President Biden's Big Move: Summer Election Special 🇺🇸

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The Ten News: Summer Election Special, Episode 44

🇺🇸 President Joe Biden has dropped out of the 2024 Presidential Race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

🫏 But, what does this mean for the Democratic Party? Constitutional expert, Ben Sheehan gives us the rundown.

🐘 As for the Republican Party, who is former President Trump's, Vice President pick, J.D. Vance?

🤔 And, on the Trivia Throne: Who else in Kamala's family has made history?

Resources

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/15/us/politics/27-facts-about-jd-vance.html

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TRANSCRIPT:

INT. KAPLAN HOUSEHOLD

<SFX URGENT door knock>

RYAN: (under his breath) This has gotta be it. This has GOT be it–-

<SFX door opens> 

JON: Uhhh hi Ryan. Happy summer break–

RYAN: JON! WHERE IS YOUR WIFE? WHERE IS THE  MOTHERSHIP?

JON: Sigh, she’s in the kitchen. RYAN’S HERE!

KAP: Hi Ryan…how did you know where I live…?

RYAN: I’ve been wandering around San Francisco, knocking on doors for the past few hours trying to figure it out, your neighbors are very friendly by the way–

KAP: You could’ve just, called me–

RYAN: There’s no time for that! We need to talk about what is happening! BIDEN DROPPED OUT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE!

KAP: Well, the Summer break was fun while it lasted. Now, Ryan, take a deep breath, we know what to do. Time to get an episode out. I’m Tracy Leeds Kaplan.

RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard, it’s Monday, July 22nd, and this is a Ten News Special Report.

RYAN: I know we’re technically on Summer break, but thank you for letting me into your home and sharing this spaghetti with me–

KAP: I never said you could go in my fridge, those leftovers were for dinner tonight–

RYAN: Kap. KAP. We gotta stay focused here. Joe Biden just said he’s dropping out of the presidential race and won’t seek re-election. What does this mean? What in the gooseberries is happening up in this landmass we call North America?! And do you have any extra sauce to go with this spaghetti? It’s a little dry. 

<SFX Kap opens fridge, pulls out some sauce>

KAP: This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this before. And I know you can get pretty worked up Ry, so let’s focus on the facts and the election process in place…

RYAN: YES. This is so much better with extra sauce. <SFX spaghetti slurp> I’ve got questions. Why did President Biden leave the presidential race??

KAP: There were a lot of discussions over the past few weeks about if he was ready for the campaign and getting voters excited enough to show up and vote for him. A lot of voters were concerned about his age and ability to run the country for another four years. In his announcement about leaving the presidential race, President Biden said “And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”

RYAN: and and and– he endorsed Vice President Harris, so does that mean she’s the nominee now? She has a pretty cool background. Before she was VP, Vice President Harris was the District Attorney of San Francisco, the Attorney General of California, and the first black and south asian american woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

KAP: She isn’t the nominee just yet, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Let’s call our constitutional expert, Ben Sheehan and see if he can answer all your questions. 

RYAN: A phone call?! You people still do that?

BEN: Hey Tracy, I thought I might get a call from you.

KAP: Hey Ben, I’m with Ryan and we have some questions–

RYAN: –-what does this mean for the election process now that President Biden has left the race?

KAP: Does this make Vice President Kamala Harris the presumptive nominee?

RYAN: If not Vice President Harris, what happens now?

KAP: And Ben, has this ever happened before? I can’t remember anything like this ever happening…

BEN: Yeah, it has happened before, actually. Nothing, it's never happened this late. So, having a president, or I should say, a candidate for president drop out this late is pretty unique. That's the latest it's ever happened. But in 1968, LBJ, Lyndon Baines Johnson, announced that he was not going to be seeking re election on March 31st. First, so a few months earlier than Biden just did. And that's the previous in modern history, at least the previous latest time that a president announced that they were not going to be seeking reelection.

RYAN: Alright, that all makes sense. My head was spinning, I appreciate you breaking it down for us.

BEN: Anytime! 

KAP: Thanks Ben. Talk to you later. Okay, so there is alot to still get decided between now and the Democratic Convention. That will take place August 19th through the 22nd, in Chicago, Illinois.…RYAN, what are you doing in my pantry?? 

RYAN: Where do you keep your donuts and your smores? 

KAP: SIGHS. Third shelf from the top. 

RYAN: Okay I’m in Kap’s pantry and I gotta be honest, there’s not a lot of cool things to report in here–

KAP: HEY! 

RYAN: So I’m gonna give you a fun fact while I search for a sweet treat: Did you know there have now been eleven presidents who did not have a second term? President Biden is the 11th and the other presidents who didn’t have a second term include… George HW Bush. Jimmy Carter. Gerald Ford. Herbert Hoover. William Howard Taft. Benjamin Harrison. Martin Van Buren. John Quincy Adams and the original, John Adams. Donald Trump was the 10th president on the list, but he’s currently running for President so he might be the first person to ever get OFF that list. 

KAP: (from the kitchen) HEY RY, when you’re snooping around my pantry, we gotta talk about Trump’s running mate–

INT. KAP’S KITCHEN

RYAN: –Kap that was a fool’s errand. There were no smores or donuts in there. 

KAP: Or maybe I just didn’t want you to find them… While you are here, let’s talk about the Republican National Convention that happened last week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

RYAN: Yes, good call. The Republican and Democratic National Conventions are held to officially nominate and confirm the parties’ candidate for president and vice president, while announcing the goals of the party, to hopefully unify the party and publicize and launch the presidential campaign. The Republican Convention was a week’s worth of speeches and appearances by supporters of the Republican party and the big news of the week was Donald Trump announcing his new pick to be his vice president, Senator J.D. Vance.

KAP: And just a reminder, Donald Trump’s original vice president was Mike Pence. This time, though, Trump decided to pick someone new to run with. Not very surprising because Former President Trump has been very clear that he was upset with Mike Pence for not doing something to stop the election process in 2020 when he lost to President Biden. So now, in 2024, Trump has chosen Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate.

Ryan, did you do your research on him? 

RYAN: I did. And I understood the assignment. Here are Five Things You Need to know about JD Vance. 

RYAN: Number 1: JD Vance was born James Donald Bowman on August 2nd, 1984. He’s 39 years old and is married to Usha Vance.

TRACY: Number 2: Vance is from Middletown, Ohio. He was elected to represent the state in the United States Senate in 2022. 

RYAN: Number 3: Before he was a senator, he rose to fame in 2016 after writing a New York Times bestselling memoir called, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which is about his life growing up in a working-class family in Ohio. That book was adapted into a feature film starring Amy Adams and is currently streaming on Netflix. 

TRACY: Number 4: During the 2016 election, JD Vance was an outspoken critic of Donald Trump. In an interview with Charlie Rose he said, quote, “I’m a Never Trump guy.” In that election, he voted for the independent candidate, Evan McMullin.

RYAN: Number 5: Vance changed his mind about Donald Trump and voted for him in 2020. Since then, Vance has been a big Trump supporter and has shared his vision for a more conservative America if he is elected with Trump. And that is Five Things You Need to Know, about JD Vance. 

JON: Come in!

<SFX bedroom door opens>

RYAN: Whatup Jon? Isn’t this…Owen’s room? 

JON: Welcome to…Owen’s bedroom. (deliver the line w the same echo as trivia room)

RYAN: Are you…playing with Owen’s Legos…?

JON: I was just, ummmm, fixing one of them. <SFX Ryan picks up a Lego set> 

RYAN: Oooooh, I wanna play!

JON: Please put the millennium falcon down. That is a 3489798367 piece set.

RYAN: No thank you. I know we don’t have the Trivia Throne, but, do you have any trivia for me? 

JON: Yeah, I can fill in for Owen. You ready?

RYAN: YOU KNOW IT! 

JON: Vice President Harris has made history many times throughout her career and may now make history again with the Presidential race. Who else in her family has made history? Is it…

1. Her husband,

2. Her mom, or

3. Her two step children?

JON: The correct answer is…A, her husband. Vice President Kamala Harris is married to Douglas Emhoff, known as the second gentleman. They made history together as the first female vice president and the first male spouse of the vice president. The role has in the past only been held by “second ladies.” The wife of the President is called the first lady. Doug Emhoff is the United States’ first second gentleman and he may soon be the first first gentleman!  Shoutout to the husband’s out there! 

RYAN : GGs, Jon. Excellent trivia. Not as good as Owen, but excellent, nonetheless. 

JON: Thanks, Ry. Now do you want to see where Tracy keeps the good snacks?

RYAN: I’m right behind you! Let’s go. 

<sfx shimmer/shine fades and door closes>

RYAN: Well that was fun. Hey Kap, thanks for having me over! I think I’m good to go. 

KAP: Thanks for showing up, unannounced, interrupting our summer vacation. And eating all the leftovers. 

RYAN: You are so welcome! I can stay longer if you’d like–

KAP: NOPE! No no no, you can go. I’ll even give you a ride–

RYAN: That would be so helpful, you’re the best.

<SFX picks up keys> 

KAP: Where am I taking you?

RYAN: New York City. So would you mind packing some snacks? And I already grabbed a pillow from your guest room–

KAP: SIGHS/GROANS

RYAN: We should also give Ten News to one of our listeners…

KAP: We absolutely should. But first, here’s a quick note for the grownups.

KAP: Time for Ten News Snaps!

RYAN: A Ten’er named Flying Ninja 9092 said, “I am a new ten’er. I just got back into this when I was still on my flight back home from orlando all the way back to Richmond Virginia. Of course my favorite podcast episode so far well for season five of course…do you know what? I’m going to say actually I don’t have a favorite. They’re all really good. Thank you Flying Ninja, we are so happy to have you as a Ten’er! Season Five will be coming sooner than later…And FYI, our episodes drop on Thursdays and if you want some bonus content, you could join the Ten’ers Club on our website. And to our grownups, if you want to help support the Ten News, you can make a tax-deductible donation at the link in our show notes. The whole team thanks you for your support!

KAP: “The Ten News” is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts, and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.

RYAN: The Ten News creative team is finishing their summer break and getting ready for Season 5 and includes Tracey Crooks, Kyle Murdock, Corinne Catibayan, and Carson Potter. Big thanks to Jonathan Kaplan for contributing to this episode and showing me where to find the good snacks.

KAP: Our Production Director is Jeremiah Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. That’s me. I’m Tracy Leeds Kaplan.  

RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard, thanks for listening to this Ten News Special Report. Hope you’re having a great Summer break, check you all soon!