Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden appeared Friday for a rare press briefing.
Well, calling it a “press briefing” may be too generous. It was more like a meet-and-greet between a pop star and members of his or her official fan club.
Without putting too fine a point on it, the event was a disgrace to journalism. Instead of holding the former senator, vice president, and would-be president of the United States to account, asking him difficult questions about his vague policy platform or even his outright flip-flops, establishment reporters instead treated the Democratic nominee as friend and family. Many did their best to comfort Biden and to grant him every opportunity to sell his campaign to their respective audiences.
The first question of the afternoon went to Atlantic staffer Isaac Dovere, who asked Biden to expound on the Democratic campaign’s reaction to a Sept. 3 Atlantic report alleging the president once referred to dead U.S. Marines as “losers” and “suckers.”
Gold Star father and Biden campaign surrogate Khizr Khan said that “President Trump’s life is a testament to selfishness and that his soul is that of a coward,” said Dovere.
He added, “When you hear these remarks, ‘sucker,’ ‘losers,’ recoiling from amputees, what does it tell you about President Trump’s soul and the life he leads?”
Just so we are on the same page: The first question at Biden’s press briefing went to an Atlantic staffer who then asked Biden to expand on his initial reaction to a report published by the Atlantic. This is called “free advertising.”
Now, to be fair, there were some decent questions, as cataloged by my Washington Examiner colleague Byron York.
One reporter asked Biden what the 1.4 million jobs gained in August say about the overall health of the U.S. economy. A reporter asked if Biden would support more Muslim countries normalizing relations with Israel even though it may “undermine Palestinian leverage for a two-state solution.” A reporter asked if Biden has been tested for COVID-19. Another asked whether Biden plans to be tested again soon. A reporter asked about Sen. Kamala Harris’s whereabouts and why she and Biden have not campaigned together more. A reporter asked if Biden believes, as Attorney General William Barr does, that China poses the greatest threat to the integrity of U.S. elections.
But for every question that served the public interest, there was one that seemed as if it were crafted by the Democratic campaign itself. Indeed, exactly half of the questions that followed Dovere’s opening statements Friday afternoon served the singular goal of offering Biden an opportunity to attack his 2020 opponent.
Trump, said CBS News’s Ed O’Keefe, “once again suggested to his supporters that they should consider voting twice if they are in one of those states that can allow you to request an absentee ballot. Say, ‘Fill that out,’ and then go try voting again in person. State officials have said it’s a felony, in some cases. Just curious what you make of it.”
In case you did not notice, that was not a question.
“President Trump mocked you for wearing a mask and said that this is a sign that you must have some, quote, ‘big issues,’” said CNN correspondent M.J. Lee. “He says this even though he knows that, according to scientists and public health officials, wearing masks saves lives. I wonder if you worry that this kind of language that comes from the president of the United States could deter some Americans who are tuning into him to not wear masks.”
Again, that was not much of a question.
A reporter asked Biden to respond to the QAnon conspiracy theory and what he would say to Trump for not rejecting it outright. A reporter said that some people ask why Biden is not angrier about the things the president says and does.
ABC News’s Mary Bruce also asked, “We know the president has been attacking mail-in voting. He is even now suggesting his supporters vote twice. We also know that Russia has been trying to sow doubt about the system. Are you considered at all that this messaging may be working? That your supporters may give up on voting by mail because they are concerned that it may be rigged?”
To Bruce’s credit, at least she asked a question. It was a teed-up softball of a question, but that is better than a simple declarative statement of support.
It is probably time now to start the countdown timer for the end of the Golden Age of Journalism. Enjoy it while it lasts, folks. The current era of the combative, fact-check-happy, anonymous source-loving establishment news media will end the minute a Democrat takes the White House. Mark my words.
