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This week I answer readers’ questions, share some thoughts about the unprecedented, shocking turn of events, and share journalistic and legal gems.
A reader asks: Maybe I’m missing something, but it seems to me the best course for the Dems now that President Biden has dropped out of the race would be for him to resign so Vice President Harris would go into the convention as president.
Answer: Nope. Let him run the country. Let her run for president full-time. It is enough to take on the extreme burden of assuming the campaign at this late date.
A reader asks: Is it legal to replace Biden? What are the rules? What will the Supreme Court do?
Answer: There is no legal issue. None. The party has not chosen its nominee. When it does, Harris and her vice-presidential nominee will be on the ballot. Republicans’ effort to raise legal suspicion reminds me of the “illegal votes” allegations in 2020. They are pre-spinning a potential loss.
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A reader asks: I’ve heard nothing about former president Donald Trump and Biden (and now, Harris) releasing their tax returns. Has any pressure been put on the candidates — most especially one who didn’t release his returns last time?
Follow this authorJennifer Rubin's opinionsAnswer: Harris released her tax returns in April, as she has done for every year. Former president Trump has no excuse not to release his. It is unconscionable to keep them secret given his civil verdicts (some involving financial impropriety) and conviction on 34 criminal counts. Mainstream news outlets should continue to demand that he release his returns. Simply because he refuses is no reason to let the matter slide.
A reader asks: Perhaps Biden will take up the mantle from Jimmy Carter to lead the Presidents Club?
Answer: Indeed, after his noble and selfless decision to step aside and after completing his term, he can use his contacts, talents and experience in any number of philanthropic ways. Watching him and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton travel the world to respond to disasters, raise awareness about critical issues and support struggling democracies will be inspiring.
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A reader asks: Now that Trump is the oldest presidential candidate in history, when do we get the entire mainstream media talking about Trump’s age and obvious signs of cognitive decline every day, all day?
Answer: I sure hope so. My readers know I have been raising questions about the former president’s mental and emotional fitness for months. There was no excuse for the media to ignore the topic. After wall-to-wall coverage of Biden’s health, it is about time they scrutinize Trump in the same way.
A reader asks: Could a Harris-Abigail Spanberger ticket prevail over the anti-democracy, white Christian nationalist, GOP ticket?
Answer: It could! However, Spanberger has already begun a run for Virginia governor. (She is an immense talent and one day, I suspect, will run for president herself.) Look for the veepstakes buzz to include Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
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A reader asks: Is it possible that Liz Cheney could switch parties and be Harris’s vice president pick? With a two-women “unity” ticket?
Answer: I think Cheney’s views on abortion, the Iraq War and climate change would make that impossible. However, I would love to see Cheney as FBI director in the first Harris term! A two-woman ticket is certainly possible, but I suspect there will be qualms about “lack of balance.” (Funny, how two men were never a problem!)
A reader asks: I still fail to understand why a felon is allowed to run for president. Can you explain?
Answer: Constitutionally, no disqualifier exists for felonies (even for insurrection, according to the radical Supreme Court majority!). As a moral and political matter, I remain flummoxed that a once-great party could nominate a felon, a civilly adjudicated rapist and fraudster, and leader of an insurrection against our democracy. When a movement celebrates illegal, immoral and even violent action, Americans should see flashing red lights. Trump’s party is telling us he is beyond morality, beyond the law. That’s a sign of authoritarian ambition.
Further thoughts
Few would disagree that this election is the weirdest ever — a convicted criminal responsible for a violent insurrection heading the Republican ticket, a horrific assassination attempt, a battle for the survival of pluralistic democracy and now a change at the top of the Democratic ticket. There are scads of questions to be answered, including Harris’s choice of a running mate. However, the pro-democracy message, if anything, must be even sharper.
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This race pits normal governance vs. the Project 2025 plan; women’s self-determination vs. second-class citizenship for women forced to give birth against their will; and a responsible Supreme Court constrained by ethics and precedent vs. an unhinged, scandal-ridden body overwhelmingly viewed as partisan.
Democrats have the chance to capitalize on an exciting moment in political history, rally around the vice president and focus their collective energies on defeating Trump. They — and all concerned voters — must assume responsibility for our democracy and educate their fellow countrymen about the risks to our constitutional system.
Journalism 101
In the sea of gauzy GOP convention coverage, too many mainstream outlets failed to exercise sufficient scrutiny of the purge of normal Republicans (former vice president Mike Pence? Liz Cheney?) or to drill down on the frightening agenda the MAGA movement is advancing. How, for example, can there be “unity” in a party in which Trump’s former vice president and a large number of former Cabinet officials oppose him? How can the law and order party parade one felon after another to the stage?
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Among the few sober voices was Daniel Dale, CNN’s fact-checker, who counted at least 20 falsehoods in Trump’s convention speech. Dale wrote: “Many of the false claims were ones Trump has made before, some of them for years. They spanned a wide variety of topics, including the economy, immigration, crime, foreign policy and elections.” He added: “Some of them were wild lies, others smaller exaggerations. Some were in his prepared text (like the absurd claim that he left the Biden administration a world at peace), while he ad-libbed others (such as his usual lies that Democrats cheated in the 2020 election and that the US is experiencing the worst inflation it has ever had).”
We need more truthtellers like Dale and more experts in totalitarianism to help educate voters.
Legal highlight
Contrary to the baseless accusation that the Biden administration has weaponized the Justice Department against Republicans, federal prosecutors last week obtained an impressive conviction in New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery and foreign corruption case.
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After the verdict, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:
This case has always been about shocking levels of corruption. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes, including gold, cash, and a Mercedes-Benz. This wasn’t politics as usual; this was politics for profit. Because Senator Menendez has now been found guilty, his years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end. Corruption isn’t costless: it erodes public trust, and it undermines the rule of law. That’s why we’re so committed to fighting it, regardless of political party. I want to thank the career prosecutors and law enforcement agents who meticulously investigated and prosecuted this case. Their work brought this egregious corruption to light. They are the best of the best, and I am enormously proud to serve with them.
Whether it is the Menendez prosecution, the conviction of Hunter Biden or the investigation of Biden’s handling of classified documents, the Justice Department has demonstrated willingness to investigate and prosecute Democrats. There should be little doubt which party supports neutral, fact-based enforcement of the rule of law.
Next week, I’ll have my online chat so please submit your questions. Questions submitted after next Wednesday will go to my next mailbag newsletter.
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