Legacy media spent much of the first half of 2024 insisting President Biden He was still sharp and claimed that videos suggesting otherwise were “cheap fakes” until his disastrous debate performance caused him to immediately change his stance.
In one of the biggest media stories of the year, several legacy media outlets have been left whitewashed after creating another credibility crisis for the Fourth Estate.
The media was quite abuzz in February after the release of private investigator Robert Hoare Damn report Regarding Biden's handling of classified documents, she described him as a “sympathetic, well-meaning old man with a weak memory.”
The New York Times adopted a “Republican swoop” frame when covering Biden’s reported memory problems, Jeffrey Toobin returned to CNN to insist that Hoare made “unnecessary points” about Biden’s aging, and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow said all Which is fine because Biden is still “riding a bike.”
The legacy media spent much of the first half of 2024 insisting that President Biden was fit to serve another four years in the White House. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Hours after the damning report, the president held a last-minute meeting at the White House press conference He remained defiant – and became visibly upset when faced with questions about his age and memory. After declaring that his memory was “good,” Biden then referred to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as “the president of Mexico.” Biden then went off script and took questions from reporters at random, leading to a combative exchange with CNN correspondent MJ Lee, who asked about Americans who are concerned about his age.
Vice President Kamala Harris later attacked Hoare's report as “politically motivated” and “unwarranted, inaccurate, and inappropriate.” A talking point in the liberal media.
In June, the Wall Street Journal angered liberal critics when it said so Posted a bomb“, “Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping,” detailed interviews with more than 45 people over several months who felt the president had lost a step.
The report was immediately dismissed by much of the mainstream media. Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, who later helped lead the charge behind the scenes to knock Biden off the ticket, criticized the story. “Morning Joe” on MSNBC Announce the report It was Trump's “hit piece on Biden,” and the left-wing media watchdog group Media Matters called the report “farcically weak.”
Then-CNN media correspondent Oliver Darcy was furious, writing in his left-leaning newsletter that “the story called into question Biden’s mental acuity, and plays into the narrative pushed by the GOP that the 81-year-old president lacks the physical fitness for the top job.” position in the country. “.
“The Wall Street Journal owes its readers – And the audience “—Better,” Darcy fumed, repeating the White House narrative that such concerns about Biden’s fitness were just washed-up GOP talking points. Biden dropped out of the race after less than two months.
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White House officials insisted that a series of videos that showed President Biden in a state of declining mental acuity were actually “cheap smears” pushed by bad actors using them out of context. (Kevin Deitch/Getty Images)
Later in June, White House officials insisted The series of videos that appeared to show Biden freezing or looking lost were actually “cheap fakes” smears pushed by bad actors. Biden has been plagued with videos from various events showing him appearing to be “confused.”
One video showed him walking away from a group of world leaders at a D-Day commemoration in France to speak to a paratrooper. Another video showed him unsure of the right time to sit down, and another showed him being led off stage by former President Obama at a fundraiser. According to the White House, it was all just a bad faith effort to discredit Biden.
But Biden had nowhere to hide during his disastrous performance in the presidential debate against then-candidate Donald Trump on June 27. He appeared confused, pale, repeatedly struggled to articulate his message, and lost his train of thought mid-sentence on multiple occasions.
The debate forced Biden Media allies to turn against himAnd everyone from pundits on CNN and MSNBC to… New York Times Editorial Board He called on him to step down after years of insisting he was too harsh.
Biden and his allies blamed the debate disaster on his cold, jet lag and fatigue, and even being distracted by Trump speaking into a muted microphone. They eventually came to “bad night” as a talking point to justify the disaster.
After weeks of tough statements from Biden and his campaign that he would remain in the race, the president eventually withdrew and endorsed Harris for president. She quickly ended the nomination, setting up a furious race until the end of the campaign.
President Biden faced intense calls for him to step down after a disastrous debate performance. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
The press, which had spent weeks calling for him to step down in the wake of the debate, suddenly showered him with praise. Late-night host Stephen Colbert said he's a “great president.” CNN's Van Jones nearly became emotional on air. It was impossible to deny the enthusiasm of liberal media figures on air about Harris' rise.
“What a man, what a patriot. What selfless devotion to your country.” MSNBC's Maddow saidsetting the tone for how liberal critics would react.
As the ordeal reached its peak in 2024, concerns about Biden's fitness for office were dismissed by the press for years.
In 2022, one of More memorable examples This came when White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre laughed at a question about Biden's physical and mental health during an interview with CNN. Host Don Lemon then asked: “Does the president have the stamina physically and mentally? Do you think he'll last beyond 2024?”
“Don, you're asking me that question,” exclaimed a visibly startled Jean-Pierre. “Oh my God. He's the President of the United States.”
The press secretary then laughed and said she sometimes struggles even to keep up with Biden.
“This is not a question we should be asking,” she added. “Just look at the work he does. See how he delivers for the American people.”
After several missteps in 2023 — including Biden falling foul of the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in June, referring to the Grand Canyon as one of the “nine wonders” of the world and… Claiming he was at Ground Zero The day after 9/11 in September, although records show he was in Washington, D.C., that day, Harris was asked if the president's age was a concern.
“I would say that age is more than just a temporal fact,” Harris said in an interview at the New York Times' Dealbook Summit in November 2023, adding that he has “absolute power” during his meetings.
Harris lost to Trump on Election Day after emerging as the Democratic nominee without any real primary process.
How much have things changed in the momentous year 2024? Published by the New York Times Lengthy article on December 18 about Biden's weakness as he prepares to leave office.
“He seems a little older and a little slower with each passing day. Aides say he remains razor-sharp in the situation room, calling on world leaders to broker a ceasefire in Lebanon or deal with the chaos of the insurgency in Syria,” The Times reported. . “But it is hard to imagine that he seriously believed he could do the world's most exhausting job for another four years.”
Joseph A. contributed to this report. Fox News Digital's Wolfson, Andrew Mark Miller, Aubrey Spady, Jamie Joseph, Lawrence Richard and Emma Coulton.
