I think I’m going to be a little nasty today.
I know it’s not my style, but bear with me here.
Both candidates have spent so much time and energy slandering and accusing each other that it is truly impossible to cover this campaign without taking a closer look at the accusations and counter-accusations, even when they are false, misleading or based on digital manipulation.
Trump’s lead remains strong: Why the debate may be Biden’s last chance
Let’s start with Joe Biden’s “frozen” moment, at least as his critics call it: Summarized insults: This guy has really lost his mind and always seems to wander aimlessly.
On Sunday, the campaign released footage from a star-studded, $30 million fundraiser in Los Angeles, with Mr. Biden and Barack Obama waving to the crowd. Mr. Biden, 81, pauses for a few seconds to soak in the roaring cheers. He doesn’t seem stunned or confused, just enjoying the moment.
But what Obama did next was puzzling: He knows his former vice president faces constant accusations of being weak and confused, yet he literally took Biden’s hand and led him off the stage, keeping his hand on Biden’s back as they walked.
Former President Obama grabs President Biden’s wrist at a fundraiser. (Christopher Gardner, via Storyful)
The video is not distorted for even a second, and it doesn’t need to be distorted. Everyone can watch it and make their own judgment.
But Karine Jean-Pierre has been unusually aggressive in attacking her boss’s distorted videos. The Biden White House, Biden campaign and their media defenders are trying to convince people that any video that portrays the president in an unfavorable light is a “deepfake” or, in the words of a spokesperson, a “cheapfake.” Cheap maybe, but not necessarily fake.
The effort conflates two very different situations: The New York Post followed the Republican National Committee’s lead by publishing a cropped photo of Biden gazing out at the G7 when, in reality, he was addressing and giving a thumbs-up to skydivers who had landed just a few feet away before the Italian prime minister ushered him back into the group of world leaders.
Kellyanne Conway says Karine Jean-Pierre’s lies about ‘deepfake’ videos expose Biden campaign concerns
But the embarrassing moment that happened onstage in Los Angeles was entirely real and not manipulated in any way.
Meanwhile, the author of a new book who interviewed Trump at length reports that the former president has a poor memory. Insult tally: Why does this 78-year-old man continue to attack his opponents as mentally illiterate when they’re not even trying their best?
Ramin Setoodeh, co-editor in chief of Variety magazine and author of a book about “The Apprentice,” reports that Trump has “severe memory problems.”
President Biden looks on as parachutists attend the G7 Summit in Bari, Italy, on June 13, 2024. (Photo by Michael Kappeler/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
“He didn’t even remember me. We spent an hour together in May of 2021, and a few months later, I went back to the White House, in Trump Tower, and I told him about my time at the White House, and I got this blank look from him. And I said, ‘Do you remember me?’ And he said, ‘No.’ He didn’t remember the lengthy interview we did, and he wasn’t doing many interviews at the time.”
in Excerpt from The Washington PostHe writes, “Once started, he would continue to extend the time they spent together, which would spill over into subsequent appointments.
“Okay, so let’s have another meeting,” is how he always ends our sessions.
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“I don’t know when our afternoon together will end. If things go well, Trump may keep talking to me throughout dinner and I may have to leave to make an escape. he.“
Trump spokesman Steven Chang fired back just as hard as his boss, telling Newsweek magazine, “President Trump knew who this person was during the interview process, but this ‘writer’ is an inconsequential unknown and so naturally made no impression on him. Recognizing the importance of ‘The Apprentice’ and the massive cultural impact it has had on a global scale, this ‘writer’ has chosen to let his brain rot with Trump Derangement Syndrome, like so many other losers whose lives revolve around President Trump.”
Questions have been raised in the media about the mental competence of both President Biden and former President Trump. (Associated Press)
Ok, enough of my ranting. The media needs to step up their efforts to separate truth from fiction. But most voters don’t have the time to watch a 3 minute video and consider multiple angles. They might only see a 5 second clip or a single image.
In the end, all the attacks may end up cancelling each other out. People may throw up their hands and not know what to believe. Even without AI, trust in already widely distrusted media institutions may be fatally undermined.
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That’s a depressing thought.
