Dispatch Live: The American People Deserve Better

Join us for our weekly livestreamed conversation.

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Last week The Dispatch published only our fourth-ever editorial, arguing that neither Joe Biden nor Donald is fit for the presidency. The response, both internally and externally, was heated. Join Sarah, Jonah, Steve and Declan as they discuss the decision to publish the editorial, respond to criticism, and wrestle with what it all means for the 2024 election and the future of the American experiment.

Grab a drink (or a few), get your questions ready, and join us at 7:30 p.m. ET on YouTube for this week’s Dispatch Live. (Please note the early start time!)

Dispatch Live recordings are made available as a members-only podcast on select platforms. If you can’t make it for the live broadcast, see below for information on how to access the podcast.

Q&A: We want to hear from you during the show. To ask questions of our panelists and interact with other members you can use the YouTube Live chat feature or simply comment on this post during the broadcast.

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  1. Avatar photo
    HappyCow

    The reason we have Daylight Saving Time is because it's the best of all possible solutions. As Josh Barro constantly reminds us, we've tried eliminating the time change before and hated it. Congress couldn't move quickly enough to change things back.

    https://www.joshbarro.com/p/this-week-in-the-mayonnaise-clinic-ba9

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  2. Avatar photo
    Probably Wrong

    Do we though? Do we deserve better?

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    KAM

    Never say “Never-” in politics, The Dispatch. You are now part-owners our “Both are worthless!” shit-storm.

    You have not dealt with Biden with as much rigor as “his predecessor.” So, thanks for that.

    (And your Never-_____-Evangelical, David French, left you for a better offer for his services in dispensing his patented Never-______-Evangelical pablum. That’s HIS “character and competence” in action.)

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  4. Turtles All The Way Down

    Maybe it’s because I’m not a journalist, but Steve and Jonah’s commitment to a “no endorsement” policy as if it’s some kind of noble virtue doesn’t resonate with me. Especially when they say things to the effect of “even though we don’t endorse people, just read what we write and you’ll know what we think.” It feels needlessly evasive and a bit tiresome.

    The irony is they say the policy came from their time at the Weekly Standard, whose founder doesn’t have any hesitation telling people not to vote for Trump.

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      Seth B

      I find the Dispatch's no-endorsements policy perfectly reasonable. But in light of that policy, the editorial seems even stranger. The editorial reads, after all, as if it were published by a journal that normally *does* make endorsements, but which finds itself unable to do so on this occasion.

      This discussion was a real disappointment for me. None of the four participants seemed to truly understand the arguments against the editorial. A little viewpoint diversity would have greatly improved this discussion, which was just four people agreeing with each other, somewhat defensively. I wish they had invited David French - or someone else - to join them to make sure that they weren't just arguing with strawmen and getting lost in irrelevant cul-de-sacs. (Outside of journalists, very few people care about the *label* "Never Trump", for example.)

      Oh well.

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      1. Turtles All The Way Down

        Well said.

        I wonder if some of the wishy-washiness comes from living in DC where the electoral outcome is pre-destined (Biden won 92% of the DC vote in 2020). Even though Jonah and Steve don't like either Biden or Trump, it's clear that they have far more concerns about a second Trump term. A benefit of living somewhere as Deep Blue as DC is that a protest vote comes without a cost. You can write in Friedrich Hayek and not worry that you didn't do all you could to stop Trump because Biden was always going to win DC anyway. They get to keep their hands clean by not voting for Biden or Trump while still getting the outcome they prefer.

        So, maybe their hesitation to recommend that people hold their noses and vote for Biden (even though their arguments logically point to that conclusion) is because Steve and Jonah won't have to make that choice and they don't want to be seen as hypocritical. That's fine in a place like DC...not so much in swing states where much of TD's readership resides.

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      Addicus

      It's kind of like the Eddie Izzard skit, "Cake or Death".

      We make no endorsements, Cake or Death? Ah... Cake please.

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        Jeff Walden

        If Biden were Cake, they wouldn't hesitate to say it. The trouble is that he isn't.

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    Mudskipper

    Here's something that I don't think is being talked about that I worry about.

    People are mentioning that they are concerned about foreign policy under Trump. But I am also concerned about something much more encompassing: the overall health of the governmental institutions that deal with international relations and our national security.

    We know that Trump simply doesn't value institutional knowledge or experience. We also know that he simply blows off security concerns--security clearances, for example, mean nothing to him if he wants a loyalist in a position. And we know that he has people in his orbit who are chomping at the bit to restructure the administrative state and who are Putin-friendly.

    So what happens to the foreign service or the CIA under another four years of Trump, presumably without the "normies" that held him in check? Voting for Trump could be voting for disintegration and chaos in these agencies or--even worse--an open door for moles.

    I would also think that Trump being President would make recruitment of assets in Russia much more difficult. What disaffected Russian in his right mind would trust his safety and well-being to a security agency being run by the Trump administration? And what country, which might be ordinarily inclined to share intelligence with us, will put their assets at risk?

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      KAM

      Well thank your lucky stars, none of that is an issue with Biden et al. EVERYONE outside our borders had FULL confidence in Joe!!

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        Mudskipper

        KAM: The IEEE 378.12 Internet standard calls for sarcasm to be troweled on at least 1.5 meters thick. Yours is only 1.1 meters thick. Perhaps more capitalized words would help.

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    Addicus

    Is it Never Trump or is it Ambivalent Trump? Neither Trump or Biden is a half measure. It's not enough to vote against Trump, you need to vote for the guy who will defeat Trump.

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    This comment has been deleted

  8. Richard Lane

    The American people deserve President Trump. He is better educated, smart, tough, the best negotiator the WH has ever had. His accomplishments while in office were better than most of the Presidents our Country has had. No wars being fought new ones started during his term. He secured our Southern Border. Inflation was low Gasoline was $2.00 a gallon. Our Country was energy independent. Obviously the people at the dispatch must have missed something during 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019. What the American people deserve is 4 more years Of President Trumpto fix the mess Joe Biden has created!

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      Laker1986

      On the small chance that this isn't a troll, it's you who is missing something - 2020. Trump wasn't President in 2016, but he sure was in 2020. Can you find bottled water, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer? Can you go to a restaurant or to a movie? In other words, are you better off than you were 4 years ago?

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      Will Bates

      I will agree that the American people deserve Donald J Trump. And we deserve it good and hard.

      But not for any of the reasons you mention.

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        KAM

        OR Joe Biden. Either or. For our sins, these two.

        Thanks, The Dispatch. Without you, we might be in a real dilemma, this time around.

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  9. Mike E

    The two political parties have totally failed us. From a fundraising perspective they absolutely love the other side's choice. I suspect collusion.

    I like to think the RNC is worse, but it's really pretty close. We would all be better off if we could end both the RNC and DNC today.

    That said, Trump is sociopathic, oath-breaking, rapist so there is really no choice.

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      KAM

      I regret that I have but one like to give for this comment.

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    Mkapnick

    Will Jonah or Sarah resond to Nick Catoggio's response to the op ed.

    https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/boilingfrogs/the-state-of-our-union/

    I agree with Nick and am curious what you think he gets wrong.

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    1. R. James

      Jonah preemptively did in his last Remnant episode. Nick catastrophizes too much and does not make a compelling case for why one should vote for Biden. He can only make a convincing case about why one should not vote for Trump. But he's seeking to convince people to vote for Biden, so it doesn't quite get there for the No to Both crowd, which the Editors and many readers fall into.

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    2. Neelthakrebew

      IMO, Nick's defense of Biden yesterday was his best piece ever.
      Bottom line: Biden will fight for NATO—trump will cheer if it dies.

      PS: Biden just found $300 million of savings in the Pentagon budget. He's spending it, not on a wall, but on ammo for Ukraine.

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