The Chris Cuomo Project - The Biggest Threat to Biden Is Not Trump

Episode Date: November 2, 2023

Chris Cuomo shares why he thinks third-party candidates like Cornel West, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and whoever may run under the No Labels ticket pose the biggest threat to Joe Biden's re-election in 2024. Follow and subscribe to The Chris Cuomo Project on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday: https://linktr.ee/cuomoproject Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The biggest concern for Democrats is not Donald Trump. It's not even Joe Biden. Then what is it? Listen, if you know anything about me, you know I've been doing AG1 for over five years, okay? Why? Well, because I heard about it just as I was looking at all of these white and translucent brown bottles in my life. Had to be a dozen of them, okay?

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I'm not kidding you, all right? Now, so if you go to CozyEarth.com and you enter the code, enter the code CHRIS, and you can get up to 35% off your first order. CozyEarth.com, and the code is CHRIS. I'm Chris Cuomo. Welcome to another episode of the Chris Cuomo Project. Thank you for subscribing, following, checking out the free agent merch, being a critical thinker and an independent, and checking me out on News Nation at 8 and 11 p every weekday night. What is the biggest concern for the Democrats? Trump. I don't think that's what Democrats think.

I think that they think, and this is a little weird, okay? I think the Democrats want Trump. I think Democrats think Trump is the guy they can beat most. How? He's crushing the field. Yes, but winning a primary in a party that is disproportionately influenced by extreme thought and grievance may not do well in a general election. So it can be the case that a Democrat, Biden, will beat Trump, but not beat Nikki Haley, even though Nikki Haley is stuck in single digits in most polls on the right. So Trump is not their biggest concern.

I would argue, and we saw this in the primaries when the Democrats were doing what I did not like, which is funding a lot of Trumpy candidates. And I get the, and we saw this in the primaries when the Democrats were doing what I did not like, which is funding a lot of Trumpy candidates. And I get the rationale for it. But I just feel like, look, there's room for better. We're all desperate for better. Be better. Not just play into the game of who's worse.

Now, look, the pushback on that is, well, dummy, you're not in the game and we are. And we got to win the game to get us to a better place. And this is how you win it. OK, that's why I hate the game. But I get it. I don't the game, but I get it. I don't accept it, but I understand it. So how can Trump not be the biggest concern? He's the guy getting all the energy and all the numbers

because I believe that Democrats believe that their research shows and their recent history shows he's the most beatable because just because he's supercharged in a primary that is widely populated with people that are buying into extreme feelings and thought, doesn't mean it's going to play in the general. Because remember, what's the reality? Most of you listening, watching here are not far right, far left. You are not really left right minded. You are reasonable. You're regular.

You want your politics to reflect what is happening in the rest of your life, right? That means that the Democrats could very well see and the research would support, well, wait, recent polls show that Biden is, look, Biden's down in the polls. The matchups are head to head. But this is all theoretical, okay. The game doesn't get real until it is Trump versus Biden.

If that's what comes to pass for real. All right. Where you're going to really have to assess as somebody who calls themselves independent. What do you want your next four years about? Do you believe that Biden is going to make it as bad as Trump might? And I hate that that's the assessment, the lesser of two potential negatives. I think there's such desperation for better. I have a feeling, and probably I should have done a separate piece on this. I wouldn't be surprised if Trump-Biden 2, sequel's never as good as the first, is a watershed moment for the death of the old white man being the putative choice. I think this may be, in my lifetime,

the last time we see two older white guys who don't seem to be on top of their game anymore. And that's a good thing, if that's what it is. And it has nothing to do with race with me. I have no problem with having people who are white. You go, yeah, because you're white. By the way, I'm a generation from my father being dismissed as an ethnic, okay,

and being called Mercurial Mario and being accused of being in the mob, and yeah, I guess he was white, but he was seen as an ethnic, and that was seen as making him less than. So, you know, my bloodline is new to white privilege and the water's warm. Come on in. My point is, I don't have any problem with somebody being white and wanting to run for power. I don't think that that's a problem for progress

in America. I think it's what's in that white person's head and heart. What's in that brown person's head and heart. What's in that fill in the blank person's head and heart. Okay. That matters. All right. But I do think that stage matters and I don't want to see an old black guy either. And I don't want to see an old woman in there either. Why? I want people who are at their best. And I think that should be true for the Supreme court. I think it'd be true for the Congress. You should be on top of your game. I don't care how many pushups you can do. I want to make sure that you have a facility of thought, that you're open-minded, that you're strategic, that you know how to lead, that you have an ambition and a drive.

So if it's not Trump, oh, so then Biden must be the biggest problem. I don't think Biden's the biggest problem. I think that Biden's age is a concern, okay? Biden's stage is a concern. I think he can do the job. I do not believe these suggestions and rumors that he's basically blowing bubbles out of his mouth all day and somebody else is doing all the thinking for him. I don't agree with that.

I have people who are inside that say, if anything's a problem, it's that Biden is controlling them too much. Who do you believe? I believe my sources. So it's not Biden. Biden's not the problem. No, it's not the messenger. You need a messenger, the Democrats especially, because they're getting beaten in the narrative on a number of issues that matter. And part of that is Biden's fault.

But the message is a problem also. You got to have the right message. And I'm not saying that they don't have a story to tell, but they got to tell that story. Because if somebody else tells your story for you, you're not going to like how it ends. So I think message is as big a problem as messenger. And the main message for them is, but Trump is crazy. But these people are nuts. They jumped January 6th. And now they want to go after a guy who pushed an emergency bar on a door

the same way that we went after the people for January 6th, even though they don't care about the people who went in on January 6th. These people are nuts. Compelling. I certainly think that's kooky, but it's not going to turn the election. Well, then what is? I think it's parties. And don't roll your eyes. Oh, he's going into the, he hates the parties again. I do. I hate the system. I don't see him as equal Oh, he's going into the, he hates the parties again. I do. I hate the system. I don't see him as equal players, but the game they're both playing, I'm against. And I think it's against your interests. But Cornel West, oh, he can't win. Okay. Bobby Kennedy Jr.,

please. He's not going to win. Okay. No labels. If they put up somebody? Well, what is that even? That they're Republicans, wait. No, they're playing to reasonableness, the no labels people. Bobby Kennedy, when they poll him against Biden, pulls anywhere from seven to 17% of the vote. Why? A big part of it is somebody with name recognition against an unpopular president in party,

you're gonna get some slice of it. Not every Democrat wants Biden. They may compared to Trump. Cornel West, there are a lot of progressives against an unpopular president in party, you're going to get some slice of it. Not every Democrat wants Biden. They may compared to Trump. Cornel West, there are a lot of progressives who are going to have, he's going to have their ear. And if you combine those three and they're all taking from Biden's slice of the pie, if that happens in the handful of counties that matter

in the purple states across the country, it could make a real difference. I don't see any of those three as taking votes from Trump, okay? Cornel West, I have respect for the guy as a lifelong warrior of the light and fighting the good fight of suffrage and of equality, okay? And there are people, especially as we get more into the campaign season and people stop censoring him. And if you say, Hey, you barely had him on. Hey, I try to get him on. Okay. Cornel West is busy. You know, he's not 35 years old and he has the time he has,

he gets invited a lot and I'll continue to invite him on. I'm not your problem in that regard. Bobby Kennedy. He says a lot of things that play to Trump voters, yeah, but he's a Democrat and he's a Kennedy. And while I think he says a lot of things that don't pan out, I mean, even his most recent salvo is that a handful of companies are going to own 60% of the houses in America. That is nowhere in any type of calculable, reasonable assessment. They're in the single digits, very, very low of ownership. That's like saying if something starts at anything above zero, eventually it'll go to 100.

That's the argument he's making. That right now they own this. And over time, it'll just keep growing and growing. That dismisses every other influence on that dynamic, like you and me and everybody else that wants to buy homes, except hedge funds. So look, I get what he's trying to do. He's trying to play to your hate of elitism,

and maybe it's even an authentic representation of how he feels, but it ain't a winning argument. But again, even though that seems kind of Trumpy, I think he takes votes more from Biden. So if you have Cornel West, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the no labels people, and they are all taking a little slice from Biden, does he have that to lose?

Maybe if they only take votes from him in the big states, because he's going to win those anyway. Remember, it's an electoral college. But in this relative handful of counties, right, was it 30, 45 counties and purple states all over the country? What if they make a difference? I think that is the Democrats' biggest concern. We don't fake the funk here. And here's the real talk.

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except to count on the media and the pundit proxies to say, third parties are bad. They're just spoilers. Yeah, they're spoiling your monopoly on a two-party system that you don't deserve. Oh, so you're saying Cornel West? No, here's what I'm saying. I'm saying there's a desperation for better.

And if he gets a little slice and RFK Jr. gets a little slice and the No Labels gets a little slice, I think it's coming out of your piece of the pie on the Democratic side. And I think you need to think about that. And I think you need to talk about that. And not just in terms of why those people are bad and part of the problem. See, I just don't see that as a good argument for maintaining the current system. And I get the pushback. The house is on fire, Chris. It's not time to talk about the windows.

Yes, I understand. But nothing changes if nothing changes. Now on the Democratic side, I don't think they see this. I think that people like Cornel West, you know, whatever. I respect him, intellectual. But yeah, Bobby Kennedy, I guess kind of kooky. I can't understand everything he says. You know, he's got no shirt on.

He's only bench pressing like 90 pounds. You know, I guess that's my beef. No, but listen, I think Bobby looks like he's doing great physically. And I want nothing but good things for him. Doesn't make that I think every argument he makes is a good argument. But I grew up around him. My brother was married to his sister for many years. They got three beautiful kids. And he's always been good to me. But that doesn't mean that I think he's making

great arguments all the time. And certainly this most recent one that I outlined for you, I think is highly deficient. But a lot of you disagree with me. You know, you look at the polls. I mean, yes, you put anybody who has name recognition in a poll against the president who is not popular, okay, and they're going to check a box. Why? Because it's the anybody but vote. And yet it's still there, right?

So if you get to 20% between two or three and that happens and lands in real places, you got a problem. So then what do the Democrats do? Well, they use their friends in the media to destroy the idea of anybody running on another party line by saying, aren't you just a spoiler? Which I find to be a very jaundiced perspective for the media to have. You should be testing their ideas and see what's in the interest of the American people, not liking that they're infringing on the game you love to cover and complicating the two-party system, which you have adopted as good enough because it's great for us. It's great for us.

We're going to have natural tension and competing narratives. It's great. Covering two is way easier than covering three or four or five. So it works for us, but I don't know that it works for you. And I don't hear Democrats on or off camera talking about how to deal with this, how to deal with in terms of their campaign structure and infrastructure, messaging, how to motivate people and get their numbers to change on the president's level, how to use Kamala Harris better.

I guess Governor Gavin Newsom. Look, I interviewed him. You can say what you want, obviously About anybody, always, always I don't judge your judgments Or your ideas, I test them But this is all about you forming Your own opinions and me just giving you

The food for thought on that But Gavin Newsom knows how to answer the questions And knows how to make a case and knows how to have a discussion And yes, he's a politician I don't't say that as a dispositively bad thing. You know what I mean? Like it's a replacement for the word bad politician. I don't believe that. I believe in public service and public servants. But why is he making the case? You know, why is Biden deputized him? Doesn't it just emphasize in your mind that Biden can't make the case? I mean, doesn't Newsom look like a young Biden? You know what I mean? Newsom's a good looking guy. But I'm saying,

isn't that what he is? Don't you basically have a guy walking around saying, hey, look, if Biden were at his best, here's what he'd be saying. And here's how he'd be looking. Here's what he'd be doing. But doesn't that kind of just shine a light on what you're concerned about with Biden? And you gotta be concerned about it because such a big number of you, even in the Democratic Party, say you have a problem with. And Kamala Harris,

I don't know why people kind of mildly suggest there's something racist about me suggesting that she may not be helping the ticket. Is there any proof that she is helping the ticket? I'm not anti-Kamala Harris. I don't have any reason to even assess her that way. She be helping the ticket. Is there any proof that she is helping the ticket? I'm not anti-Kamala Harris. I don't have any reason to even assess her that way. She's a vice president. It's not like she didn't put in charge of anything

that I can now measure. She's always been good on the hustings, you know, on the trail. Why not put her out and make these cases more, put her on more media, not just friendly places? They don't even answer our calls about having her on the show. I mean,

not in any real way other than to just blow us off and give them the ability to say, well, we answered. She won't come on. Why? They stick to friendly harbors. I don't know why I'm seen as an unfriendly harbor. I don't have any dog in the fight except you. And I'm open to interviewing anybody and I'll let them have their say and I'll test what needs to be tested. They get to choose the tone. I'm sorry, but my days of letting people beat up on me and me saying nothing back are over. The biggest threat to the Democrats is not Donald Trump. They probably want him as the candidate. It is third-party candidates. And not that third parties are bad.

I am not going to blame people looking for better because they're trying to fix a toxic system. They are not the problem. The system is. But I think the biggest threat to Biden winning again, other than his own capabilities, is people taking bites out of their pie. I know they're not going to believe that you're going to get a lot of things done. They know how divided it is and how gummed up the works are.

I know. But you still get things done in Congress. It's another story. You don't do a good job telling. But you got to give people reason to believe. My father's best book was titled that, Reason to Believe. It's as good today as it was back when he wrote it, you know, I don't know, turn of the century. Look it up if you want. It's about giving people reason to believe in something better. Our interconnectedness

and our interdependence is more powerful than our fears of division. But you got to make that case and you got to live it and you got to make that case and you got to live it and you got to show it in what you do and you decide not to do. And too many in our political system are more comfortable with the advantage of just showing that the other side has more shit on their shoe than they do. And people may tell you this, but it's not true.

Shit on your shoe is not good luck. It's a way of justifying bad luck, okay? It's like rain on a wedding day, okay? You can always say that something bad means something good. You know, all those old expressions, don't pee on my foot and tell me it's raining. We often are desperate to believe things that we want to be true. And we will grasp any kind of semblance of fact or rationale to make it so. semblance of fact or rationale to make it so. But that does not make it so. But in politics, perception is often reality. And if these extra candidates are seen or perceived to be protest votes, then you got a problem on your hands as a democrat because i think that they will be

protesting your side more than trump's side not because trump is better or whatever way you want to look at it but because they will be reasonable people who are not going to vote for trump but they can't bring themselves to vote for biden so you've got to make the case. You've got to think of the message. It'd be good if you had a dynamic messenger who was out there killing it on this all the time, but you don't. So either you have to find a proxy for that messenger or a team that can get out and do it. But the message matters even more. What is it that you're selling and on what basis and why should people believe it? What do you think? Comment. Remember, Greg Ott is the name that you want to address any type of barbs at. Spare me your poisonous barbs! Name the quote. Subscribe, follow, please

check me out on News Nation at 8 and 11 P Eastern. Appreciate you checking out the free agent merch. You can get a shirt just like this, just doesn't come with the moves. Let's get after it. ... ...

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