Media Accountability: Admitting Wrongful Coverage of Biden’s Health

Despite the variety of responses from media leaders, one topic seemed to sit at the top of the list for many respondents: Joe Biden’s lack of mental acuity. As progressive broadcaster Mehdi Hasan told Semafor in an article published Monday, “Like many others, I was completely, utterly, totally, embarrassingly wrong about [President Joe] Biden’s lack of mental competence.”

This admission comes after Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential election in July following a disastrous June debate performance in which he appeared to struggle with his thoughts and at one point stated he “beat Medicare.”

The White House and the corporate media have actively denied and downplayed concerns about Biden’s mental health. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre brushed off a video of Biden wandering away from world leaders at the G7 summit as a “cheap fake” orchestrated by Republicans.

Morning Joe panelists described a Wall Street Journal article detailing Biden’s declining mental health as “outrageous,” and CNN’s Bakari Sellers argued in July that there was no reason to believe Biden couldn’t serve for another four years. These efforts to mask the effects of Biden’s age and mental decline have only reinforced the public’s distrust in the media’s objectivity.

But as former CNN political analyst Chris Cillizza recently admitted, the media has been complicit in ignoring and dismissing concerns about Biden’s mental acuity.

In a YouTube video posted in December, Cillizza apologized for not pushing harder for more information about Biden’s mental and physical well-being. American talk show host Brian Lehrer echoed this sentiment in his response to Semafor, admitting that he initially dismissed concerns about Biden’s fitness to run for re-election as ageism, but then saw it for himself during the debate.

This widespread acknowledgment of media failures in reporting on Biden’s capabilities only serves to highlight the double standard in coverage between Biden and former President Donald Trump.

While the media continuously questioned Trump’s mental health and fitness for office, they have largely ignored and downplayed similar concerns about Biden. This bias in reporting is a disservice to the public and only further fuels suspicion and distrust in the media.

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