I promise Pulling Weeds isn’t going political, but it’s high summer, and the shenanigans in Washington (and Milwaukee) have taken over the news. My thought-provoking piece about Katy Perry flopping will just have to wait. On Sunday afternoon, Joe Biden succumbed to pressure from his own party and dropped out of the presidential race. As I said on Twitter, we all knew it was coming, but a written statement on a Sunday afternoon feels like a celebrity divorce announcement. Friend of Pulling Weeds Rachel Tashjian called it “conscious unpresidenting.”
So Sleepy Joe is going to Weekend at Bernie’s his way through his final months as the leader of the free world before retiring once and for all to his tax haven in Delaware. But the Democrats need to slot someone in, and Vice President Kamala Harris will most likely run against Donald Trump. If they nominate her, they keep all the funds they have raised, which is almost reason enough. Trump is flying high post-ear clipping. His followers call him a hero, but I don’t think getting hit by shrapnel got him any new votes. Bringing out a who’s who of losers at the RNC was profoundly embarrassing and out of touch. Kid Rock, Amber Rose, Hulk Hogan—it felt like an early-Aughts VH1 reality show.
Marketing isn’t that different from industry to industry. The idea is to be authentic, clear, clever, and not take yourself too seriously. All of those laws can be applied to running for President. If Kamala wants to win, she has to be more than coherent. She has to be engaging and inspiring, which is the opposite of what Trump is. Being “presidential” is a weird thing. Most of us think of John F. Kennedy, Ronald Regan, or Jed Bartlet from Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing. It goes beyond a navy blue suit with a white collared shirt and a wisp of gray hair. What we need is someone that a majority of us can actually respect.
Trump is (unintentionally) hilarious. He should be a delusional right-wing podcaster, not the president. Biden lost his faculties and, with that, respect, in a lot of circles. If the Democrats nominate Harris, her platform can simply be competence. Giving a concise speech without mistakes or rambling is an excellent start. Most people are exhausted by the circus. Someone who can lead and have a clear voice could actually get people to the polls. Breaking the mold by nominating a Black woman is invigorating and should galvanize the disinterested to head to the polls. Harris will be running against Trump, but she has to defeat apathy and fatalism, two things that have become prevalent since 2016. Whatever happens, it will be a wild ride on social media. If nothing else, the memes are going to be amazing.
Related reading from GQ:
Joe Biden Can’t Shut Up (2006)
Have You Heard the One About President Joe Biden? (2013)
Three Living Presidents, Zero Neckties (2024)
