Editor’s note: Running until the final general election results come in this unpredictable race, the Deadline ElectionLine podcast spotlights the 2024 campaign and the blurred lines between politics and entertainment in modern America. Hosted by Deadline’s political editor Ted Johnson and executive editor Dominic Patten, the podcast features commentary and interviews with top lawmakers and entertainment figures. At the same time, you can follow all the news in what is now a Harris vs. Trump battle and more on the ElectionLine hub on Deadline.
“I think he’s gonna be right up there in the top five, maybe at a minimum top 10, but probably in the top five,” says former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones on the Deadline ElectionLine podcast, talking about how history will rank Joe Biden among U.S. presidents.
Related Stories
It’s been another wild two weeks in the most unpredictable election of our lifetimes, so take a listen to today’s podcast above.
“I’m reluctant to rate Presidents and I know I’m biased with Joe Biden, but I think history is going to be unbelievably kind to him and how they rate him as a president of the United States,” Jones told us on today’s episode of his longtime friend. “What he did this time will be the crowning moment, unless and until he is in large part responsible, and I think he will be, for electing the first female president of the United States,” the ex-U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama declared of Biden’s praised speech this week on his decision to exit the 2024 campaign, and POTUS’ almost immediate endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.
In fact, having first met Biden in 1978 when the then-Delaware senator spoke to Jones’ law school class, Jones wasted no time Wednesday in marking his admiration for POTUS and the “bittersweet” historical moment of his Oval Office remarks:
On the ElectionLine podcast, Jones also discusses his participation as a fictional Attorney General in the docu-thriller War Game. Having debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, the Warren Littlefield executive produced film from directors Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber depicts another January 6 attack on democracy and the certification of a presidential election in near real time.
“The one thing that I hope that this film will do is raise the awareness that that may not be a one-off even though that is in the rearview mirror,” Jones noted of the Situation Room-set War Game, which itself is set to be seen in New York City on August 2 with a wider release August 9.
Also, today on the podcast, Hollywood’s donor drought is over. “It’s way over, it’s a beautiful rainstorm,” says screenwriter and director Billy Ray.
The Captain Phillips scribe and The Comey Rules helmer says that the shift at the top of the ticket has injected a new sense of energy among Hollywood’s Democratic activists, even if many in the industry are just getting to know Harris, a West L.A. resident.
Taking a big-picture POV on the “fight of our lives” against Donald Trump getting back in the White House, Deadline Strike Talk podcast host Ray also offered his opinion on who the VP’s VP pick might be. Additionally, with brevity at his back, Ray put forth his take on GOP VP nominee and Hillbilly Elegy author Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH): “Sh*tty writer.”
Out on the campaign trail, Vice President Harris’ campaign released its first video, highlighted by its soundtrack of Beyoncé’s “Freedom.” There’s a long history of campaigns trying out theme songs, with varying degrees of success, but as Harris reintroduces herself, the VP may have found just the right fit for her bid and our times. To paraphrase past podcast guest Charlamagne tha God: We discuss.
Heading into the DNC later this month, stick with ElectionLine all the way through to Election Day. Subscribe to the Deadline ElectionLine podcast on Spotify, Apple Music, iHeart, and all podcast platforms.