Journalist Alex Thompson called out the press after reporting at a White House correspondent’s dinner on Saturday that he failed to properly report on former President Joe Biden’s decline in health.
Axios reporter Thompson has accepted the White House Correspondents’ Association Aldo Beckman Award for the overall excellence of White House coverage. His report meticulously documented Biden’s tragic debate performance against President Donald Trump, what led to it, and his final decision to withdraw from the race. In his acceptance speech, Thompson admitted that the press lacked covering the story of Biden’s decline.
“Being a Truth Terror also means telling the truth about yourself. We’ve missed many of this story, including us,” Thompson said in front of the journalist’s room at a major news outlet.
He added: “President Biden’s decline and the cover-up by those around him are a reminder that all White House, regardless of party, can be deceived.”
WHCA President holds dinner highlighting Trump’s absence and “very difficult” years
President Biden’s disastrous debate performance last year led him to leave the race. ((Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) | (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP by Getty Images) | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)))
After Biden withdraws from the race, several journalists admitted they have not thoroughly examined the president’s health. There is concern after Biden’s debate performance when viewers notice his rambling answers and intense voices.
Biden’s team has always hidden the truth about his health: WH Press Sec
Thompson said the media’s failure to investigate and report on Biden’s condition more aggressively contributed to growing public distrust of journalism.
“That’s why some people trust us,” he said. “We have a certain degree of responsibility for our belief in the media being such a low level, because admitting errors builds trust and being defensive about them further erodes that.”
He concluded with a tough entrance, “We should have done better.”
The Gallup Polling from October 2024 reflects the erosion of trust in American institutions, including the media. Only 31% of Americans reported “a fair amount” of confidence to the media in order to accurately report the news.
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Thompson’s comments come even in the broader conversations about media accountability. Earlier this year, NPR CEO Katherine Maher testified before Congress, admitting that he mistook the reporting of the Hunter Biden laptop story during the 2020 election.
“I want to say that NPR is acknowledging that it’s wrong to fail to cover the Hunter Biden laptop story more aggressively and quickly,” Maher told lawmakers. She later described the lack of coverage as “mistakes.”
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