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Biden Lays an Egg...We Think

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Apr 10, 2023
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

04.10.23

Gilded Reframe – WASHINGTON SPEAKERS BUREAU

  • That shift on insurrection opposition was rather stark.

Dispatched CNN reporter John Harwood leads the charge of journalists who are taking a sympathetic stance with the three Tennessee State House members who faced an expulsion vote after they staged a protest on the House floor as the capitol was being overrun with protesters.

It seems that those years of complaining about the threat to our democracy vaporized quickly when leftists were being an insurrection.

Matching Media Memorandum – VARIOUS OUTLETS

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  • And not one of these outlets thought to even question the concept?

It was with a mockable uniformity that a wide array of news sources all rushed out an announcement that climate change has now been proven by the sharp rise in home runs at the major league level.

It could not be from any other influence, such as the construction of the ball being altered or that stadiums are storing them in humidors. Nope, it's that damned global warming. Wait – we mean climate change. Yes, that… that's the sole cause of this.

Presentation Paradox – POLITICO

Politico ran a lengthy interview with France's President Emmanuel Macron. He spoke to the outlet on a number of topics, just not all of them. When it came to a discussion about China and Taiwan, Macron's comments were spiked by his communications team.

If this sounds like a rather bastardized practice of journalism, the editors at Politico agree with you.

It did not stop them from permitting this convenient editing from taking place, however. Behold this disclaimer at the bottom of this interview:

As is common in France and many other European countries, the French President’s office, known as the Elysée Palace, insisted on checking and 'proofreading' all the president’s quotes to be published in this article as a condition of granting the interview. This violates POLITICO’s editorial standards and policy, but we agreed to the terms in order to speak directly with the French president. POLITICO insisted that it cannot deceive its readers and would not publish anything the president did not say. The quotes in this article were all actually said by the president, but some parts of the interview in which the president spoke even more frankly about Taiwan and Europe’s strategic autonomy were cut out by the Elysée.

Low Octane Gas Lighting – THE NEW YORK TIMES

The Times is hoping to take the lead and drive the latest narrative centered on Ron DeSantis. With some new policies being considered in Florida, the paper decided they needed to highlight his agenda – just not in a complete fashion.

In alerting readers to a new immigration policy, it appears that a bit more detail would have been accurate – just one word would have worked. But in the brevity of their eight-word headline, they could not see fit to insert one additional aspect. That is okay; DeSantis office spokesperson Christina Pushaw was able to help them with some clarity.

Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – THE ONION

One of the surest ways to see the slant in the fact-checkers was how they routinely would call out The Babylon Bee as "disinformation" or attest that although they were a satire site, the sharing of their headlines as truthful by some was a dangerous practice – and thus, called disinformation. Unfunny enough, always escaping this level of truth-detection scrutiny have been the satirists at The Onion.

Truly blurring the line today, the site put up a joking slideshow where they allegedly provided quotes from politicians who supposedly explained why they opposed "gender-affirming care." The blatantly biased piece had only shades of humor as they gave the claimed one-sentence answers from mostly GOP figures. The humor was on a Stephen Colbert-level of more applause-generating commentary than true uproariousness. Take as an example this answer attributed to Senator Ted Cruz:

- It's not up to young people to decide what gender they are. It's up to my campaign donors."

Legalized Press-Titution – THE TODAY SHOW

  • Saying the same thing as he has for a year is not news.

A few news outlets were today pushing out the breaking story of Jose Biden stating he was planning to run in 2024. While not in any way deviating from any previous statements, this was deemed an exclusive – even though it came from "The Today Show."

While fawning over the Bidens during the White House Easter celebration, Al Roker pretended to try getting a hard-hitting question in, asking if Biden would run for reelection. We think Biden mentioned he was running – as he fumbled through an answer and declared he would be rolling eggs or pushing them out. 

Surely, Dr. First Lady Mrs. Biden had to be looking for the Easter Bunny to again lead her husband away from microphones like he had been herded in last year's event.