Should Joe Biden Stop His Presidential Campaign? Here’s How He Can Still Fire Back

As president, Joe Biden has led our country capably through vexing domestic public health, climate, and public safety crises while uniting allies to join forces to counter global security threats. He’s sparked constructive exchanges with business leaders at our CEO forums. He was cogent and engaged when one of us spoke with him at an event in Greenwich last month. Having worked on his 1972 Senate campaign before his wife and daughter were tragically killed in a car accident, one of the authors has seen how Biden can rise from the ashes of catastrophic personal loss. Far better than his handlers, he knows how to fire back from his disastrous debate. But Biden must move quickly before this crisis spirals out of control and before it becomes the unfortunate and unintended capstone to a five-decade long career defined by resilience from adversity.

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These last five days, however, have been squandered as the Biden team seems shell shocked and in denial, with Biden not practicing what he knows better than any: how to rebound successfully from disaster.

Rather than assuaging the concerns of anxious voters, alarmed donors, political allies, and media critics, the Biden campaign seems to have made things worse through a combination of evasion and hubris, clumsily waving away concerns over the President’s age. They have been blaming media and finger pointing at debate prep staffers, rather than explaining what happened and presenting any coherent strategy to counter Biden’s biggest weakness – the public perception that he is declining fast.

Here are five key lessons from Firing Back: How Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters (co-authored with Andrew Ward) for how Biden can get back on track urgently before the crisis of confidence imperiling his campaign continues to spiral out of control.

Fight, not flight – facing up to the issue

A common reflex when under attack is to deny the accusation and discredit the legitimacy of critics. The misguided belief is that if the problem is swept under-the-carpet, it will magically disappear. That rarely works, and it is not working for the Biden campaign.

We joined an hour-long call yesterday between senior campaign officials and the 560 largest donors of the campaign, and as reported, the longer the campaign officials spoke, the more donors dropped from the call in frustration sending us messages of disappointment. In the first 15 minutes, already over 50 had hung up and after 40 minutes over 100 dropped. The New York Times’ Shane Goldmacher and CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reported on how the Biden lieutenants shielded participant questions from each other and failed to answer any of the concerns directly.

The campaign officials managed to make matters worse by tossing out pep rally platitudes, attacking the media, and belittling critics to a group of influential donors who are unlikely to fall for such unconvincing patter.

That is professional malpractice by the Biden campaign. Instead of denying the problem, Biden’s campaign needs to recognize that gaslighting the American people, asserting “you didn’t see what you saw” in Trumpian style is not a winning strategy and reflects incredible hubris.

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Rebuilding heroic stature – explaining the damage through exoneration or contrition

Biden and his team need to explain the obvious acute cognitive impairment the word witnessed Biden’s sudden loss of mental alertness, mumbling, diffuse focus, memory failures, confusion, meandering thoughts within single sentences, and weakened executive mental functioning were alarming. His apparent recovery soon after the debate was equally noteworthy. What caused his obvious loss of control? Was he having a bad reaction to cold medication? Did an overanxious debate prep fail him?

The only way for Biden to quiet his chorus of critics is to explain what happened as well as to show beyond a shadow of doubt that he is fully with it, and that he has the energy and stamina needed of a presidential candidate.

Proving your mettle – getting back in the fray

Retreating into a protective cocoon is not a successful strategy for public engagement. Biden has to do more than read the teleprompter at staged pep rallies in front of supportive audiences: he must engage in genuine unscripted exchanges and interpersonal interactions to prove his mettle. One option is to head out on the road and prove his fitness to govern in front of voters across America. Not only is there no better way to demonstrate fitness and agility than to press flesh, but these exchanges play to Biden’s strong suit, in one-on-one and small group exchanges instead of impersonal, large, staged events.

Venture capitalist Alan Patricof suggests a “whistlestop bus or railroad trip” around the country, a throwback to the days when Harry Truman campaigned coast to coast from his legendary campaign train. If Biden can’t handle this, then perhaps it really is time for him to step down, and we ought to find this out sooner not later.

As CNBC’s Brian Sullivan pointed out, Biden missed an opportunity to prove his mental agility when he held a press conference yesterday to discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity – but flubbed it by not taking questions at the end, sticking only to reading scripted remarks from the teleprompter.

Perhaps Biden wanted to keep the focus on the Supreme Court, but then he should have, at least, clearly conveyed to the press that he would engage in open unscripted Q&A at a future time if that were the case – as his refusal to take questions become the story and drowned out his message.

Recruiting others into battle – using networks effectively

Intimate family members and friends can offer solace and emotional support but relying only upon the home team leads to insularity with limited fresh ideas and curtailing opinion leading surrogates. Many believe that Biden has been excessively isolated behind layers of overly protective staff: even top donors, close Biden friends who’ve known him decades, former Senatorial colleagues, and other elected officials alike have difficulties getting through to him nowadays, not to mention Biden has given fewer media interviews than any of his predecessors.

Now Biden needs these natural allies more than ever before. In fact, according to NBC, Biden has not reached out to either Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer or House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries yet, a week after the debate. Outreach and genuine engagement from Biden can help build the groundswell of genuine support and grassroots conviction which is needed to reinvigorate the Biden campaign.

Rediscovering your heroic mission – getting your purpose clear

Biden has to give a compelling picture of the future and compare the future under a 2nd term President Biden to the future under a 2nd term President Trump. Neither one of them did that at the debate. Biden still has time to fire back.

source https://time.com/6994479/biden-debate-campaign/

Rudy Giuliani Disbarred in NY After Lies About Trump’s 2020 Election Loss

(NEW YORK) — Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, federal prosecutor and legal adviser to Donald Trump, was disbarred in the state on Tuesday after a court found he repeatedly made false statements about Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.

The decision was handed down by a New York appeals court in Manhattan.

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The court ruled that Giuliani be “disbarred from the practice of law, effective immediately, and until the further order of this Court, and his name stricken from the roll of attorneys and counselors-at-law in the State of New York.”

Giuliani’s spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to an email and a phone call seeking comment Tuesday.

Read More: Rudy Giuliani’s Past Explains His More Recent Behavior With Trump, Documentary Argues

Giuliani has already had his New York law license suspended for false statements he made after the election.

He was the primary mouthpiece for Trump’s false claims of election fraud after the 2020 vote, standing at a press conference in front of Four Seasons Total Landscaping outside Philadelphia on the day the race was called for Democrat Joe Biden over the Republican Trump and saying they would challenge what he claimed was a vast conspiracy by Democrats.

Lies around the election results helped push an angry mob of pro-Trump rioters to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in an effort to stop the certification of Biden’s victory.

source https://time.com/6994507/rudy-giuliani-disbarred-new-york/

Defense Secretary Austin Says U.S. Will Provide $2.3 Billion More in Military Aid to Ukraine

(WASHINGTON) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday that the U.S. will soon announce an additional $2.3 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, to include anti-tank weapons, interceptors and munitions for Patriot and other air defense systems.

Austin’s remarks came as Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with him at the Pentagon. And they mark a strong response to pleas from Kyiv for help in battling Russian forces in the Donetsk region.

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Austin said the aid will come through presidential drawdown authority, which allows the Pentagon to take the weapons from its stocks and send them more quickly to Ukraine.

“Make no mistake, Ukraine is not alone, and the United States will never waver in our support,” Austin said as he opened the meeting with Umerov. “Alongside some 50 allies and partners, we’ll continue to provide critical capabilities that Ukraine needs to push back Russian aggression today and to deter Russian aggression tomorrow.”

Read More: ‘We Are the World Power.’ How Joe Biden Leads

The announcement comes just days before the U.S. hosts the NATO summit in Washington and as Ukraine has continued to lobby for military support and acceptance into the alliance.

“We’ll take steps to build a bridge to NATO membership for Ukraine,” Austin told Umerov.

“Hopefully soon Ukraine will receive its invitation,” the Ukrainian minister responded.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russia had dropped more than 800 powerful glide bombs in Ukraine in the last week alone. And he urged national leaders to relax restrictions on the use of Western weapons to strike military targets inside Russia. In particular, he said, Ukraine needs the “necessary means to destroy the carriers of these bombs, including Russian combat aircraft, wherever they are.”

Read More: Inside Andriy Yermak’s Quest for Peace in Ukraine

Austin did not refer to the restrictions in his opening comments, but he told Umerov that they would discuss “more ways to meet Ukraine’s immediate security needs and to build a future force to ward off more Russian aggression.”

Including the latest $2.3 billion, the U.S. has committed more than $53.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

source https://time.com/6994503/lloyd-austin-us-additional-ukraine-aid/

Jurors in the Karen Read Trial Say They’re Deadlocked—Again

DEDHAM, Mass. — A judge ordered the jury in the Karen Read murder trialto continue deliberating Monday after they said for a second time that they were deadlocked.

Jurors had told Judge Beverly Cannone on Friday that they were deadlocked, only for her to ask them to continue deliberating. They returned after the weekend in just over an hour Monday to say little had changed. She asked them again to continue deliberating.

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“I think this is an extraordinary jury,” Cannone said of the jury note that came back Monday. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

The jury is being asked to decide whether prosecutors have proven that Read drunkenly and intentionally slammed into her Boston police officer boyfriendwith her Lexus SUV and left him to die. The defense challenged the evidence and suggested that one or more law enforcement colleagues killed John O’Keefe, dumped his body outside in a panic, and then framed Read to cover it up.

Who’s who?

Read, 44, had worked as an equity analyst and was an adjunct lecturer in finance at her alma mater, Bentley University. O’Keefe, 46, was a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department who was raising his niece and nephew.

Jurors are deliberating events that unfolded at the Canton home of Brian Albert, a Boston police detective, after a night of barhopping in January 2022. Brian Higgins, a federal agent who was among those gathered inside, had exchanged flirtatious texts with Read earlier that month. The lead investigator was State Trooper Michael Proctor, who was friends with several witnesses and sent offensive texts about Read to friends, family and fellow troopers during the investigation.

The charges

Read was charged with second-degree murder, punishable in Massachusetts by life in prison with the possibility of parole. She also faces lesser charges of manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence, punishable by five to 20 years, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, punishable by up to 10 years.

The evidence

Pieces of Read’s broken taillight were found at the scene, and a single hair from O’Keefe was found on the rear bumper of Read’s SUV. Prosecutors say that Read repeatedly said, “I hit him. I hit him. Oh my God, I hit him,” to first responders and others. Prosecutors replayed angry voicemails Read left for O’Keefe, painting a picture of a failing relationship. They also questioned her behavior, saying she never cried after O’Keefe’s body was found.

Read’s defense

Read contends that the prosecution’s case is based on lies by officers trying to protect themselves. Her lawyers say the pieces of taillight and the hair were planted at the crime scene, which was left unsecured. They also suggested that O’Keefe might have been beaten up by Higgins, who had flirted with Read through texts, and that the men panicked, dumping his body outside before trying to cover up the crime.

Sloppy detective work?

Regardless of any verdict, the case revealed questionable techniques and actions on the part of law enforcement. Proctor, who had personal relationshipswith several of the people involved, called Read a “whack job” and texted his sister saying he wished Read would “kill herself.” He said that was a figure of speech and that his emotions had gotten the better of him.

The defense also pointed to sloppy policing: The crime scene was left unsecured for hours; the house wasn’t searched; bloodstained snow was scooped up with red plastic drinking cups; and a leaf blower was used to clear snow. The defense also claims that a prosecution witness conducted an incriminating internet search hours before O’Keefe’s body was discovered and then deleted it, and that others linked with the case destroyed phones and manipulated videos.

Outside adjudicators

A handful of women with posters showed up Friday to counter the self-proclaimed “sidewalk jury” of true crime bloggers and pink-shirted Read supporters, many of them waving the Stars and Stripes, who have gathered outside the Norfolk County courthouse every day since the trial began.

Police officers stood between the two groups, neither of which was particularly pleased.

“A hung jury, that would be terrible,” said Paul Harvey, who owns a moving company in East Boston. He said Read should have been acquitted on the first day.

“This is unbelievable; the poor woman has been framed,” said Michael Ward. “This not only hasn’t been proven, but what’s been proven is she’s innocent.”

Demonstrators on the other side called out what they said has been harassment of the O’Keefe family and prosecution witnesses.

“Every day, these witnesses are getting death threats. It is just disgusting to John’s memory,” said Julie Guinto, an administrative assistant who said she doesn’t know the family.

Online duels

Much of the attention has been fed by social media, with supporters on both sides routinely trading barbs over the evidence, the lawyers and details from the trial.

“We know, as well as I’m sure the jury knows, that all roads lead to Karen Read,” said Kate Peter, a YouTuber from North Attleborough. She’s been battling online against Aidan Timothy Kearney, aka Turtleboy, whose website has relentlessly questioned the prosecution.

“I am hopeful and faithful they will reach a just verdict and she will be held criminally responsible for her actions in this murder,” Peter said.

A town steeped in the history of Paul Revere

Canton, a solidly middle-class commuter town of 20,000, is best known for the Paul Revere Heritage Site — 9 acres where Revere set up a mill in 1801 to roll the copper that covered the hulls of the newly formed Navy’s boats and the dome of the Massachusetts State House in Boston.

These days, tourists are as likely to pass through the town in search of places associated with Read’s trial.

There are the bars where she and O’Keefe had been drinking that night, including the Waterfall Bar & Grille and C.F. McCarthy’s, just down the street. On the same stretch of downtown is a tattered shop called D&E Pizza & Subs, which got a mention at the trial partly because it was run by Chris Albert, the brother of Boston police detective Brian Albert, who owned the house where O’Keefe’s body was found. Albert sold that house, and the new owners put up a no-trespassing sign to keep onlookers out.

Read’s supporters have turned normally sleepy town meetings into raucous affairs, trying to push out the police chief and supporting an ongoing audit of the department. They blame the police department, which recused itself from the Read investigation, for bungling it. To counter that, lawn signs have popped up declaring support for the police.

source https://time.com/6994248/jurors-karen-read-trial-deadlocked/

Supreme Court Rules Trump and Former Presidents Have Some Immunity for Official Acts

More than two months after hearing oral arguments, the Supreme Court on Monday partially backed former President Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from criminal prosecution for actions he took while in office. In a 6-3 decision split along ideological lines, the Supreme Court ruled former Presidents are largely immune from prosecution for official acts, but not actions they took in office that aren’t part of their job responsibilities—a decision that will have significant consequences for Trump’s remaining criminal cases and the future of the American presidency.

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“Under our system of separated powers, the President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts,” the majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts says. “That immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office.”

The landmark decision marks the first time the Supreme Court has weighed in on whether a president can be prosecuted for actions they took while in office. “The president enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official,” the ruling continues. “The President is not above the law. But Congress may not criminalize the President’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the Executive Branch under the Constitution.”

The Supreme Court offered some specific guidance on the conduct at issue in the criminal case brought by special counsel Jack Smith against Trump over his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Roberts wrote for the conservative majority that Trump is “absolutely immune” from prosecution for his alleged conduct relating to conversations with Justice Department officials about launching investigations into election fraud and potential fraudulent slates of electors. But the Supreme Court didn’t offer answers on other conduct alleged in Smith’s indictment, writing that further proceedings at the lower court level are needed to determine whether Trump can be prosecuted for his alleged attempt to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the Electoral College vote, and his interactions with state officials, private people, and voters about election fraud and the violence on Jan. 6.

Sending these questions back to a lower court all but guarantees that Trump’s stalled federal trial in Washington, D.C will be delayed until after voters decide in November whether to return Trump to the White House. 

“In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the dissenting opinion, joined by the two other liberal Justices. “Today’s decision to grant former Presidents criminal immunity reshapes the institution of the Presidency. It makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of Government, that no man is above the law.”

Still, Roberts cautioned, “Trump asserts a far broader immunity than the limited one we have recognized.” The Chief Justice added: “As for the dissents, they strike a tone of chilling doom that is wholly disproportionate to what the Court actually does today—conclude that immunity extends to official discussions between the President and his Attorney General, and then remand to the lower courts to determine ‘in the first instance’ whether and to what extent Trump’s remaining alleged conduct is entitled to immunity.”

During oral arguments, Trump’s attorneys argued that a former President has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for all official acts related to the presidency, claiming that they could only be criminally prosecuted if first impeached and convicted by Congress. The Supreme Court rejected that argument: “Transforming the political process of impeachment into a necessary step in the enforcement of criminal law finds little support in the text of the Constitution or the structure of the Nation’s Government,” Roberts wrote. Trump’s attorneys claimed that without blanket immunity, Presidents would not be able to function as Commander in Chief while worrying about potential criminal charges in the future.

Lower courts had already rejected that argument, including a unanimous three-judge panel on an appeals court in Washington, D.C. But Justice Samuel Alito noted during oral arguments that Presidents are in a “peculiarly precarious position” given the high-stakes decisions they have to make and enormous amount of power they wield. “This case will have effects that go far beyond this particular prosecution,” he said at arguments. Justices Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, two of Trump’s three high court appointees, both raised the specter of overzealous prosecutors targeting former Presidents after they leave office. “I’m not concerned about this case, but I am concerned about future uses of the criminal law to target political opponents based on accusations about their motives,” Gorsuch said. 

Smith, who brought the charges against Trump, wrote to the Supreme Court that even if it finds that some level of immunity exists for official acts, a trial could still get underway focused on Trump’s private actions in the indictment. Trump’s “use of official power was merely an additional means of achieving a private aim—to perpetuate his term in office—that is prosecutable based on private conduct,” Smith told the Supreme Court.

Originally, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan had set Trump’s trial in the Smith case to begin on March 4, but Trump’s appeal to the Supreme Court resulted in a delay in the proceedings, paving the way for his New York business records case to be the first to reach trial. Trump was found guilty and convicted on all 34 counts in that case and is set to be sentenced on July 11. Trump is also facing criminal cases in Florida and Georgia. If Trump is elected President again, he could order the Justice Department to dismiss the federal charges against him.

source https://time.com/6994189/supreme-court-donald-trump-presidential-immunity-decision/

Parties and Protests Mark Culmination of LGBTQ+ Pride Month in NYC, San Francisco, and Beyond

NEW YORK — The monthlong celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride reaches its exuberant grand finale on Sunday, bringing rainbow-laden revelers to the streets for marquee parades in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and elsewhere across the globe.

The wide-ranging festivities will function as both jubilant parties and political protests, as participants recognize the community’s gains while also calling attention to recent anti-LGBTQ+ laws, such as bans on transgender health care, passed by Republican-led states.

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This year, tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza are also seeping into the celebrations, exposing divisions within a community that is often aligned on political issues.

Already this month, pro-Palestinian activists have disrupted pride parades held in Boston, Denver, and Philadelphia. Several groups participating in marches Sunday said they would seek to center the victims of the war in Gaza, spurring pushback from supporters of Israel.

“It is certainly a more active presence this year in terms of protest at Pride events,” said Sandra Pérez, the executive director of NYC Pride. “But we were born out of a protest.”

The first pride march was held in New York City in 1970 to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Inn uprising, a riot that began with a police raid on a Manhattan gay bar.

In addition to the NYC Pride March, the nation’s largest, the city will also play host Sunday to the Queer Liberation March, an activism-centered event launched five years ago amid concerns that the more mainstream parade had become too corporate.

Another one of the world’s largest Pride celebrations will also kick off Sunday in San Francisco. Additional parades are scheduled in Chicago, Minneapolis, and Seattle.

On top of concerns about protests, federal agencies have warned that foreign terrorist organizations and their supporters could target the parades and adjacent venues. A heavy security presence is expected at all of the events.

source https://time.com/6994026/parties-protests-culmination-of-lgbtq-pride-month/

The Internet Unites in Celebrating Michael J. Fox’s Glastonbury Performance with Coldplay

Coldplay’s set in Glastonbury on Saturday night didn’t disappoint, that’s for certain. The record-breaking performance—as the first act to headline the festival for a fifth time—was filled with incredible songs, fan interactions, and cameos by other great talents. The British band brought out U.K. soul singer Laura Mvula, Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna, Little Simz, who had performed on the same stage just hours before, and Spanish-American singer-songwriter Victoria Canal.

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The standout surprise showing, though, came from legendary actor Michael J. Fox, who showed off his guitar skills and played with the band for their songs “Humankind” and “Fix You.”

Coldplay’s lead singer Chris Martin addressed Fox’s surprise performance: “The main reason why we’re in a band is because of watching Back to the Future.”

He then thanked Fox, 63, and called him their “hero forever and one of the most amazing people on Earth.”

Interestingly, this is not Fox’s first collaboration with the legendary rock band. In 2016, Coldplay brought out Fox at MetLife Stadium, and they performed “Johnny B. Goode” in its entirety.

The 100,000-strong crowd in Somerset were rapturous in their approval and excitement in seeing the actor, who is famous for his “Johnny B Goode” guitar solo in Back to the Future, play on stage. Fox has been open about his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, which led him to officially retire from acting in 2020.

Earlier this year, Fox accepted the second annual TIME100 Impact Award—which recognizes a global trailblazer who is pushing boundaries in their industry. In his acceptance speech, Fox spoke candidly about his experience with Parkinson’s, which he was diagnosed with in 1991, at age 29. In 2000, Fox founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation to fund research in curing the disease.

“I was climbing a golden staircase, minding my own business and suddenly I was blocked by something neither I nor anyone else could see,” he said at TIME’s event in New York City on April 25. “Time passed and no change… I was doing a lot of hiding. One thing that wasn’t going to work though, was wishing it away.”

Ryan Reynolds, who is a friend of Fox and is on the board of Fox’s foundation, penned the legendary actor’s tribute on the TIME100 list of 2024, where he explained that Fox had helped his late father, who had Parkinson’s, “along with millions of others, feel less alone” by being so open about his experience with the disease.

The reaction to Fox’s Glastonbury performance has been emotional not just from fans who witnessed the moment first-hand, but from online viewers, excited to see the actor back in the limelight.

Since my Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s almost a decade ago, I haven’t had the courage to listen to “Fix You”, one of my all-time favorites songs. But then this happened at #Glastonbury. @coldplay + @MichaelJFoxOrg on stage. Music is so incredible. ♥️ pic.twitter.com/licJPWWxUB

— Matt Sebek (@MattSebek) June 30, 2024

Michael J. Fox: “Your kids are gonna love it”

The kids: *40 years later at Glastonburypic.twitter.com/tdH4zuZUBz

— Back to the Future (@BTTFmusical) June 30, 2024

Michael J Fox playing the Fix You riff and I’m just sobbing like a baby

— It’s War (@judeinlondon) June 29, 2024

One social media user pointed out “however cynical and hard bitten you are,” the only thing to feel in that performance was joy.

However cynical and hard bitten you are, impossible not to feel something joyful when Coldplay plays with Michael J Fox at Glastonbury pic.twitter.com/GeLpgCnIRT

— Stig Abell (@StigAbell) June 30, 2024

That kick from Michael J Fox when the beat drops. 🥹 Pure release. ❤️#Glastonbury pic.twitter.com/3UTMzUB1kM

— Eddie Burfi (@EddieBurfi) June 30, 2024

I'm genuinely confident that literally everyone on the planet universally loves Michael J. Fox, he's an incredible human being and a childhood hero to so many, what a lovely touch from Coldplay. 👏❤️🎸

— Al Foran (@ImpressionistAL) June 29, 2024

Coldplay ft. Michael J Fox is the collaboration I didn’t know I needed

Fix You came out the month I started residency and became a sort of unofficial anthem for my earliest efforts at healing

It holds up like an anti-Yoda sentiment : trying IS caring

pic.twitter.com/aod6TElcKU

— Mark Lewis (@marklewismd) June 30, 2024

Have to say that little ditty Chris Martin composed and performed for Michael Eavis was a lovely touch, and then getting Michael J Fox out was amazing. Coldplay aren't my band at all but good luck to them, this is what headlining big shows is about.

— Sean (@shornKOOMINS) June 29, 2024

Elsewhere, fans were reminded of the legendary moment in Back to the Future where, after Fox’s character Marty plays “Johnny B. Goode” to little reaction, he says “Your kids are going to love it.” And as more young people got to enjoy Fox’s talent during the Glastonbury set, his words have come full circle.

Michael J Fox getting his moment at Glastonbury with Coldplay.

What a legend ♥️♥️ pic.twitter.com/bNXEko7CsA

— DEɅN JOHNSON (@deanjohnsonuk) June 29, 2024

Some saw the act of Coldplay bringing out Fox as a show of unity with people who have disabilities, praising it as a moment of solidarity.

Watching @coldplay playing ‘Fix You’ with Michael J Fox was iconic
The lyrics are a poignant reminder of a journey with #Parkinsons. A call to governments to invest in more research so the scientific community to fix us. Thanks for the shout out at the end, I’m being good #cancer pic.twitter.com/taVtf8tqg5

— Jonny Acheson (@jonny_acheson) June 30, 2024

Coldplay bringing out not one but two disabled people in their set is everything. (One being Michael J Fox!! + Victoria Canal)

That’s how you show unity for disabled musicians and disabled fans alike. A vast section of society that’s largely forgotten about on a world stage.

— Faith 🪐🎵 🪩♿️ (@official_faithm) June 29, 2024

source https://time.com/6993980/michael-j-fox-coldplay-glastonbury-performance-internet-reactions/