geoff: On the week's major political stories, from president Biden's struggles within his own party, to the Republican national convention, we turn to the analysis of brooks and Capehart. That's New York Times columnist David brooks and Jonathan Capehart, associate editor for the Washington post. Thank you both for being here. President Biden's press conference last night might have reassured some Democrats but it has not come close to ending this ongoing conversation about whether or not he should withdraw from the race. Jonathan, how do you assess the current moment? [Laughter] >> We don't have enough time for me to climb up on my soapbox and climb back down. Look, ever since that disastrous debate performance two weeks ago last night, Democrats have been tearing their hair out, saying what they need to see from the president to make them sure that he is up to the task is he needs to show some life and some vigor. He does a rally the very next day. He needs to sit down with the press and do an in-depth interview. He sits down with George Stephanopoulos, sitting down with Lester holt at NBC on Monday. He needs to be extemporaneous and you things like that. He goes to the AFL cio and speaks with them, no teleprompter. He did it again today in Michigan. He needs to talk to the press. To questions from the press, he's been ignoring us. 59 minutes last night, he answered questions, particularly an impressive question from your colleague at the New York Times, which I thought -- I'm sure he did not do this on purpose but was devious in the question that he asked, a multi-part, very complex, foreign question that the president answered, to the point where the press conference got boring. Because it got so deep in the weeds. I raise all these things because people keep putting up these goal posts, he meets them, and then they move them again. Clearly people are -- they arereot satisfied, they want someone else, as if they are living in some Aaron Sorkin fantasyland that everything will work itself out in the end with one really good speech, one really great candidate at the end of the hour. This is real life and real life is scary. Geoff: What about the Democrats crackle of president Biden are effectively saying what -- seeing what they want to see? Should he stay in the race or is he on track to losing the white house with Democrats potentially losing the house and the senate? >> First I look at the press conference, it reminded me of when I used to watch Reagan back when I was a young reaganite, I would watch the press conferences with my hands up, what is he saying? I hope it is not bad. But when you look at the judgments he made about world history and historical events, I felt he is not what he was a year ago or certainly 10 years ago. The presser Biden is the Biden that is there. A little mentally slow, a little cumbersome in articulation but with sound judgment. Will this get him out of the woods? He's got to show some way to win this thing. And that is going to get harder and harder to see. When you have swing states going over to trump and states that should not be swing states being switched over to swing states like Minnesota and Democrats in New York state panicking? That is pretty bad. To me it is less about how he performs. But what is the plausible strategy to victory? I just don't see that out of the Biden campaign right now. Geoff: Adding to the polling David mentioned, 54% are voters want Joe Biden out of the race in our new poll, the story of this election cycle, many don't want to see a trump/biden match up yet here we are, how does th white house turn the page and focus their attention on Donald Trump and his agenda, his vision for the country? >> Talking about Donald Trump and his agenda for the country. But the other thing is everyone is focused on the number that shows how many people want him out of the race, how many people think he is too old, doesn't have the mental acuity that he had 10 years ago, and not focus on the other numbersi the polls -- in the polls. The NPR poll that we are talking about, Biden is up 50%-40%. -- 50%-48%. After the disastrous debate performance, this poll was conducted after that. Despite that, they are tied. If this race is lost, if it is so disastrous, why don't these two polls that I just talked about -- why haven't they cratered? That is the thing driving me absolutely crazy. These scaredycrats out there screaming the houses on fire, and yet we now have two national polls that don't reflect that reality -- I want those people who are saying that he should get out of the race, please tell me, what are the numbers you are using? What do you see that the rest of us don't see? Tell us. If you can show me -- if you can backup your conjecture that we are going to lose the senate and the house, show me the numbers and maybe I will set my hair on fire, too. Geoff: I to get your take on this, the national conversation and our coverage of it. I was talking to a top Democrat this morning who said that there is too much focus on performance and not enough focus on substance. And that we in the media have basically failed to learn the lesson of 2016. And that one president Biden was giving the press conference last night at nato, Donald Trump was in mar-a-lago alongside a Hungarian president, Victor orbon, an icon of the far right and there is no focus on that but a focus on whether Joe Biden should have a neurological test. >> I think there is some credence to that. All of us in the media have one thing in common. We are all in the communication business. Smoother to chelation is super important to all of us -- smooth articulation is super important to all of us. I think that is a little . -- A little overstretched. The Biden that we saw at the press conference would make the right judgments as an adequate president and he would be an adequate president. But nobody is worried about when it when he for, they are worried about 2025 and 2026 and 2027 and we all have relatives and friends in decline and often the pattern is gradually, gradually, all at once. The decline is generally worrisome. I don't think we are paying attention to nothing here, we are paying attention as to whether the president of the United States has the ability to do the hardest job in the world. I think that is legitimate. >> I'm worried about 2025-2027 as well but worried about it if Donald Trump is president of the U.S. If president Biden is reelected with vice president, Harris, and god for bid something were to happen to the president, the nation will be in good hands with vice president Harris if she were to step in and become president of the U.S. That is the other thing that's driving me crazy about this conversation. People acting like there is no succession plan and there is no one out there -- they are right there. The president and the vice president. I have interviewed president Biden in October of 2022, I interviewed him just this past March, that man that we saw at the needle press conference yesterday is the same person I spoke to both of those times over a spread of two years. I am not worried about him, his abilities, performance, or mental acuity. Geoff: Let's look forward to the Republican national convention next week. The big thing we are waiting for his who was Donald Trump going to pick as his vice presidential nominee -- the reported finalists include J.D. Vance, North Dakota governor Doug burgum, and senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who has the greatest shot? >> We had to Alberta earlier -- Tim Alberta earlier on the show. The visual campaign has got to look pretty. He wants somebody to look the part. He picked Jim Matus to look the part. I think Doug burgum looks the part of a business executive who is going to give you a strong economy. I'm going with the guy from the dakotas. >> He is looking at my notes. [Laughter] I have said that. I've even said it here. I think of the three it is governor burgum. The other thing he has that the other two do not have is seeming ambition for the job. Senator Rubio ran for the job himself, J.D. Vance, senator Vance I'm sure has aspirations, especially if he gets chosen. Governor burgum is a wealthy man and he is doing this apparently out of public service, may be it -- maybe he will have ambition but David is right and courting me from a while back. [Laughter] Geoff: Final question, Nikki Haley released her delegates to Donald Trump her she won't be at the convention because she was not invited. That could change, but she is not planning to go, was that a mistake, was that an unforced error not to invite her? >> That's kindergarten level politics as you try to reunite your party but Donald Trump is going to do what Donald Trump is going to do. I am mystified by how Republicans are sitting pretty and they are feeling it. God is good mission, omnipotent, and somehow he wants Donald Trump to be reelected because there's a string of events that have lined up for trump whether it is Desantis being a bad candidate or the indictments or the Democrats imploding in the middle of the Republican convention, truck. -- Trump. Geoff: We will see you in Milwaukee. >> Thank you. ♪♪
