Traditional media spent much of the first half of 2024 insisting that President Biden was still astute, until President Biden's disastrous debate performance forced an immediate U-turn. He claimed the video suggested it was “fake”.
One of the biggest media stories of the year has caused yet another crisis of confidence in the Fourth Estate, leaving multiple traditional media outlets with eggs on their faces.
In February, the media largely boiled over after the release of Special Counsel Robert Hur's damning report on Biden's handling of classified documents.
The New York Times adopts the “Republican attack” frame when reporting on Biden's reported memory problems, and Jeffrey Toobin returns to CNN to criticize Herr for making “unnecessary points” about Biden's advanced age. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow loudly insisted that everything was okay because Biden was still there. I ride a bicycle. ”
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Traditional media spent much of the first half of 2024 arguing that President Biden is fit to serve four more years in the White House. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Hours after the damning report, the president held a last-minute press conference at the White House and remained visibly upset and defiant when asked about his age and memory. Biden declared that his memory was “fine” and referred to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as “the president of Mexico.” Biden then went off-script and answered random questions from reporters, sparking a heated exchange with CNN correspondent MJ Lee, who asked him about Americans worrying about his age.
Vice President Kamala Harris subsequently attacked Mr. Xu's report as “politically motivated,” “baseless, inaccurate, and inappropriate,” and the word “gratuitous” became a staple in liberal media.
In June, the Wall Street Journal enraged liberal pundits: published a bombshell statement“Behind Closed Doors, biden Shows Signs of Slipping,” details interviews over several months with more than 45 people who felt the president was out of step.
This report was quickly dismissed by many mainstream news outlets. Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, who later led the behind-the-scenes effort to remove Biden from the election, slammed the story. MSNBC “Morning Joe” declared a report is “President Trump's hit story against Biden,” and the left-wing media watchdog group Media Matters criticized the report as “ridiculously weak.”
At the time, CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy was outraged, writing in his leftist newsletter, “This article casts doubt on Biden's mental strength and is promoted by Republicans who say the 81-year-old president is unfit to hold the nation's highest office.'' “I am toying with the discourse that . ”
“The Wall Street Journal owes a debt to its readers… and the general public Mr. Darcy was furious, repeating the White House's line that such concerns about Mr. Biden's suitability were merely laundering Republican talking points. Biden withdrew from the race less than two months later.
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White House officials say a series of videos that appear to show President Biden's mental acuity are actually “cheap fake” slurs used out of context by malicious actors. insisted. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
In late June, White House officials claimed that a series of videos in which Biden appears frozen or lost are actually “cheap, fake” slander pushed by bad actors. Biden has been troubled by videos of various events that appear to be “chaotic.”
One video showed him turning away from a group of world leaders to address paratroopers at a D-Day commemoration event in France. Another video showed him wondering when to sit down, and another showed him being dragged off the stage by former President Barack Obama at a fundraising event. The White House says this was all just a malicious effort to discredit Biden.
But during his disastrous performance in the June 27 debate with presidential candidate Donald Trump, Biden had nowhere to hide. He was confused, pale-faced, repeatedly struggled to articulate his message, and appeared to lose his train of thought mid-sentence many times.
The debate forced Biden's media allies to turn against him, with everyone from CNN and MSNBC pundits to the editorial board of the New York Times reporting that Biden has been a vocal critic for years. He asked him to leave the meeting, since he had made such a point.
Biden and his allies blamed the debate disaster on a cold, jet lag, fatigue and even being distracted by Trump speaking into a muted microphone. They eventually came up with a “bad night” as the talking point to justify the debacle.
After weeks of Biden and his campaign adamantly declaring they would remain in the race, the president ultimately backed out and endorsed Harris as his presidential nominee. She quickly won the nomination and began a fierce race that lasted until the end of the campaign.
After the special counsel's report, Biden lashed out at reporters who asked him about age concerns, saying, “That's your decision!”
President Biden faced intense calls for his resignation following his disastrous result in the debate. (Andrew Caballero Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
The media, which had spent weeks demanding he leave the debate, suddenly showered him with praise. Late night host Stephen Colbert gushed that he was a “great president.” CNN's Van Jones almost got emotional on the air. And it was impossible to deny the excitement of liberal media outlets about Harris' election.
“What a man, what a patriot, what a selfless act of dedication to our country,” MSNBC's Maddow said, setting the tone for how liberal pundits would react.
The challenge will culminate in 2024, but news organizations have long ignored concerns about Biden's suitability for the presidency.
In 2022, one of them will be More memorable examples The comment came as White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre laughed off a question about Biden's physical and mental health during an interview with CNN. At the time, host Don Lemon asked, “Does the president have the physical and mental strength, and do you think he will continue in office beyond 2024?''
“Don, you're asking me this question,” exclaimed a visibly stunned Jean-Pierre. “Why, he's the President of the United States.”
The press secretary then laughed and said it was sometimes difficult to even keep up with Biden.
“That's not the question we should be asking,” she added. “Look at his work. Look at how he serves the American people.”
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After several gaffes in 2023, Biden took a tumble at the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in June, called the Grand Canyon one of the “nine” wonders of the world, and appeared on Sept. 11 in September. He made a number of gaffes, including claiming he had been at Ground Zero the next day. Harris was asked whether the president's age was a concern, even though records show she was in Washington, D.C., that day.
“I think age is more than just a chronological fact,” Harris said in a November 2023 interview at the New York Times' Dealbook Summit, explaining that she has “absolute authority” in meetings. He added that
Harris was defeated by Trump on Election Day after emerging as the Democratic candidate without going through a formal primary process.
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How much have things changed in the crucial year 2024? Published by the New York Times On December 18th, a lengthy article was published about Biden's vulnerabilities as he prepares to leave office.
“He seems to be getting a little older and a little slower with each passing day. Aides say he is sharp enough in the situation room to broker a ceasefire in Lebanon and deal with the chaos of the Syrian uprising.” “We are calling on the leaders of all countries to do so,” the Times reported. . “But it's hard to imagine that he seriously thought he could stay in the world's most stressful job for another four years.”
Fox News Digital's Joseph A. Wulfsohn, Andrew Mark Miller, Aubrie Spady, Jamie Joseph, Lawrence Richard and Emma Colton contributed to this report.
