The Daly Weekly (5/29)

Jill Biden, Chris Christie, Trump vanity projects, and more.

Hi everyone.

Welcome to this week’s Daly Weekly, where I answer whatever questions you throw my way.

Before we get started this week, I’d like to invite you all to Reagan Caucus Action’s brand new Substack. I co-host their weekly podcast, on which we feature a different guest every week to discuss numerous issues from a Reaganite perspective.

It’s totally free, and you can sign up here (I hope you do):

Now, let’s get to your questions…

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What do you make of Jill Biden saying in a new book that she was worried that her husband, President Joe, was having a stroke during his horrible debate with Trump… and yet she strongly supported him continuing his presidential campaign??? - Alex D.

I typically don’t have strong feelings about any First Lady, Alex, but I find Jill Biden contemptible.

Let me say first that I simply don’t believe what she said in her book (which I’m sure she’s already made a lot of money from). I don’t believe that she sat in the audience that night and worried that her husband was having a stroke. I believe that the man she watched on stage was the exact same version of her husband she had seen, and been around, every day, in private, for months and months.

I think she, better than anyone, understood exactly how mentally and physically compromised her husband had become. And yet, she actively encouraged him not only to remain president, but run for a second term. It was self-serving and profoundly unpatriotic.

Any chance of Republicans winning again starts with forming a Chris Christie/Adam Kinzinger/Liz Cheney wing of the party. There are more moderate Republicans in this country than those I consider on the MAGA spectrum. Hope one of them runs. —ethan

Hi Ethan. I don’t think any of those three have a future in electoral politics, at least not in the Republican party. They’re pariahs in the GOP (for standing up to Trump), and will likely remain pariahs for some time after Trump’s gone from office. It’s a shame, because all are capable, patriotic individuals. And just to touch on something else you said: I don’t consider these three “more moderate” than MAGA (unless you mean temperamentally). Ideologically, they’re much more conservative than Trump, including Christie, who’s probably the most centrist.

At this point, I think the best that people like you and I can realistically hope for is someone like Marco Rubio, who I believe is still a Reaganite at heart, but has remained politically viable in the GOP by prostrating himself for Trump.

Greetings Sir John—- a kindergarten graduation ceremony at Queen Of Apostles Catholic School in Toledo Ohio turned into a violent brawl because a family began arguing over seating arrangements. Recent other incidents (like the Tim Horton’s brawl and another at an upscale Italian restaurant in Los Angeles) makes me ask you to speculate. WHY do you think that there are so many people making utter jackasses of themselves In public, especially since currently most people should be aware that their shameful dumb ass behavior is going to be recorded and pasted all over social media? —“STOMP & Circumvent” regards from The Emperor

You’re asking me why people make embarrassing spectacles of themselves in public, Emperor? Well, a lot of it has to do with a lack of emotional control, including a heightened sense of social grievance. Sometimes bigotry is a part of it. Other people make jackasses out of themselves for attention, but I don’t think that’s typically the case when it comes to physical altercations.

Between currency, coins, federal buildings, park passes, roads, passports, etc., are you worried that the federal government is going to run out of things to plaster President Trump’s name and face on, in celebration of his greatness (all while his supporters take deep offense to you describing him as a “malignant narcissist”)? — Ben G.

Lol. Yes, I’m a little worried about that, Ben. However, I’m still holding out hope for that Statue of Liberty’s tablet being replaced with “The Art of the Deal.”

Hi John-- Are we, America, politically becoming more like Russian politics and resembling a reckless hegemony Congress can't control, or even have a say? I agree some actions were necessary,and time was of the essence, but how far can this be carried? Creative rebuttals have so far been effective, but until when? — Sharon H.

What’s clear to me, Sharon, is that Congress is surrendering more and more of its power to the executive branch. This has been a trend for some time, but it’s worse now, with this Republican-led Congress, than I’ve seen it at any point in my lifetime. Trump is governing almost entirely through executive actions, and no matter how painful or damaging his policies are (tariffs are a great example), the GOP Congress just lets him do it.

Congress is the most powerful branch of the federal government, and they are completely out to lunch on some of the most consequential federal-governing decisions being made. It’s sad and pathetic.

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Thanks everyone! You can send me questions for next week by leaving a comment in the comment section.