[guest post by Dana]
During an interview with the President:
President Joe Biden turned heads Sunday night when he declared the COVID-19 pandemic is “over” even while stating the United States is still having a “problem” with the virus.
“The pandemic is over,” he said during an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
Biden continued, “We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it. It’s — but the pandemic is over.”
President Biden also warned President Putin not to use chemical or nuclear weapons in their war against Ukraine:
“Don’t, don’t, don’t,” said Biden, when asked for his message to Putin on the use of such weapons. Biden said that deciding to use them would “change the face of war — unlike since World War II.”
[…]
“You think I would tell you if I knew exactly what it would be? Of course, I’m not going to tell you. It’ll be consequential. They’ll become more of a pariah in the world than they ever have been. And depending on the extent of what they do, [it] will determine what response would occur.”
The President also addressed the question of whether he was planning to seek re-election:
“Look, my intention, as I said to begin with, is that I would run again. But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen,” Biden told CBS’ Scott Pelley on “60 Minutes” when asked whether he would run.
Oh. Okay.
So, since the President declared the pandemic over, will we see all restrictions and mandates lifted? Also, will the CDC be releasing any kind of statement agreeing with the President’s pandemice remarks? I just checked, and both the CDC website and Twitter account make no mention of the pandemic being over. Additionally, why would the President tell us the pandemic is over at this point? Perhaps because a state of emergency status is no longer necessary:
Why does Biden’s statement matter so much? I’ll tell you: It matters because the memo that the Biden administration released to justify his order rested entirely upon there being an ongoing emergency, and because, as Biden has just confirmed, there is no ongoing emergency.
Back in August, Biden’s lawyers argued with half-straight faces that the 2003 HEROES Act — which, as Bloomberg Law has noted, was passed not as a generalized enabling act but “to help borrowers serving in the military in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks” — could be twisted to apply to any national emergency, including pandemics such as Covid-19. This, of course, was nonsense.
You know, if President Biden doesn’t run for re-election, guess who is waiting in the wings? Allegedly, Gov. Gavins Newsom of California (whom we’ve seen pulling his own early campaign stunts over the past few months):
California Governor Gavin Newsom is “undeniably, unequivocally” planning to run for president in 2024 if President Biden chooses not to seek a second term, two individuals with knowledge of Newsom’s plans told TheWrap.
“After this midterm election is over, he absolutely is going to announce that he is running for the presidency once Biden announces that he is not running,” a leading California fundraiser with close ties to the Newsom family told TheWrap. “No ifs, ands or buts. He will run if Biden does not.”
A second individual close to the governor, a Los Angeles philanthropist with deep connections in the Democratic Party and a long history of fundraising for its candidates, confirmed Newsom’s intention to run.
–Dana
