‘You Did!’ Mark Halperin Refuses to Let Joe Scarborough Off the Hook for Infamous ‘Best Biden Ever’ Monologue
Political reporter Mark Halperin refused to let Joe Scarborough off the hook on Tuesday for his infamous March 2024 rant in which he submitted that the version of then-President Joe Biden running the country at the time was the “best Biden ever.”
On his MK Media show, Halperin played the clip of Scarborough — which came after former Special Counsel Robert Hur revealed that the president was suffering from significant memory issues, but before Biden’s disastrous debate with Donald Trump — in which the MSNBC host said:
As I’ve said here on the show over the past couple of weeks, I’ve spent a good bit of time with Joe Biden. I’ve spent a couple of hours with Joe Biden sitting, talking, going around the world as far as talking issues, talking the economy, talking inflation.
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He’s cogent. But I undersold him when I said he was cogent. He’s far beyond cogent. In fact, I think he’s better than he’s ever been — intellectually, analytically — because he’s been around for 50 years. And, you know, I don’t know if people knew this or not. Biden used to be a hothead. Sometimes that Irishman would get in front of the reasoning. Sometimes he would say things he didn’t want to say. This is and-, and, and I don’t really-, you know what? I don t really care. Start your tape right now because I’m about to tell you the truth. And eff you if you can’t handle the truth. This version of Biden — intellectually, analytically — is the best Biden ever.
After observing that there was “a lot to unpack there,” Halperin proceeded to confront Scarborough over his argument at the time. Below is their exchange:
HALPERIN: I told you for several months, I said, ‘Joe, best Biden ever has become the symbol for the right of those media and MSNBC having, having so much Trump derangement syndrome that you’re claiming that a guy who’s clearly lost mental acuity is the best Biden ever. Now, I’ll say, I say to people, go watch the State of the Union address. Talk to people who talk to Joe Biden. He had good days and bad days. You were with him on a good day and had conversations with him on a good day, but-
SCARBOROUGH: On good days, on good days — plural.
HALPERIN: But looking back at that, do you say, well, it was misleading to say best Biden ever without caveating it and say, except on the days when he’s not the best Biden ever.
SCARBOROUGH: Oh, but I never saw those days personally-
HALPERIN: Well, you did! You did because you saw him address a dead congresswoman, and you saw him in South Carolina.
SCARBOOUGH: The dead congresswoman, yeah.
HALPERIN: Yeah, well, more than that, I mean, I can show you the RNC clip reels. There were plenty of days in public when he, when he was not the best Biden ever. And of course, shortly after-
SCARBOROUGH: He stumbled and bumbled around, Mark. I mean, yeah,he certainly did. Uh, Donald Trump did, other politicians did, but it, and it’s actually the same case as a lot of times when I’ve gone in and talked to Donald Trump. We go on to Donald Trump, and I’ve heard the media narrative around Donald Trump, and certainly I’ve been very critical of Donald Trump, and when I leave, I have a better understanding just like Jeffrey Goldberg did a couple of weeks ago, a better understanding of where Donald Trump is mentally, if Donald Trump is losing it, like you know people have said through the years or not. And so again, am I going to look at a clip that’s gone viral and pay more attention to that than two and a half, three hours I had with a guy one-on-one going around the world? No, I’m just not going to.
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