The stark political reality facing President Joe Biden, prompting his unprecedented decision to exit the 2024 race, might look different had he enjoyed the support of a blindly loyal, propagandistic news media.
While Donald Trump has relied on Fox News and an army of MAGA Media loyalists to endlessly shield him from scandal after scandal, Biden had no such defenses in his arsenal when serious questions were raised about his age and mental acuity. Instead, the president — unable to conjure up his own version of reality and successfully disseminate it to the masses — was forced to grapple with the truth and make a stunning 11th hour decision that rocked the country in a political earthquake.
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The entire affair, which played out in just three weeks, punctured a hole in the claim that Trump and the GOP have regularly peddled: that the news media is in the pocket of Biden and the White House. That obviously has not been the case, as exemplified by the hard-hitting coverage the president has been subjected to since his poor showing last month at the CNN debate.
In the hours and days that followed the fateful showdown with Trump on an Atlanta stage, The New York Times editorial board called on Biden to exit the race. The respected New Yorker editor David Remnick penned a blistering piece urging him to step aside. And a parade of outlets like CNN raised questions and scrutinized Biden’s ability to wage an unrelenting campaign and effectively prosecute the case against Trump.?
Even MSNBC, the progressive cable news channel, did not offer a safe harbor to protect Biden against the crush of criticism he faced over the last three weeks. In the immediate moments after the debate, the outlet’s prominent hosts, led by Rachel Maddow, gave voice to the concerns over Biden’s disastrous performance.?In the weeks since, those concerns repeatedly found their way to MSNBC’s air, despite a good chunk of the channel’s viewership making it clear they did not want to hear criticism of Biden.
“There has been so much consternation about the fight in the party but also the media coverage of the fight,” Maddow acknowledged Sunday. “We have talked about all that. And we know people don’t want to hear about it or had strong feelings …. but throughout, even as difficult as it was, it was a good faith fight. It was a good faith effort to try to do the right thing about the country.”
Even as some MSNBC personalities passionately defended Biden’s ability to carry on with the race, a barrage of questions about his political future still found a way through. While right-wing media is now void of antibodies to keep its political system clean and healthy, MSNBC showed that progressive outlets are still rife with them and not absurdly loyal to any one political figure.
Contrast how the news media covered Biden’s woes with how the MAGA Media has treated Trump in recent years.
In the wake of numerous scandals, two impeachments, the January 6 attack, and a conviction on 34 felony counts, sycophantic talk show hosts such as Sean Hannity virtually never acknowledged the reality of the moment. Instead, they defended Trump, spinning up wild conspiracy theories, and ruthlessly attacking anyone who dared question his actions.
But that was not the case for Biden, underscoring the ethical reality that flows through the news media and largely extends to progressive personalities. In fact, in the end, the news media played a notable role in the unraveling of Biden’s campaign by offering a forum for an uncomfortable stream of questions about his abilities to enter the national discourse.
Had the news media looked the other way and run cover for Biden, he very well may not have felt the need to abandon his bid for a second term in office.
