An October Surprise? Part 1

It's nice, I'm telling you easy. Boston's Radio.

All right, welcome back everybody, Thanks Dan Watkins. Joining me now is Boston Harold columnist Joe Battenfeld. Joe, I don't know if you've ever been called an evil genius.

I have actually not a genius, but evil.

No no, no, no, no, no you.

Why don't you explain generally the term for those who do not understand what the term October surprise is? And then I'm going to ask you about your column today, which I think laid out an evil ultimately October surprise. So what's an October surprise in the political context?

In the political world, an October surprise is a unexpected event. At some times is kind of expected, but usually it's an unexpected event that happens in October weeks before the election that can turn around an election or influence the election, like somebody declaring a war maybe or ending a war the near the election, or choosing a different you know, vice presidential nominee, or some kind of turn of events that influences the election. The unexpected turn of events.

Well, you have come up with the ultimate October surprise, and it's evil genius to its core. And I know that this is not something you're necessarily advocating, but.

I do think it's something that do you think the Democrats would actually contemplate doing this?

I mean, after what they did to Joe Biden the first time, I think, yeah, I think they would. I think they you know, they got him off the ticket, and now you know it's it's entirely possible that they want him to leave the White House before the election starts.

So let me let me let me lay this scenario out, and then you can because it's your column. I you thought about it, but I get you get full credit. I wish I had just done this before and beat you to it, but you know you're brilliant and so okay, so let's assume. Oh, I don't know, sometime in early October, the polls start to shift, and all of a sudden, some of the battleground states now look like they're no

New York Times reahly.

Well in Pennsylvania.

Okay, so what happens in that situation? All of a sudden, the I don't know, you know, the whole Harris campaign has maybe started to implode. Maybe somebody are looking at some of the statements that she made back in twenty eighteen and twenty nineteen, which is very inconsistent with what her positions are, And all of a sudden, the Democrats are worried. In a matter of fact, they're almost convinced that somehow, some way, Trump is going to win.

What card could they play? You laid it out today brilliantly in the Herald. What card could they play?

Yeah?

The card they could play is convincing somehow President Biden to step down from the Whitehouse entirely and elevate Colin Harris to the presidency. Very simply, it's going It would take obviously convincing Joe Biden to do it somehow, but he did. He was convinced or pressured enough to quit the race. So one more step, it's just one more step, and convincing him to leave the White House entirely into Kamala Harris's hands.

So what would be the advantage to Kamala Harris. I mean, she would become the president maybe.

Yeah, she would be the de facto incumbent, and you know, she could do a lot of things. Obviously, there's some risk to it because she is in charge, and she would be saddled with any negative thing that happens. But they could engineer it so that she announces programs, you know, jobs programs, you know, something to do with the economy. I would think would be would be the big thing.

And you know, I would also think that that just having the name president, I mean, everybody assumes that the next president, whoever it is, will be inaugurated next January after the election, and that president would become the forty seventh president of the United States. But if all of a sudden she's inaugurated, she's sworn in there generally is is an instinct of this country to rally around the president, particularly someone who's getting his or her legs, you know,

After the election.

We think that if you were to step aside, we might be able to convince your vice president in your stead to partner your son and kind of wrap this all up and allow you to ride off and at the sun set having kept your word, but making but helping guarantee that your son doesn't spend any time in prison.

An inducement, it definitely could. I mean, Joe Biden has said many times how much he loves his son and cares about his son, and there's you know, obviously no father wants to see a son go to jail, and this would be a way to do it so that he wouldn't have to take responsibility for the pardon, and she would do it and take all the flack, whatever flack there was for it, and I don't think there would be too much flack among you know, the Democrats,

You make a powerful case on it. Let me do this, Joe. I hear you got the kiddles in the background making some noise there.

That's my cat, actually your cat.

Did you see the story in the New York Times today, by the way, about the cat that a family took the cat on a trip to guess was like the Grand Canyon somewhere like that, and somehow the cat ran away. This was in June, and the cat was found back and they were from California, back in California a couple of weeks ago, not.

Like in the neighborhood.

But somehow this cat transported himself from I guess it was Yellowstone, which is pretty close to the Grand Canyon.

Eight hundred miles.

Wow, can you I did not see that, nont.

It's an article, a little blurb in the Globe today but also in the New York Times.

Well let me do this. Let's see if people think.

I do think that what you have posited today is extremely possible. And I don't want to say it's probable yet, but I think it's great that you put it out there, and you put it out in printed form, because if this were to happen, I would hope that the network reporters and the political analysts who would never have suggested something as evil as they.

Will bet on your door say this is the guy that talked about it.

Not in October, he talked about it on September twenty fourth in his column. So let me see if people want to talk to a Boston Herald columnist Joe Battenfeld six one, seven, two, five, four to ten thirty six one seven nine three one ten thirty, triple eight nine to two nine ten thirty.

Joe will stick with us until ten thirty.

So if you want to tell him, yeah, I think you're right, or if you want to tell him you think he's wrong, this is the time to go he'll be here with us for about fifteen more minutes. My name's Dan Ray. This is Nightside after Joe leaves. Yeah, you can weigh in on it as well. I think it's brilliant. I think if the Democrats did this, they would win the election.

That's what I think.

I don't know that they will have the guts to do it, but do I think they might have to do it. I think I think Joel might be onto something. We'll be back on Night Side right after this.

Now back to Dan Ray live from the window World. Nice thanks to WBZ News Radio.

All Right, Joe Battenfeld Batton down the hatches. Here they come. Let's see what they.

Okay, let's go to Bob in Somerville. Hey, Bob, you're with Joe Battenfell to the Boston Globe. He is an ill genius. What do you think of this idea?

So? Are you a wind at r of case trying to get back on the New York ballot today? No, I'm not Okay. He's trying to put his name back on the ballot in New York, and I'm wondering if he if he's if he's thinking like this, He's only suspended his campaign, which means he can come back at it.

Yeah, I don't know that, and maybe we'll talk about that.

Well, they had the meeting tonight at eight o'clock. They have a Tuesday night meeting across the country every night, and apparently the I'm one of the ones who wants to go with Trump from Kennedy. Okay, but apparently only there's about seventy to eighty percent in Massachusetts Kennedy people that don't want to go with Trump. And I don't know about the other states, but by know about Massachusetts.

So yeah, well, how many can it? Looks?

Again, I got Joe Badenfeld here, and I'd like to kind of stick with what he's talking about and we can talk about I don't know how many people in Massachusetts were willing to vote for Kennedy.

Win Trump was on the ballot. Do you know what I'm saying?

I mean, I yeah, but I mean, well, do you think this will help Harris by being the president? Harris?

Well, first of all, I I don't think it will. Well, again, I'm a little confused if you're telling me that RFK wants his name back on the ballot in New York. He is Okay, might that help Trump with.

The Supreme Court there for an emergency hearing?

Yeah, okay, I'm look, you're you're, you're, you're off topic, which is fine.

Well, he's literally so I don't know, okay, which is literally.

I'm just trying to tell you that I think that that r f K had him. I think r FK fought to get himself off the ballot.

Correct. And now if he's off Massachusetts ballot.

Well, what are you talking to? Massachusetts and New York? Which one you want to talk?

You know, I'm saying he's off certain the states. He's off of Massachusetts officially, according to Bill Gallvin. Well, there's six people on the presidential let me do this.

Let's pick this up some other night. I don't want to be ignoring my guest. It's a step up.

I do appreciate the the questions. Okay, thanks very much. Did you want to weigh in on that, Joe, I'm unfamiliar with what he's talking about.

Well, I believe r FK Junior has said that he would be on the ballot in states that aren't swing states and states that are swing states. He's taking his name off the ballot. New York is not a swing state exactly.

Nor is Massachusetts, so I don't know. Again, Bob was kind of excited about that, and that's okay. Let me go to Paul in Plymouth. Paul, bring us back to the issue at hand. Do you think that the Democrats, in a moment of desperation would actually do what Joe Battenfeld suggests could be done.

Well, they might do that, Dan, but you had mentioned, you know, for a reward for the president to step down, they would pardon Hunter to Biden.

And my only.

All I could think of is they would have to consider President Ford pardoning President Nixon. That didn't work out too well in that circumstance, So that's.

All I Well, the Ford situation was a little bit different. Ford pardon Nixon very quickly. Nixon resigned on August eighth, and I think that within three weeks Ford pardoned him, and I think some people might have looked at it initially as letting Nixon off the hook. I voted for Jimmy Carter in nineteen seventy six because I was I

What do you think, Joe, Yeah, that would be a huge inducement for him to step down. I think, you know, seeing as what a family man he is in they talked about his son constantly, you know how much she loves him. I think, you know, it would be a huge inducement for for Joe Biden. For Kamala Harris to say, look, look, I'm willing to do it. I'm willing to take the heat for it and pardon your son and spare him from jail. That would that. I think you're you're onto something, Dan, Yeah.

I mean, it's just that he has said he would not pardon, he would not commute, right, we like any president. I mean, if if Trump were to win, now, I don't know I Trump. I think that Trump, you know, Trump is unpredictable. He might if he got in office, he might say, Okay, let's pardon Hunter Biden. And that might be seen by by some as a magnificence, magnificent effort to reunite the country. I don't know, but I wouldn't trust that if I was Joe Biden. What what's

And I think, I don't know, I just think this is a little different. You're not buying what what we what we're what we're talking about is what I'm hearing you say.

No, I think the country has a has a long memory and people are just going to think back and say, well, look what you know, this is what Jerry Ford did the rich even though I like both those guys, and but they say, this is what Jerry Nick and.

What he did for Richard. Vote accordingly. But he did, he helped, he avoided Richard Nixon never had to go to trial. So he did.

He did a favor for Richard Nixon. And you're right it might have cost him some votes in nineteen seventy six, but it was.

A very unpopular decision at the time, as I recall, very unpopular.

Yeah, I was upset about it, and they called I carry that with me. And I also thought Carter represented a fresh face, and I had met him on the campaign trail as a young reporter, and I thought he was a very decent guy, and I voted for him.

I would you say, uh, you know, on that level, I think all those guys back then were pretty decent guys. And you know, if you watch Richard Nixon, some of these old clips I've been watching lately with his uh they've been in David Frost and so on, he was a really brilliant man and I think history will prove him, you know, could be one of the great UH presidents as far as being a statesman.

Yeah, I think that the state of the state of resignation and impeachment is not no matter how many years, it's not gonna, in my opinion, help him.

Uh. Thanks, thanks for getting us back on topic, Paul.

Let me go to Luciana in Pennsylvania here and see who can wrap it up here. Louciano, thank you for calling in. What do you think you think the Democrats might want to try that gambit?

Let's keep it real, Dan, I was born in Philadelphia. Joe Biden does not trust Pamela Harris, does not trust and Obama. No, he's not gonna jeopardize his son going to jail. He's going to stay in. He's gonna be pressured. Modern Democratic Party is probably what the mister Gavin said. He's going to try to pull that on Joe Biden. But Joe Biden has his only son. He's not gonna He's gonna say the hell with the help with the people, what they think about me. I'm gonna partner my son.

Louiano, you think He's going to then go back if if Trump is elected, that he's going to go back on his word and either commute Hunter Biden's sentence, whatever it is, or pardon him. You think that he's going to stand in front of the American people and say, I told you I wouldn't do it, but I'm going.

To do it extremely easy. Blood a stick in the water. He has to live with himself. He doesn't compare to his son going to jail and my and the citizens of America is no comparison. It's not comparing a penny to a trillion dollars. Dank.

Okay, you you made a very strong argument, as you always do.

Thanks Luciano. I appreciate your goal. Joe good night.

Yeah, No, I mean I don't. I don't totally trust Joe Biden either when he says he's not going to pardon his son. I wouldn't totally trust that.

I agree, But I think what Luciana was saying was that Joe Biden is not would not trust them.

Yeah, there's something to that. I mean, they don't. It's true. I mean they did kind of, you know, force him out of there. So I think he'll always remember that.

Yeah, I'm not sure how much he's remembering right now to you. I hate to be mean, but hey, Joe, as always, thanks man, I'm really frea call him in the I don't know that it's been written about anywhere else in any in any any column anywhere.

And we'll if the rumors start trickling out soon, well, I know, I.

Think I think you beat everybody on it, and I congratulate you on that.

And I think that again, if the race all of a sudden starts to look tough for Harris, I think this becomes a greater possibility because yeah, I agree, Yeah, I mean, the Democrats really don't like Donald Trump and they don't trust him. There's no sort of collegiality that used to exist between the Democrats and Republicans. They don't like Trump, and I could see this conceivable.

And they're desperate. They're desperate. They'll do anything.

Yeah, and and and we'll see, we'll see.

I'm going to ask people to fill up the lines here and tell me what they think, because I think it's a great question. It's a great question. Your post, Thanks, Joe is always You're the best. Thanks man, Talk to you soon. Joe Batten felt great columnists for the Boston Herald.

Thanks Joe. Okay, when we come back, I want to hear from you. It's you and me. Okay.

I think that Joe Battenfeld's peace in the Herald today. I think it's very credible. I'm not going to bet on it with you, but I could see the Democrats saying, look, this is too important an election for them to lose, for us, for the Democrats to lose, and that we are not only we need to elect the vice president, but we need to make sure that Donald Trump isn't elected.

My name is Danry. This is Night Side looking by my political analyst.

If you like politics, I'd love to talk about this for a while, okay, But the only way I can talk about it is if you want to express an opinion, and that's what this show is all about. Express your opinions.

Look, politics all is fear, in love, war and politics. Back on Nightside after this.

It's Nightside with.

Boston's news Radio.

All Right, Dan Watkins, thank you very much. We are talking politics.

And again, I know a lot of you out there say, hey, you got to talk more politics. I'm I'm talking potential October surprise. I think all of you know that every candidate, particularly a presidential candidate, the one thing that they fear most. Maybe Donald Trump fears most the assassins who seemed to be out after him. Not to make light of it, but I do think that they fear an October surprise.

Now there's only a couple of weeks left in the election. She'll be inaugurated, she will be the forty seventh president of the United States. She will serve out.

Your term, but hopefully she'll be real in effect re elected. That would be the pisch the Democrats would make. Do you think the Democrats would resort to that?

I don't know.

That's where you come in. It's a mystery. No one knows the answer. For sure, I'd love to know what you think the process and my question, my second question is do you think there are some Democratic leaders politicians, not elected people, but the people behind the scenes who have at least thought about this as a possibility. Warren in Fall River, Warren, thanks for checking in. What do you think are we in never never Land here.

Or do you think, yeah, we've been to never never Land for a while.

Yeah.

I don't put anything past Democrats at all. I mean, look at what they have tried to do to Trump so far, with all the impeachments, with all these court cases that seem that have a political fin to them, the assassination attempts. Possibly, I mean, I'm not well, definitely, I want.

To hold you there for a second, okay, because I know I think what you're trying to say. But I don't think the Democrats can be blamed. I think these are two looney tunes. I think that the kid in Pennsylvania and the guy in Florida are truly looney tunes. So do I think that the language that's been used

No, but it's just the fact that they have tried everything in the kitchen sink to try to try to get this guy out.

Well, I don't think they like him. I mean, I think they see him.

I mean, I'm not saying I'm not saying definitely that it is, but I can't really rule it out either.

So no, no, we'll all, I mean, time will tell all.

I'm just saying, is we woke up, Well, we didn't wake up because it was Sunday. The was it Sunday the twenty first of July. I forget which dated was President former President Trump had been shot at on July thirteenth, you know, unlucky day or a lucky day that he survived. Yeah, and then the fault not the next day, but a week from the next day. All of a sudden, at two o'clock in the afternoon, it came out that Joe Biden had decided to drop out of the race.

It was just done. Now. Biden had said, no, I'm saying in, I'm staying in.

And God if God Almighty came down and told me, Well, God Almighty that came down and told him, because he got.

Out, and yeah, you know, I mean you know, so, yeah, I'll we tracked the assassination attempts. Yeah, they have tried everything. They've tried everything in the kitchen sink to try to get Trump. And if you if you were back to the to the last election, all right, anyone that was wearing Trump gear, you know, they were in fear of getting attacked.

Yeah. Well, there's too much of that, Absolutely.

Too much of that. And so I've never seen so much hatred towards one person. Then the Democrats towards Trump, and well, you.

Know, I think I'm not no, no, no, but I'll tell you if I can just say this, he is not a traditional Republican, Okay. And I think that the Democrats who are in the business of getting elected are frustrated that this guy came out of nowhere and beat Hillary Clinton despite all of the crazy stuff he had said, you know, the Billy Bush tape, and he still won.

And I think the Democrats look at him and say, how is that possible? You know?

And I think that they don't respect him in any way, shape or form.

Yeah, but I think it is possible. The only reason why it is possible is because of his four years, the economy was good, and we had no wars, and the border was getting under control. And those are things that are very important to the voter.

Absolutely, and that is and.

I think that he was the only thing that he well.

I'll tell you what else. Okay, he's indefatigable. You see him everywhere. He's he he's out there. He outworked Hillary Clinton in twenty sixteen. And again I don't think I think that he was he was so disliked. I don't think Joe Biden was elected in twenty twenty. I think that Donald Trump was unelected, meaning I think a lot of people went to the polls and said, we got to get him out of here. Now, the tough years we've had with Biden, Harris has given him an opportunity,

Anyway.

Oh.

Absolutely, But I was going to say with Biden, I think that decision was made right after New Hampshire in the last election. Oh, he during the primaries. I think that, you know, the decision to elect Biden came fourth right after.

Oh, in twenty twenty you're talking about, right, Yeah, you're absolutely right. Look, he finished what fourth or fifth in New Hampshire. He went to South Carolina, where Jim Clybourne was his best advocate. He went South Carolina, and if I'm not mistaken, like one or two nights later, you.

Had everyone who to jed right.

Senator Kloba har from Minnesota. I think they showed up and it was all. It was all over. I've never seen a primary like that, and of course this time it kind of went the other way. I think that there are powerful people within the Democratic Party who decide. They made a decision and they said, look, the best

Warren loved to call man. Thank you so much. I really appreciated it.

Thank you, no problem, good.

Night, all right.

So now it's your turn. The only lines that are open are six one, seven, nine, three, one ten thirty. I've got Frank, John and Greg they're coming up and we've got room for you. Six one seven, six one seven, nine three one ten thirty. Those are the two lines

You can agree of this, Let's have at it back after this on Nightside.

Now back to Dan ray Mine from the Window World Nightside Studios on w b Z News Radio.

In other word, just as a bit of a heads up, Thursday night, we will have an authorized yet unauthorized biographer of Alan Derschwitz Legal gladiator Solomon Schmidt, an amazing author. I'll introduce you to him at ten o'clock on Thursday night. And also in terms of what's upcoming on Nightside, we will carry in its entirety the vice presidential debate between J. D. Vince and Tim Waltz next Tuesday at nine o'clock. Let's go next to my friend Frank in Northbridge.

Frank, you're next on Nightside. Go right ahead.

Hi.

I listened to.

Your interview with the guy from the Herald, and I, yeah, I just didn't that's it seems like such a stretch and so unnecessary.

I don't see that. But I do agree that that there does seem to be a feeling that there's going to be something. In fact, I was just listening to an interview with Carville and he was saying that he has this feeling, you know, with the way everything's gone so far, that there's one more surprise to come along. And I have that feeling too, but I think it's it's way bigger than what he what your guess was suggesting, Well, okay, I don't.

I kind of imagine a bigger surprise. Can you imagine if all of a sudden well, yeah, I mean, for instance, it would be probably okay, give me a surprise in your opinion, that might be bigger than that.

I'd be curious if if, say, for example, behind the scenes, is this thing's playing out, and you know, she's right now, she's at forty nine percent, he's had forty four, and she's her lead is growing, and that little.

In that case, in that case, she's gonna she's gonna breathe the victory.

Yeah.

What I'm saying though, in looking at poles like that and seeing the way this whole thing is going, I wouldn't be at all surprised if behind the scenes he's in the process of negotiating dropping out, provided they can guarantee that these cases against him are going to go away.

Look, come on, what are you smoking tonight, Frank? That's insane. You think that Donald Trump?

It would be it would be a big surprise.

But oh yeah, I think that. Yeah, Frank, I got to tell you something. I don't like to say, you're being ridiculous, But it was like someone said to me, and I'm not sure if it was you. Oh, we don't know if Donald Trump will show up at the debate. Look, this guy is in it to win it, whether you like him or not. Don't underestimate him, Frank.

If he's in it to win it to avoid prison, I'm saying. So what I'm saying is that he can be guaranteed that that's off the table, you.

Know, Frank, do me a favor.

Whatever you're smoking, you know, no layoff, lay off, because there's not.

Here.

Frank.

Here's what I want to If Donald Trump drops out between now an election day, okay, I want you to call me back, and I know you will. I know you will, and I will apologize to you profusely, and I will identify you as the guy who predicted that Donald Trump was gonna walk out. Now they're gonna gonna drop out now, Frank. If he doesn't drop out, okay, if he doesn't drop out, are you gonna call me back and say, Dan, I was wrong?

Of course not.

Well, I'm saying that.

Something big when they say something big, But you.

Have Frank, I'm not gonna waste my time with you. I told you that I will be more than happy to give you all the credit in the world. Okay, but you can't have it both ways, Frank, So please tell me that when Donald Trump doesn't drop out, you will call me back and say, Dan, you were right. My idea and my proposal was just flat silly. Can you bring yourself to say that?

Or no? Probably not. Have a great night, John and Needham go ahead, John next on nightside.

Oh hey, Dave, Dan, I'm sorry, Dan, I'm sorry.

Yeah. Are you Jim or John? Who are you Jim or John?

I'm John?

Good John, Well, I'm Dan. Now we got that squared away. What's on your mind?

Yeah?

Yeah, I was. My mind was seeking day anyway. No, I just yeah, no, I'm it's I know this, I just need it's just not quite on topic. But you were talking about Jimmy Carter earlier, and you might be awareness, but I guess they just wanted to make her mind at everyone. Exactly one week from the day he will be turning one hundred years old.

I forgot that he's still in hospice. He's still alive. God love him. One of the most decent politicians who I haven't met. I spent some time with him in New Hampshire, in Massachusetts, in Rhode Island, and also at his home in Plains, Georgia. A very decent human being, not the greatest president in history, but a very decent human being.

Well maybe not, but yeah, I mean he did so much after his presidency with tabitat and all that.

Yeah, no, that's what a decent human being. That's what makes him a decent human being. You know his record. You know, he inherited, by the way, some difficult circumstances. Obviously our military was in disrepair, the hostage crisis that occurred. Yeah, so he was victimized a little bit.

He was not. He did not have a lot of good luck. But a very decent human being.

But well, John, Look, John, thank you up against I shouldn't have taken you a bit quickly, but I'm glad. I think you wanted to make that point, and you made it well, and so we'll have to acknowledge that.

Next week he'll be the oldest living president ever.

I guess I think he'll also be the only president to reach the century mark.

Yeah, yeah, I think so.

Yeah, no other president that he even came close in my opinion. Thank you, John, Thank you very much. Talk to you soon. Than's again, have a great night. We're going to stick with this into the next hour light. These phone lines up. I am somewhat surprised that this is not a topic that people are rising to. I think it is a legitimate possibility. Unlike Frank, I'm not positing something that is in never never Land. This is