A former New York Times editor has accused the White House of concealing President Joe Biden's deteriorating condition and chastised the media for failing to dig in and expose the truth.
"Shame on the White House press corps for not to have pierced the veil of secrecy surrounding the President," Jill Abramson wrote in an op-ed for Semafor.
Abramson, who served as the executive editor of the New York Times from 2011 to 2014, criticized the administration for successfully hiding the "degree of the President's feebleness and his serious physical decline, which may be simply the result of old age."
"The Biden White House clearly succeeded in a massive cover-up," she wrote, emphasizing the media's duty to hold officials accountable and "poke through White House smoke screens and find out the truth."
Her critique extended to fellow journalists, as Abramson suggested that fear of appearing to support Donald Trump may have discouraged reporters from pursuing the story.
"If enough reporters had pushed, the story was reportable," she noted, adding that avoiding the truth to prevent aiding Trump is no excuse for neglecting journalistic responsibilities.
"This is no excuse for abandoning our first duty, which is to report the truth and hold power accountable. President Biden should be held accountable for his obvious lapses of mental acuity, even if there are periods of lucidity," she added.
Abramson's op-ed follows a Wall Street Journal report detailing Biden's behind-the-scenes struggles in meetings, which faced significant backlash from liberal media figures and Democrats. Recently, Biden's debate performance has drawn criticism from top Democrats and commentators, some of whom have suggested he withdraw from the race.
The New York Times editorial board recently called for Biden to step aside, arguing that his struggles in public appearances are too significant to ignore. "The president appeared on Thursday night as the shadow of a great public servant," the board wrote. "He struggled to explain what he would accomplish in a second term... More than once, he struggled to make it to the end of a sentence."
Despite acknowledging Biden's contributions, the editorial board urged him to prioritize the nation's future by not seeking reelection. "The greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election," they concluded.
Former White House press secretary and current MSNBC host Jen Psaki defended Biden's debate prep team while stating his performance was "bad." Psaki dismissed the Biden family's idea that the debate preparation was inadequate, suggesting the fault lay elsewhere. "Biden was bad," she wrote on X. "But if you are directing your ire at 'prep,' you are not talking about the right things."
Comedian Bill Maher has also called for Biden to step aside, proposing that another candidate take on Trump in the upcoming election.
"Each time I would bring up that idea, publicly or privately, people would dismiss it out of hand: Get on board, they'd say. The Democrats will never replace him. It's off the table. Well, now it's on the table where it always should have been," Maher said.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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