President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech Tuesday surely set a record for lies, distortions and sheer hollowness, yet most media’s coverage was preposterously positive — indeed, almost equally unhinged:
- Biden’s “message was one of unadulterated optimism — even in the face of open hostility,” puffed CNN.
- The prez came out with “vim and vigor” and “proceeded to mop the House floor with the howling, discombobulated remains of the Republican Party,” cheered USA Today’s Rex Huppke.
- He “vowed” to protect the country, applauded a Reuters headline.
- “This is the worst possible night for [House Speaker] Kevin McCarthy,” beamed MSNBC. “This is over for McCarthy.”
- Biden challenged House Republicans to work with him, “even as the emboldened opposition geared up to try to force him to change course,” began The New York Times’ front-page coverage.
- The speech “had to make Democrats more comfortable with the idea of Biden as the standard-bearer in 2024,” insisted NPR, touting “the pluck he showed.”
OK, Biden was feisty and pulled no punches — but mostly all below the belt. He dishonestly claimed he’d “created” 12 million jobs, cut the deficit, restored manufacturing and lowered gas prices. Republicans want to “hold the economy hostage,” he fibbed, and “sunset” Social Security and Medicare.
Of course Republicans were outraged and vocal, just as Democrats had groaned, booed and even boycotted during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speeches. (Speaker Nancy Pelosi infamously ripped up the text of one for the cameras.)
Even the outlets that fact-checked Biden (finding the whoppers too big and numerous to ignore) offset that with glowing praise.
Contrast that with how they bent over backward to find fault with Trump — even when they found him reasonable and presidential:
- “The conciliatory tone of Trump’s first State of the Union address was sharply at odds with the combative manner in which he has conducted his presidency,” railed The Washington Post in 2018.
- Trump set aside “his affinity for combat to offer up 90 minutes of stand-up comity,” snarked the Times after his 2019 speech.
Imagine if they’d covered Biden’s speech Tuesday the way they did Trump: In a smug and venomous address, the president repeatedly baited opponents with falsehoods — even as he called for unity and bipartisanship.
That would’ve been closer to the truth, but truth is no longer top priority for much of the modern media.