom we respect, walk off Air Force One or walk back to a mic to answer an unscripted question.

Is it fair to point these things out? It has to be. This is about age. Nothing more. But also nothing that can be reversed. We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate. This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and Congress member and governor who I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.

…It is disingenuous, at best, to argue that Democrats have already spoken with their vote and therefore the nomination is settled and done, when we just received new and upsetting information. We all think Republicans should abandon their nominee now that he’s been convicted of 34 felonies. That’s new and upsetting information as well. Top Democrats — Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi — and senators, representatives and other candidates who face losing in November need to ask this president to voluntarily step aside.

All of the scary stories that we’re being told about what would happen next are simply not true. In all likelihood, the money in the Biden-Harris coffers could go to help elect the presidential ticket and other Democrats. The new nominee wouldn’t be left off ballots in Ohio. We Democrats have a very exciting bench. We don’t anoint leaders or fall sway to a cult of personality; we vote for a president. We can easily foresee a group of several strong Democrats stepping forward to stand and tell us why they’re best qualified to lead this country and take on some of the deeply concerning trends we’re seeing from the revenge tour that Donald Trump calls a presidential campaign.

Let’s hear from Wes Moore and Kamala Harris and Gretchen Whitmer and Gavin Newsom and Andy Beshear and J.B. Pritzker and others. Let’s agree that the candidates not attack one another but, in the short time we have, focus on what will make this country soar. Then we could go into the Democratic convention next month and figure it out.

Would it be messy? Yes. Democracy is messy. But would it enliven our party and wake up voters who, long before the June debate, had already checked out? It sure would. The short ramp to Election Day would be a benefit for us, not a danger. It would give us the chance to showcase the future without so much opposition research and negative campaigning that comes with these ridiculously long and expensive election seasons. This can be an exciting time for democracy, as we’ve just seen with the 200 or so French candidates who stepped aside and put their personal ambitions on hold to save their democracy from the far right.

Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024.

[From The NY Times]

George Clooney can f–k all the way off. Refer to Vice President Harris by her title, George. She earned it. 81.2 million Americans voted for the Biden/Harris ticket in 2020, and millions of Democrats have already cast their ballots in the 2024 primaries. President Joe Biden is the Democratic nominee and the sitting president and this coordinated Democratic bedwetting is unseemly. Especially since Trump has basically been sitting in his soiled diaper in Mar-a-Lago since the debate as every Republican supplicates themselves to their orange fascist god. Be for real.

The Biden camp clapped back:

Biden is fighting back on Clooney.

From a source familiar with event planning: “The President stayed for over 3 hours, while Clooney took a photo quickly and left.”

— Annie Karni (@anniekarni) July 10, 2024

I thought this was a good summary:

Let me be real clear: this same,
High-level coordination to push Biden out will then target Kamala Harris. What the Dems are doing now is dumb. They are spending more time on internal drama as opposed to focusing on Donald Trump. This is political malpractice.

— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) July 10, 2024

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.