Tone-Deaf

“The good news is, I’m a great-grandfather as of today … so I’ll remember this day.” —Joe Biden during a Los Angeles wildfire briefing

For the Record

“There’s no water coming out of the fire hydrants. … We’ve got a mayor that’s out of the country. … It looks like we’re in a third-world country here.” —Rick Caruso commenting on the LA wildfires

“There is no reason for a mayor to be on an official visit to Ghana. How does that help her city? It doesn’t. Like so many lousy leaders — Newsom, etc — Karen Bass believes her job is something far grander than what she was hired to do. That’s the essence of hubris.” —Abigail Shrier

Non Compos Mentis

“I don’t know. Who the hell knows? So far, so good. But who knows what I’m going to be when I’m 86 years old?” —Joe Biden on whether he’d be able to complete a second term

“I meant what I said when I was asked whether I was going to pardon my son. But then I found out two factors. Number one, that he had paid all his taxes. He paid them late. He was fighting a drug problem. And he beat it. He’s been square and sober for almost six years now. This was back in ‘80, I mean excuse me, in 2000 and… What year was it? Anyway, long time ago.” —Joe Biden

Demagogue

“To those who used violence and intimidation to threaten our government, to hurt our government, and particularly to those who threatened police officers — pardoning them would set a terrible example for the future in America and for the world that it was okay, that it was forgivable to do this.” —Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (Trump does not intend to pardon “those who used violence” or “those who threatened police.” As for Biden’s latest pardons of Hunter Biden, as well as a record list of 65 other pardons and 1,634 clemencies and commutations, many for the most violent offenders — that is a “terrible example for the future in America.”)

Good Riddance

“Given that Biden’s career is built on enriching those in his inner circle, is it any surprise the final chapter in Biden’s time as executive involves handing the nation’s highest civilian honor to the people who worked with him to destroy the country? Joe Biden’s entire presidency has been one of failure, incompetence and insult.” —Ian Haworth

“As the U.S. has sprinted ahead of the rest of the world economically, in part thanks to revolutionary advances in oil and gas production, the Biden administration has worked to fasten around our neck the same green albatross dragging down EU economies.” —Rich Lowry

Observations

“The left incessantly insisted that Trump would impose autocracy if elected again. But to conservatives, this feels like the end of Big Tech autocracy. The Republican half of America will have more leeway to say things that the Democrat half cannot abide. … Mark Zuckerberg tore down the wall of censorship. You can tell who favors censorship by noticing who is upset.” —Tim Graham

“Free speech has become a Republican principle because Democrats abandoned it. And now free speech is returning. Let’s hope that remains a permanent feature of the social media landscape, not merely a temporary move to buy off the resurgent Trump administration.” —Ben Shapiro

Belly Laugh of the Day

“Mark Zuckerberg says ending fact-checks will curb censorship. Fact-checkers say he’s wrong.” —CBS News