Bernie’s Weekly Q&A (3/8)

Nikki Haley, Martha MacCallum, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and more!

Welcome to this week’s Premium Q&A session for paying subscribers. I appreciate you all signing up and joining me.

Let’s get started:

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Bernie and John, Now that the primary is over, do you think Nikki Haley will endorse Trump? — Alex D.

From John: Yes.

From Bernie: Eventually, yes. But it will depend, I think, on the two of them publicly putting their tense relationship in the rear-view mirror. If they can do that, yes on the endorsement.

What do you think about Fox News’s Martha MacCallum? I think she’s supposed to be a straight news reporter, but she sure seems to inject a lot of partisan opinion in to what she says. — Ben G.

I totally agree. She’s changed. It’s as if they got the memo that says, “We take sides here at Fox and we want to make sure all our hosts understand that we don’t say anything that might offend our viewers. In fact, make sure all of you do say things that validate our viewers’ biases.” If you want to keep your job at Fox, you play by their rules.

Sir Bernie & Sir John: the Dems keep touting about how Biden created so many new jobs, but if this is true then why isn’t he doing better in the polls among the blue collar types? — “Blue Collar Types Supporting Red Candidates” regards from The Emperor

From John: First, I can’t stand when politicians tout how many jobs they have created. Trump and Obama did it often too, and it’s a mostly inaccurate, entirely self-serving framing of jobs reports. Anyway, there are actually a lot of economic numbers Biden can brag up, but the messaging has pretty much fallen on deaf ears. Part of the reason is that “blue-collar Joe” has become a very poor and uninspired communicator, but it’s mostly because other issues are trumping the job numbers: continued high inflation, the border, international conflicts, etc. And a big issue, again, is that Biden looks like he’s falling apart mentally and physically, while Trump (though sounding more mentally “off” than he used to) drives home the populist-speak which tends to sell well with “blue-collar types”.

From Bernie: The “blue collar types” as you so elegantly put it, have moved away from the Democratic Party in recent years … so it’s not easy for them to give a Dem credit for just about anything. But in this particular case, they’re unhappy with inflation, with the mess on the border, and with crime. Joe Biden has given those “blue collar types” reason to not give him credit for what he claims he’s done. One last thing: I’d expect to hear the term “blue collar types” from royalty — like an Emperor. “The people are hungry” someone tells the Emperor. “Let those blue collar types eat cake,” the Emperor replies. Not long after that, those “blue collar types” send the Emperor to get his head separated from his body. Just sayin’.

Bernie and John: This is a unique presidential election in many ways, including the fact that both Biden and Trump will be second term presidents if elected. Second terms rarely go well for any president. With that and many other factors in mind, what does a second term Biden presidency look like? What does a second term Trump presidency look like? I'm asking not just in terms of style, but with regards to domestic policy, international conflict, judicial nominees, down ballot elections, etc. — Steve R.