Did the media hide Biden's mental decline?
As we all all know now in September 2024, President Biden has dropped out of the race. However, was it a shock or was it expected? Some would say it was a shock because of what the media outlets, (Joe Scarborough) were saying about Biden. "No, I just always told people that he's — the president is very sharp. If you say something or write something, there have been times he’s called and he’s refuted it very sharply. I’ve talked to foreign leaders that have had conversations with him that said that he was on top of every issue," (Scarborough Says Biden ‘Is So Sharp’). If one would have listened to Joe Scarborough's analysis on President Biden, maybe it was a shock to see the president in such decline on the debate stage. However, it wasn't just Scarborough pushing Biden's excelling mental fitness, it was also Kamala Harris. Harris had this to say when Special Counsel Robert Hur's reporting broke about Biden's mental fitness "gratuitous, inaccurate and inappropriate," (Axios) If Hur's reporting was gratuitous and inappropriate, why did Biden drop out and why was he not indicted on the classified documents like Trump? All of this is leading up to a 2021 call from Speaker Pelosi about Trump's mental fitness and the media's outcry of coverage. An NBC article calls for Trump's unpredictable nature to be questioned by the 25th Amendment "A president who displayed behavior suggesting the presence of two or more severe personality disorders in, for example, the “Cluster-B” family, could be judged incapable to lead. The Cluster B personality disorders are all marked by impulsive, dramatic and unpredictable behavior. (The 25th Amendment Proves Why Trump's Mental Health Matters). Never did we hear about invoking the 25th on Biden, who seemed way more mentally unfit. Now, how one categorizes unfit is a different animal. This is another reason why media trust continues to drop in recent years. Who can be trusted and when can they be trusted to give truth?
Sources:
Harris says Special counsel report on Biden was “politically motivated.” (n.d.). https://www.axios.com/2024/02/09/kamala-harris-biden-special-counsel-report
NBCUniversal News Group. (2017, October 18). Opinion | why now is the time to evaluate Trump’s mental health. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/25th-amendment-proves-why-trump-s-mental-health-matters-ncna801666
Scarborough says Biden “is so sharp.” Grabien. (n.d.). https://grabien.com/story.php?id=431361
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Though I appreciate this perspective, I must disagree with how this topic was approached. In a quick Google search ranging from June 1, 2024 to July 16, 2024, Biden's competency is often called into question and is looked upon as a scandal. Though my quick, limited search did not immediately show an push to invoke the 25th amendment, it did show numerous doctors insisting that the president undergo cognitive testing with publicized results. I will agree that left-biased outlets such as NBC (as you stated in your post) may not have pushed as hard for Biden's competence to be questioned, but conservative outlets like Fox News certainly did. I would argue that neither president has been sufficiently held accountable for their mental cognizance, which makes this a more systemic issue than a partisan one.
ReplyDeleteIts a complex question because it gets into a persons individual mindset and not something that is fully out in the open. I think liberal media somewhat protected Biden but, to some extent their acceptance of Biden s mental decline is the reason why Harris ended up being the nominee. Biden is a well known and respected politician because of his 50 year career. for many they either did not want to insult him or have some sort of connection to him as is was. There is also the flip side where it could be seen as Republican propaganda to make Biden seem unfit to be president compared to trump who is much more loud and outspoken. so there was a case to argue that it was somewhat reality but somewhat perpetrated by the GOP.
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