Under normal circumstances, a presidential candidate who refused to tell voters what he believes about one of the most radical, consequential policies of the race would be excoriated by the press. He would be cornered at every opportunity, hounded until he was forced to give an answer. But Joe Biden is determined to get off scot-free, and the media might just let him.
Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, have repeatedly refused to answer direct questions about whether they would support efforts to pack the Supreme Court if the Senate confirms President Trump’s nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. (Or even if it doesn’t.) He has been rightfully asked several times to take a position, but then, when he refuses to answer, nobody presses him. This is why Biden feels so confident simply disregarding the issue every time it is brought up. The media have taken sides and won’t hold him accountable.
“You’ll know my opinion on court-packing when the election is over,” Biden said during a campaign stop in Phoenix on Thursday. “It’s a great question, and I don’t blame you for asking. But you know, the moment I answer that question, the headline in every one of your papers will be on the answer to that question.”
This is unacceptable on every level. Biden is asking voters to make him president but refusing to share his intentions with them. Why should they be expected to vote for a man who cannot be honest about what he will do in office?
Court-packing is not just another policy debate. It is an actual goal shared by leftists who want to upend the balance of power and seize it for themselves, thereby undermining our third branch of government and the constitutional system of which it is a part. So, yes, of course every media outlet would make Biden’s answer to this question its front-page story. It is an incredibly important topic that just so happens to be of great interest to the voting public.
Which is why the press has an obligation to find out the truth. Reporters ought to be pressing Biden about his position on court-packing in the same way that they would hound Trump if the shoe were on the other foot. They should follow up with additional questions when he tries to dodge and perhaps even refuse to ask any other question until he gives an answer to this one.
Ask him why he doesn’t care what the public thinks about court-packing. Ask him why he so flippantly disregards the voter’s right to know a candidate’s positions. Ask him why he is now so unwilling to condemn a policy that he denounced just months ago.
These questions will help voters understand what Biden really believes about court-packing. And they would also expose the rank hypocrisy of Biden’s campaign. This is, after all, a campaign whose slogan is “truth over lies.” Yet, on this issue, Biden is even more dishonest than his opponent.
