Dear Politico: WTF?
I’ve written a number of times before about the spectacularly stupid takes coming out of Politico. You can read about it here, here and here.
But their latest is so monumentally stupid there are no words (he says after writing plenty more words on this very subject).
Their latest piece of “journalism” is a lengthy hit piece on President Joe Biden about how he’s old and mean to his senior staff. It took four people to write it, with help from three others.
So, if my math is correct, that’s seven people just to give us gems like this: “No one has done more to keep the president isolated — and shielded from tough conversations — than his wife, first lady Jill Biden, and sister, Valerie Biden Owens. The president’s determination to spend weekends at home in Wilmington, away from most aides and the formal trappings of the White House, may be the clearest manifestation of Biden’s strong preference for familiarity and privacy.”
OMG! The president likes to spend time with his family! He needs to be replaced immediately. It would be better if he spent his time golfing than with his family. Maybe he should be schtupping porn stars instead.
This piece of garbage masquerading as journalism is based on anonymous sources and a bunch of “megadonors.” I would bet that most of Politico’s sources don’t have any direct interaction with the president. And as for the megadonors, they don’t necessarily have any special insight into the president.
According to the publication, “Most aides who have worked for Biden for any significant length of time share the president’s own resentments about an elite political and media class that has never, in their view, given him his due.”
You know why that is? Because they haven’t. Duh!
And in one spectacular piece of “reporting” that really is more an admission of its own failure, Politico tells us this: “…And when conservative outlets fixated on a video of Biden walking away from other leaders at the G7 a few weeks ago to suggest he was disoriented, the White House dismissed the coverage as dishonest and slanted.”
Yeah, because it was, genius. The conservative media conveniently cut the footage to eliminate the part where Pres. Biden was walking over to greet some servicemen and women, making it look like he was wandering away aimlessly. Politico conveniently fails to mention that part.
President Biden’s age is fair game for reporters. After all, he is the oldest president we’ve ever had. He’ll be 83 in 2025. But using his age to claim he’s not fit for the job – with no proof to back up the claim – is not.
“Those aides didn’t want Biden frequently facing tough questions, preferring him to sit for friendly interviews with podcasters, social media stars and other influencers. Bates noted that Biden has done 43 interviews so far this year and pointed to Biden’s habit of semi-frequently fielding shouted questions from the press as proof of his media availability, though those encounters are less substantive and have also dwindled in recent months,” according to Politico.
As opposed to Donald Trump, who’s numerous rallies and interviews are all hard-hitting, substantive affairs.
So where are all the hit pieces about Trump? Where are all the pieces about his age? He’s only three years younger than Pres. Biden and I would argue in much worse shape physically, intellectually and cognitively.
Where are the numerous “think pieces” about Trump’s 34 felony convictions? Where are all the stories about his adjudication of rape? Where are all the articles about his sleeping with a porn star while his wife was pregnant? Where are all the stories about his cheating on everything in his life – his taxes, his customers, his wives?
Instead, we are told incessantly that Pres. Biden is old. And he sometimes loses his temper with his staff.
Let me give you guys a little word of advice. If you really want to practice quality journalism (which it’s plain you really don’t care about), maybe write more analytical stories about Biden’s and Trump’s past accomplishments and failures as president. Maybe write about what they say they plan to do if re-elected. Who knows? This might actually give voters some information that would help them make an informed decision when they go to vote in November.
And if you really cared about Democracy….
Ah, never mind. It’s clear you really don’t. All you really care about is the clicks.