Joe Biden, our 81-year-old President, seems to be living in a protective bubble crafted by journalists hoping to see him re-elected. His regular moments of confusion and uncertainty are labelled as ‘disinformation’ and swiftly brushed under the carpet. When recent videos of Biden acting unusually surfaced, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre quickly labelled them as ‘cheap fakes’, a narrative the media seem eager to lap up. But, let’s get the facts straight; the videos are as real as it gets.
The two videos, which aren’t fake or exceptionally edited, have created quite a stir. Any criticism of them generally revolves around the lack of context. But unfortunately, the worry for Biden’s mental competence isn’t about one or two out-of-context videos. Our concerns run deeper than that.
Indeed, it’s an election year, and the media seem willing to exhaust their credibility to bolster the Democrats’ re-election campaign. The desperation reaches palpable levels when it comes to defending these videos. The first video shows our President veering off-track in the G7 summit while accompanying Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The White House’s defence? Biden was walking over to chat with an off-screen paratrooper. An excuse which amply demonstrates the crux of the issue – why would the President feel compelled to sidetrack from an important discussion?
Dismissing an incomplete frame as a ‘fake’ video is a far cry from truthfulness. It only showcases Biden using the summit as a casual meet-and-greet, rather than a serious political event. The power play here is not a few videos but a bigger pattern – his stumbling consistency over the past three years.
The height of irony is media moguls rallying against ‘out-of-context’ videos. The same media turned a blind eye when George Zimmerman’s call was deceptively cropped by NBC in 2012, for the sole purpose of stirring up a controversial racial narrative. The hypocrisy is glaring, but so is their fear. Fear for Biden’s declining popularity, fear of their narrative crumbling.
Unfortunately for the media, Americans aren’t concerned about Biden’s mental fitness because of ‘doctored’ videos. They’re concerned because the evidence is lucid, distressing and becoming far too common. The clearer Biden’s struggle becomes, the quicker the media rushes to pull the wool over our eyes. But for how long can you deny the undeniable? It’s time for the media to stop feigning concern for truth and start addressing the obvious. We deserve transparency, not a diversion. In the end, the public sees what it sees, and no amount of media prescription can change that. We need answers, not excuses.
