OAN Staff James Lalino
12:55 PM – Tuesday, August 20, 2024
As I watched President Joe Biden’s speech at the Democratic National Convention last night, I began reflecting on what led to this moment in his life and my own.
2019 was a strange year for me. I had just started working at Project Veritas as an undercover journalist (UCJ), and within months I was on the ground in Iowa, going by the name “Jim Ferrari.”
I was new to this business and hungry to make a name for myself, but admittedly, I had no idea what I was doing. Trying to fit in, I bounced around Des Moines on a few different Democratic campaigns and eventually settled on one that none of us at Project Veritas thought had a remote shot at actually winning the nomination: Vice President Joe Biden.
My goal was to get close enough to someone high in the campaign, perhaps even the candidate himself, and get “content.”
I helped them move furniture into their new campaign office. I marched with them in a big annual July 4th parade, tossing out candy to kids, holding up campaign signs, and singing their Democrat chants. I hung out at the campaign office, I played frisbee golf with staffers, I genuinely made friends with them.
Grace Meyer, who was a local field director I had known for a few months, became suspicious and asked me point blank if I was working with Project Veritas. Her instincts were right, so I quietly ghosted them and then proceeded to latch onto Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s campaign, which was gaining momentum. Buttigieg went on to win the Iowa Caucus.
In an effort to avoid all Biden staff in Iowa, whom I was almost certainly burned with, I started traveling through the Des Moines airport in disguise, and even went as far as driving to Kansas City’s airport to fly home undetected. Last I checked, Meyer has left campaigns behind and is working at the Department of Homeland Security.
In late June 2019, after running around all day at an event in rural Iowa, helping set up tables and re-stacking chairs, I finally got a chance to meet the man myself. Introduced to him as one of his “star volunteers,” I shook hands with Joe Biden, and while playing my Jim Ferrari alias, told him my uncle was his biggest fan (my real Uncle Steve is ultra-MAGA and proud of it; this was a little prank I pulled on him).
Working at Project Veritas, the undercover journalists all developed a sort of Stockholm Syndrome. Yes, we were mostly all conservative, but in order to be successful at the job, we had to play the part damn well. If you weren’t at a point where you were emotionally involved with your subject, then you either weren’t doing it right or you just hadn’t yet built enough rapport. When my September 2021 undercover FDA story was released on their vaccine blow dart guy employee Taylor Lee, I was sick to my stomach for days. The guy deserved to be exposed, but our rapport was genuine and his heart was broken. I was all messed up for a few days, but eventually got over it. It was all part of the UCJ process; it was very specific to undercover journalism. Even our Project Veritas co-workers in other departments couldn’t understand this process of emotions.
I had such a strong rapport built with Biden’s Iowa campaign staff that I was genuinely happy to meet the former Vice President, even though I knew he’s a subpar beta-male family crime lord who specializes in plagiarism (1988 campaign), arrogance (“No one F’s with a Biden” 2022 hot mic), military withdrawals (Afghanistan 2021), debates (two months ago), and raising children.
Regardless, I was still moved by something I saw that day in June 2019. One of the younger staff (or perhaps she was a summer intern), began crying when it was her turn to meet Joe. With tears in her eyes, she told Biden that her father loved him and that he’s so proud his daughter is working on the campaign.
Biden, in a moment of genuine kindness, asked the girl, “Do you have your cell phone with you?” She said that she did. Biden then said, “Great, call Dad!”
She cried even harder as Biden told her father how great she was doing on the campaign. Other staffers had tears in their eyes, too. Even as an undercover journalist investigating this campaign, I felt moved by the moment. It really was Stockholm Syndrome.
I thought back on this day when I watched President Biden enter the stage last night, hugging his daughter and using a tissue to wipe away the tears in his eyes. Even though he looks awful, can barely stand, and might not even finish out this term, it looked like he was having the proudest moment of his very, very long career in politics.
He said democracy has prevailed. That’s strange, because one might come to the conclusion that democracy technically failed after they consider that Kamala Harris hasn’t received a single presidential primary vote from any American citizen ever in her life. Doesn’t matter; an arena full of excited delegates still cheered.
He spoke of peril and possibility, which made absolutely zero sense. This is a man whose presidency has seen our country became less safe at home and abroad while inflation exploded to the highest level my generation has ever seen. I guess the peril he mentioned was migrant crime and the possibility was the chance to pay over $5 for a bell pepper.
He got animated about Roe v. Wade and started to lose his verbal balance a bit. He mentioned the “very fine people on both sides” myth that the media repeats ad nauseam and sounded like he almost believes it himself. He said Trump doesn’t respect veterans meanwhile he was the one glancing at his literal watch during the 2021 dignified transfer of fallen soldiers who died under his figurative watch.
Reading about our past presidents is one of my lifelong favorite pastimes and this has been one of the most eventful presidencies we’ve ever had. Plagued by his aging (his biggest weakness) the night President Biden long thought would be a second coronation for him ended up being a reluctant torch passing ceremony to his successor.
I don’t sugarcoat the way I see things with newsy statistics and allegations, so I’m just going to tell it like it is. Joe Biden’s administration has been awful. He is arguably one of the worst presidents in American history. He does not truly understand economics, foreign policy, or healthcare. Our country is worse off under him than any other leader in my lifetime. Biden’s term was truly historic; he screwed up left and right, and he capped it off with the most equally entertaining and embarrassing debates that’s ever been held.
The man regularly doesn’t know what day it is or what planet he is on, yet he is still our POTUS until either January 20th or when Vice President Harris uses the 25th Amendment on him, whichever comes first.
With rumors today of RFK Jr. potentially dropping out to help prevent a Harris-Walz victory, things are only going to get even crazier between now, early November, and late January.
If I could go back in time five years, I would have worked harder. I would have sharpened my focus. I would have gotten more creative with my reporting. I would have asked HQ for more resources. I simply did not think Biden would even win the nomination.
So listen up. Seize the day. Everybody who cares about this country needs get their minds locked in right now and get moving, or else we will all live under Kamala’s communist regime hellhole.
