During a brief presser Wednesday, a reporter asked President Joe Biden about inflation. The president responded, “I told you we’re going to have a soft landing, we’re going to have a soft landing. My policies are working. Start writing that way, OK?” 

There is a lot to unpack from that brief exchange. Let’s start with Biden’s obstinate assertion that the press should simply write whatever he wants. Since Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972, he has been a loyal party man and a reliable liberal in every office he has held, which has afforded him a great deal of favor with the legacy press.