Philip Bump has so embarrassed himself over the Biden administration that we'll go ahead and put his name in the headline and not just "Washington Post national columnist." That happens when journalists get so bad that you recognize them by name. The last we saw him was in retreat from a podcast host asking about the mounting pile of evidence against Joe Biden.
Bump has limited replies to his post Thursday, which points to his piece about how 14 presidents have "indirectly" called out Donald Trump's threat to democracy. Which particular threat to democracy is this one? The one where he's allowed to run again with his name on the ballot?
So you get 14 presidents if you add Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and as for getting 13 former presidents to sign a letter means having their foundations "sign"; e.g., Woodrow Wilson "signed" the letter.
Fourteen presidents indirectly called out Trump's threat to democracy today. Thirteen former presidents signed a letter. The current one released an ad. https://t.co/jabs6cJML8
— Philip Bump (@pbump) September 7, 2023
Bump writes:
But the argument is not simply cynical. As the rhetoric of his 2008 opponents makes clear, a real threat to democracy exists. Trump’s power over the right and his rhetoric about the left combine to foster both sincere and broadly unjustified anger at the system — and to make it valuable to feign that anger to appeal to his supporters.
There was also another presidential expression of support for American democracy Thursday. The foundations associated with more than a dozen previous presidents, from Herbert Hoover to Obama, signed a joint letter calling for the reinforcement of “our most basic democratic principles.”
And more than 50 former intelligence officials signed a letter saying Hunter Biden's laptop was Russian disinformation. So?
I will bet everything I own that 13 presidents didn’t sign a letter. https://t.co/EHuD27r3F0
— Hooch (@CompanyHooch) September 7, 2023
You win that bet.
In case you were wondering, no, there are not 13 former Presidents still living. Here is the part of the article about the letter. I was unaware these foundations were able to commune with the dead. https://t.co/mOBkB8NEIj pic.twitter.com/J86FCFDEyc
— alexandriabrown (@alexthechick) September 7, 2023
Did they sign via Ouija Board? https://t.co/MeQdSPwFPF pic.twitter.com/IpoN2WL2A1
— Whatever (@MIFrenchieMom) September 7, 2023
Did they sign via Ouija Board? https://t.co/MeQdSPwFPF pic.twitter.com/IpoN2WL2A1
— Whatever (@MIFrenchieMom) September 7, 2023
The one where WaPo cites dead presidents signing an Orange Man Bad letter. https://t.co/rQbBtGlsUQ
— Lili von Shtupp (@LvS_Redux) September 7, 2023
“Thirteen former presidents signed a letter….I dunno how, I dunno how, I’m leaving, I’ve answered the question already” https://t.co/r7YUU5oarC pic.twitter.com/o2kJtgygcJ
— Ben. (@burnt_tweet) September 7, 2023
"Among the former presidents who was not represented among the letter’s signatories was Donald Trump," Bump concludes. Gee, do you think they invited him to sign?
Hi Philip
— Ahmed Al Asliken 🕋☪️✈️ (@assliken) September 7, 2023
Why wont the WH release the emails where Biden was using a pseudonym? https://t.co/MnQ4eRQp1u
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