BUCK: Let’s start with the Biden presser yesterday as many of you have probably seen some of it. I doubt many of you sat through the whole thing. It went about — ooh — almost two hours, I think. It was quite lengthy. And here’s what I want to just start with for all of you. I’m quite confident, based on what we’ve heard in this press conference from Biden over the last 24 hours, that year two is gonna be even worse.

There are a lot of people who are writing Biden’s Year One is the worst of any president in modern history, and his decision-making is so inept, he seems like he’s not all there. He’s foggy. He’s an empty suit. We could go all day with this stuff, right? Yeah, that’s all true. But is it gonna get any better? I think the answer is likely for it to actually be about as bad or worse, probably worse, in the second year, because he has no political capital.

The Democrat Party is in a quiet panic behind the scenes about how, “This guy can’t really run again, can he?” and if he has no power starting after the midterms and has very little political capital to use now, what exactly was the point of putting this guy forward other than just to stop Trump from four more years — which, let’s be honest, for Democrats, anything other than Orange Man Bad was the preference, right?

So they’ve gotten there. But is there anything more that they will get? This is where you look at what Joe Biden was saying and doing yesterday in his press conference, and you thought to yourself, “I can’t believe this guy is actually the president of the United States. I can’t believe that this is what the Democrats have saddled the country with!” Let’s just start with this.

You have heard no shortage over the last few years of people who talk about the threat to our democracy from undermining faith in our elections, and this really started… Well, actually it started when they didn’t accept the results of the election in the year 2000 in Bush v. Gore, and you noticed the Democrats never really seem to accept presidential election results that they don’t like.

But this became a major narrative in 2016 with the Russia collusion hoax that the Democrats cobbled together with the help of a compliant, complicit media — and this was the whole game, right? “Oh, it was Russia. It wasn’t really a legitimate election.” I remember being on the streets of New York City right after Trump beat Hillary Clinton, and it was like a bomb of sadness had gone off in Manhattan.

Everyone was just walking around looking like some terrible atrocity had just occurred. And, of course, I was quietly, for the most part, doing back flips down the street. I said, “Oh, my God. Donald Trump just beat Hillary Clinton. This is amazing.” But they were shouting — and I mean literally shouting. There were mobs marching in the streets shouting, “Not my president! Not my president! Not my president,” screeching all together right away.

They didn’t even wait for the guy to be sworn in, and there were also people who were claiming right away that it was an illegitimate election. That’s where Russia came in. So they just denied the reality of it, and this is supposed to be a grave sin against democracy. “Oh, my God! This undermines democracy,” when it’s the Democrats were in power. When the Republicans are in power, it’s actually necessary. But now they’ve actually gone beyond that.

Joe Biden in the press conference yesterday is essentially doing a preemptive strike against the impending annihilation of Democrats in the midterms, which hasn’t happened yet — and we do not count our chickens until they hatch. We have to keep the pedal on this one, but it’s not looking good for them, obviously. So what do they do?

Well, they try to get their base both fired up but also build a little political insurance by already saying, “If we don’t get what we want,” meaning massive changes to election law to help Democrats, “then the actual election that happens next fall is not legitimate.” Here’s Joe Biden mumbling through this one about the 2022 midterms. Play 4.

REPORTER: A moment ago, you were asked whether or not you believed that we would have free and fair elections in 2022 if some of the state legislatures reformed their voting protocols. You said that it depends. Do you…? Do you think that they would in any way be illegitimate?

BIDEN: Oh, yeah! I think it (sputtering) easy to be illegitimate. Imagine… Imagine if, in fact, Trump had succeeded in convincing Pence to not count the votes.

REPORTER: In regards to 2022, sir, the midterms elections.

BIDEN: Oh, in 2022? I mean… (sputtering) Imagine if those attempts to say, “That the count was not legit. You have to recount and we’re not gonna count… We’re gonna discard the following voters.” Sure. I’m (sputtering) not saying it’s gonna be legit. The increase in the prospect of being illegitimate is in direct portion to us not being able to get those reforms passed.

This second attempt from Biden on whether the election will be legit is even worse.

“Oh, yeah, I think it could easily be illegitimate … The increase in the prospect of being illegitimate is in proportion to not being able to get these reforms passed.” pic.twitter.com/nCyuAWSMXm

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) January 19, 2022

BUCK: I know that was a bunch of argle bargle malarkey and whatever, but you heard this (muttering). The direct proportion of the legitimacy or illegitimacy of the election is determined — the proportion of it is determined — by how much of the voting rights bill agenda Joe Biden gets through, which was just defeated, of course, last night because they’re not going to break the filibuster in the Senate to get it through.

So what he’s really saying is, “Yeah, it’s gonna be not that legitimate of an election, folks, just not that legitimate.” This is where they talk about the voter suppression that’s all across the country, but…where? Who is being suppressed exactly? They don’t present individuals. They just present a narrative. Where is this voter suppression happening? You have to wonder.

But it didn’t get better from there. I’ll get into the Russia-Ukraine stuff in a few moments because that got a lot of attention from folks. But I’m still stuck on what the heck is Joe Biden really doing? I mean, what does this guy think he’s accomplishing day in and day out or even the people around him that are using him as on me kind of pseudo-moderate folksy marionette that just dances around for people as they pull the strings.

Here is, for example: Joe Biden during the press conference yesterday screaming at White House reporter Phil Wegmann and he’s essentially saying (impression), “You better be clear… better be clear!” Listen to what I said and then I’m gonna say a bunch of things that don’t make sense.” Play 16.

WEGMANN: You campaigned and you ran on a return to civility, and I know that you dispute the characterization that you called folks who would oppose those voting bills as being Bull Connor or George Wallace. But you said that they would be sort of in the same camp. Uh,

BIDEN: No, I didn’t say that! Look what I said. Go back and (yelling) read what I said and tell me if you think I called anyone who voted on the side of the (sputters) position taken by Bull Connor or that they were Bull Connor. That is an interesting reading in English. You… (sputtering) I assume you got in the Journal because you like to write.

REPORTER: Did you expect that that would work it Senators Manchin or Sinema?

BIDEN: Here’s the thing” There are certain things that are so consequential, you have to speak from your heart as well as your head! I was speaking out forcefully on what I think to be at stake. That’s what it is!

BUCK: Let me just tell you what he actually said here because, first of all, he does the usual, “Yeah, I’m mad! I’m mad in the words. I’m gonna stare at you while I find the words to yell at you with, and then I’m gonna get confused — and maybe I’m gonna whisper real loud for no reason!” This is the whole trope. This is what Biden does. We all know the routine, right? It’s not impressive. It’s not working very well.

Here is what he said in that speech, just to be clear, he goes, “Go ahead and read it! Okay. I’m reading, Joe. Stop yelling at me. I’m reading. Here you are. “I ask every elected official in America: How do you want to be remembered? Do you want to be on the side of Dr. King or George Wallace? Do you want to be on the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor? Do you want to be on the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?” end quote.

Okay, that’s what he said about a voting rights bill that he can’t even get all the members of the Democrat Senate to go along with! He created that absurd and really slanderous dichotomy. He’s the one that said, “It’s a choice. Look, you can either be a great civil rights hero or be an evil racist. Up to you, Republicans.” This is what he did, and then when he’s called out you notice he yells and get angry (sputtering), “I’m speaking from the heart,” and this is why he was, what, 76 of 85 at Syracuse law Class of ’68. True story, by the way. Not exactly a genius of logic and rhetoric. But president of the United States somehow. We’re all seeing what those results are.