The White House has grown increasingly frustrated with videos circulating that purportedly show President Joe Biden experiencing cognitive decline, and the ensuing coverage by right-leaning media. A recent Daily Beast report attempted to debunk these clips, claiming they were misrepresented or deceptively edited. However, the report failed to address the numerous public gaffes and memory lapses exhibited by Biden over several months.
The White House’s response to The Daily Beast accused conservative publications of engaging in “cheap fakes” and criticized their journalistic ethics. This practice of editing and sharing clips of political opponents, particularly to highlight Biden’s age-related issues, has been on the rise among Republican lawmakers and conservative media.
One specific video that drew ire from the Daily Beast and the White House showed Biden freezing on stage during a Hollywood fundraiser, depending on the angle of the clip. Another controversial video depicted Biden in Italy, where social media influencers claimed he had an accident, though he was merely stopping himself from sitting down too early. Despite these defenses, neither the Daily Beast nor the White House addressed Biden’s many instances of seeming confusion or making factually incorrect statements, such as falsely claiming he was vice president during the pandemic or struggling to remember details about his son Beau’s death.
White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates accused right-leaning media of abandoning ethical standards. “Fresh off being fact-checked by at least six mainstream outlets for lying about President Biden with cheap fakes, Rupert Murdoch’s sad little super PAC, the New York Post, is back to disrespecting its readers & itself once again,” Bates said. He added that these outlets should improve their ethical standards.
Bates defended the president, saying that criticism over Biden taking a moment to take in an applauding crowd was a distraction. He argued that right-leaning media can’t contend with Biden’s accomplishments, including economic growth, reducing violent crime, restoring manufacturing jobs, and strengthening international alliances.
Despite these defenses from the White House, public sentiment about Biden’s fitness for another term remains skeptical. A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll revealed that Americans overwhelmingly believe Biden is too old to serve another term, reflecting ongoing concerns about his cognitive abilities and overall suitability for the presidency.
