Staff ReportsWashington has a new soap opera, and its marquee names are Hunter Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and California Governor Gavin Newsom. Call it the California triangle — a whisper‑campaign in the press about a 2028 Democratic scramble, a literal Fox News roundtable turning up the volume, and Hunter Biden popping back into public view like a gnat at a picnic.
The setup: California’s three‑way spar
The Wall Street Journal put the idea on the map: two high‑profile California Democrats — Governor Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris — are circling one another as possible 2028 contenders. For political pros that’s juicy: shared networks, overlapping donors, and a history of Bay Area jockeying that can be spun into “showdown” headlines.
That kind of reporting isn’t an announcement. It’s a speculative play that national outlets love to amplify because it sells air and clicks. But real voters don’t live in op‑eds — they care about jobs, safety, and whether their kids can afford college — not who’s quietly testing the water for a primary fight four years from now.
Fox’s theatrics and the language of violence
On The Five, host Jesse Watters took the speculation and dressed it in bile, urging Newsom to “slit her throat” and “put her out of her misery” if Harris can’t “perform.” That’s not tough talk; it’s violent imagery dressed up as political advice, aired on a show with millions of viewers. Whether you cheer for Newsom, Harris, or neither, normalizing that kind of rhetoric lowers the bar for public discourse and makes politics uglier for everyone.
There’s a practical cost to the theatrics. When cable hosts trade in gladiator metaphors, campaigns feel the pressure to respond, staffers burn out, and voters tune out. Meanwhile, the issues that actually move people’s lives — housing, inflation, public safety — get shoved to the back burner.
Hunter Biden: the irritant that won’t go away
Then there’s Hunter Biden, who isn’t running for anything but has gone from tabloid afterthought to a viral presence again through combative posts and interview appearances. His social‑media posts rack up millions of views and his interviews keep the family drama in the headlines, forcing campaigns to spend time and money on message control instead of policy. That’s not just political theater — it’s a distraction that can cost votes when swing voters ask, “What are you doing for me?”
Why this matters to working Americans
All this infighting, cable shouting, and viral distraction adds up to one thing: less attention to the bread‑and‑butter issues that matter to everyday folks. If Democrats are busy auditioning for a future primary or defending family members in the press, who’s working on solutions for runaway housing costs, school safety, or the out‑of‑control bureaucracy? The spectacle serves media margins and donor salons, not Main Street.
Politics used to be about making the country safer and more prosperous; now it often looks like a reality show shot in slow motion. That wastes time, money, and trust — and trust is a hard thing to rebuild once you’ve trashed it.
So here’s the quiet question beneath the headlines and the shouting: do we want a party that fixes problems, or one that’s better at generating attention? Pick one — because you can’t do both.
