I wrote Thursday about tensions between the White House and the liberal New York Times, whose publisher upset Vice President Kamala Harris in the spring of 2023 when he surprisingly asked a relevant question: why won’t the president of the United States ever accept interviews from actual journalists? Why is he hiding from the American people?
Don’t miss:
NY Times Publisher Triggers Kamala Harris, Dares to Ask Why Joe Biden Refuses to Do Real Interviews
Later Thursday, after the Politico story broke detailing the conflicts between Biden’s team and the NY Times brass, The Times doubled down and issued a blistering statement ripping the president for his absurd lack of transparency:
For anyone who understands the role of the free press in a democracy, it should be troubling that President Biden has so actively and effectively avoided questions from independent journalists during his term. The president occupies the most important office in our nation, and the press plays a vital role in providing insights into his thinking and worldview, allowing the public to assess his record and hold him to account.
A free and independent press fills a vital role in a democracy. See our statement on @nytimes and our coverage of the president. https://t.co/msymF8x6xa
— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) April 25, 2024
It’s actually astonishing that the paper that so often just seems like a Democratic National Committee mouthpiece is saying this. Most of the time, they treat Biden like he’s some sort of Great Communicator whose virtue and compassion know no bounds, but it appears that even they’ve had enough with his hiding from the media and the public.
And they weren’t even done:
Mr. Biden has granted far fewer press conferences and sit-down interviews with independent journalists than virtually all of his predecessors. It is true that The Times has sought an on-the-record interview with Mr. Biden, as it has done with all presidents going back more than a century. If the president chooses not to sit down with The Times because he dislikes our independent coverage, that is his right, and we will continue to cover him fully and fairly either way.
When even the leftist corporate media is seeing what a con job the befuddled, radical president is pulling on America, you know it has gotten really bad.
I’m certainly no fan of the Gray Lady, once considered the standard of fine journalism but which in recent times has descended into an uncritical cheerleader of woke destructive progressivism—but I have to hand it to the publisher, A. G. Sulzberger, for finally admitting the truth. Biden is virtually in the Witness Protection Program when it comes to accountability:
However, in meetings with Vice President Harris and other administration officials, the publisher of The Times focused instead on a higher principle: That systematically avoiding interviews and questions from major news organizations doesn’t just undermine an important norm, it also establishes a dangerous precedent that future presidents can use to avoid scrutiny and accountability. That is why Mr. Sulzberger has repeatedly urged the White House to have the president sit down with The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, CNN and other major independent news organizations that millions of Americans rely on to understand their government. [Bolding mine.]
If you had told me Wednesday that the New York Times of all outlets would call out President Biden for abuse of the trust of the American people, I would have said you were insane. But they did it—and that’s a good thing. I’m not suddenly going to become a fan of dishonest, gaslighting outlets like MSNBC, CNN, and The Times, but sadly they all do hold sway over the opinions of many liberals in this country. Any time they tell the truth it’s a plus, and if they do a little more of that—and less propagandizing—perhaps enough folks will wake up, smell the coffee, and get this unaccountable menace out of our White House.
In the meantime, however, I actually am quite enjoying the feud between The Times and Joe Biden. After all, they deserve each other.
